Apartments near Berlin Train Station

Berlin Hauptbahnhof is not a very desirable area, nothing safety-wise, just nothing nearby. There are lots of nice areas a short S-bahn ride away. Savigny Platz area is my first suggestion and others will have their favorites to chime in with.

Agree with the previous poster, the area around the Berlin Hauptbahnhof is a complete dead zone. I don't think you could find an apartment nearby even if you wanted one. To me, the areas around either Freidrichstraße or Kurfurstendamm would be most desirable.

Hi,

I personally don't know of any apts near Berlin Hbf, not an option for me either. Try to see if any are located on Invalidenstrasse. The buses come down that street, all stopping across the street from Berlin Hbf., ie the Invalidenstrasse exit. The farther you walk away from Berlin Hbf on Invalidenstrasse it's residential private property. For a week's stay I stay in a small hotel near the train station or U/S-Bahn a minute or two away and is direct to the Hbf.

Sorry Fred I do not quite understand your review to me..are there Hotels near the train station but no apartments for us to rent for the week...is there anything near the train station we can stay at..

Repeating, do not stay near the Hauptbahnhof. Transfer at the station to the S-bahn to another area of town. It is a free transfer if you specify another station in Berlin on your ticket. The station has elevators if you need to transfer to a track on a different level. So if you bought the ticket from Prague to Berlin Savignyplatz, you would change trains at Berlin Hauptbahnhof for a short ride. There should be lots of apartments in the neighborhood as well as hotels. My favorite is the Pension Peters, 2 blocks away.

Ok so if there are not apartments near the train station..where should we go from the train station to find apartments that will be within walking distance to the main attractions within Berlin

Lorraine, "where should we go from the train station to find apartments that will be within walking distance to the main attractions within Berlin" - that is the problem, Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Main station) is not within walking distance of the main attractions.
The Hauptbahnhof is in the middle of a recently developed area. There is no residential accommodation nearby, so no apartment rents. It is near to the Bundestag (parliament), and fairly near to the Brandenburger gate but nothing else.

Berlin is fairly spread out. And for decades it had two different centres (East and west). You need to look at a map (Google "tourist map Berlin"). But, Berlin (like any German city) has a good U-Bahn and S-Bahn system, so you can get from anywhere to anywhere. You just need to find somewhere to stay near a U-Bahn or S-Bahn station.
The biggest concentration of attractions is in the East, along the axis from Brandenburger gate to Alexanderplatz. But, this is all government buildings and offices, hotels are expensive and little hope of an appartment

When looking for an apartment location, I would think your priorities would be:
1. Nearby local transport to get to the sites you want to see.
2. Nearby services like grocery stores, drug stores, restaurants.
Since my experience is limited to the Savignyplatz area, it has all of these in spades. It is not the end-all be-all of Berlin. But as the old cabaret entertainer, Otto Reutter, used to sing, "Berlin ist ja so grosse!"

One place I've stayed that is in walking distance of both the Hbf and areas with a bit more life to them is Miniloftmitte. It's generally good but the beds have futons instead of normal mattresses and were a bit too hard for me.

@ Lorraine....Yes, there are big hotels very close to Berlin Hbf., ie within a few minutes. As I mentioned I don't know of apts but when you exit the train station using the Invalidenstrasse exit, there may be apts on Invalidenstrasse (I don't know exactly) since Invalidenstrasse is private property area as you go down the street.

The InterCity Hotel is very close to Berlin Hbf, so is Motel One, the Meininger Hotel is 2 mins to your right as you exit.

.where should we go from the train station to find apartments that will be within walking distance to the main attractions within Berlin

Berlin doesn't have a central historic core like many other European capitals. It consists of many far-flung districts, and the "main attractions" are scattered throughout. The only real walkable cluster of "attractions" is probably the Museuminsel, but to go anywhere else, you'd have to take the Sbahn.

So... once again, go for a location near one of the Sbahn stations, and use public transportation to get around. DON'T stay around the Hauptbahnhof, unless you can't find anything else. I made that mistake once, and although my hotel was perfectly nice, there was nothing within walking distance except some open park land and a whole lot of construction work.

@ Lorraine....The three I listed above are German hotel chains, all within close walking distance from Berlin Hbf. The InterCity Hotel at Berlin Hbf is pretty new, luxurious enough, and big. It opened up a few years ago. Motel One usually has its hotels situated near train stations or S-Bahn stations. The Meininger Hotel is a combination of hostel and hotel, I've checked it out, all right. If you want a quieter place, a bit more comfort, then I would suggest the InterCity Hotel. I've stayed a week at the InterCity (not in Berlin) when the price was right, they do have promo prices, depending on the month of stay.

thank you all for your input..and I am understanding more about Berlin now..We are use to Venice..Rome..where places to stay are very close to the Train..Termini station so must now decide where to stay once we arrive in Berlin.
If we decide to fly into Berlin..how would we get to a hotel from the airport..how far from the airport is it to Berlin to start our exploring

Hi,

If you fly into Berlin from Rome, there are two airports in Berlin, Berlin-Tegel or Schönefeld. Which one are you arriving at? If you are arriving at Tegel, you take the Bus TXL to get to Berlin Hbf., from where you can catch the S-Bahn or U-Bahn to other areas of the city. I stay in a Pension in the western part so any S-Bahn line with Potsdam Hbf , or Spandau, or Westkreuz as the terminus is the right direction.

Some of the termini of the S-Bahn lines going east are Ostkreuz and Ahrensfelde , (that one is way out there)

If you're staying near Hbf, Bus TXL arrives on Invalidenstrasse just across the street from Hbf. Bus TXL to Berlin Hbf takes ca. 30 mins. If your hotel is near Bahnhof Zoo, there is the Bus X-9 from Tegel to Bahnhof Zoo (terminus)

If you are landing at Schönefeld, there is the red color "Berlin Airport Express" train from the airport to Hbf.