Neighborhoods to stay in Berlin

I stayed at the Mercure Checkpoint Charlie. It was cheaper than closer to Mitte, but still walking distance, with good U-bahn, S-bahn connections. The area was bustling during the day, but very quiet in the evenings. I had a friend who lived in Berlin then. His apartment was a 2-minute walk from the huge Friedrichstrasse train station, right in the center. It seemed to me that many Berliners live in the center, even the center is not particularly touristy.

Any of the central neighborhoods are fantastic places to stay. I prefer Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg for their inexpensive apartments and funky neighborhood vibe (Kreuzberg more so than Prenzlauer Berg), but many here like Charlottenburg or Wilmersdorf. All have U-Bahn or S-Bahn stations spread liberally through them. I have a link to an AirBnb where I stayed on a previous trip. If you are interested, you may PM me. Enjoy!

I stayed at the RS recommended Pension Peters in the Charlottenburg neighborhood. It was super convenient to get anywhere being just 2 blocks from Savignyplatz station and also a 10 minute walk from the Zoologischer Garten station with easy connections to everywhere. I enjoyed the area in the evening, it's touristy but not overly so, lots of restaurants, shops, parks etc.. There is also a bus route that runs right by but I never used it.

Bill,
I went on the Rick Steves tour to Berlin, Prague & Vienna this past June, a fantastic trip by the way. In Berlin, we stayed in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood in the former East Berlin. It is a vibrant, youthful area filled with interesting, ethnic restaurants; I was surprised there were so many Asian ones, with delicious food.
Our hotel where we stayed is a family-run affair ongoing for 70 or more years, Kastanienhof Hotel with personable and helpful staff and a breakfast buffet with an extensive selection from eggs to meats to fruits to various breads and great coffee. The streetcar is right across the street and very close to the Ubahn and Sbahn. Of course, I am forgetting the official names. Definitely close to all forms of transportation.
I loved my stay in Berlin. Have you been before? You will love it and for two whole weeks, how fortunate, there is so much to see and do there.
Judy B

Hi,

You definitely would not be staying in the suburbs or outskirts (which ones?) unless you want to be far, far afield. If you stay at Pension Peters at the corner of Kantstrasse and Savignynplatz, in the immediate area are also numerous Asian restaurants, especially Chinese and their variations. Of course, other cuisines are represented in that area too, such as French, Austrian, Greek, Italian, and also old fashion German. I don't stay at Peters but have stayed for ca. two weeks at a Pension in that area, very convenient with public transportation.

Bill,

I'd also recommend Pension Peters and that neighborhood. It's located between Bahnhof Zoo and Savignyplatz stations, so very convenient for transportation. It's a pleasant area with lots of nice restaurants (including Schwarze's Cafe which as I recall is open 24 hours) and a great Pub right across the street (Dicke Wirtin's). If you're planning on taking any of the local walking tours, Original Berlin Walks departs from the area near Bahnhof Zoo.

When I went with my mother in 2012, we staying Berlin for a few days at the beginning and the end of our trip, with time in between in Dresden. So, we decided to split our stays, first in the former East at the Hotel Kastanienhof, and then in former West at the Pension Peters. Both of us, but particularly my mother, appreciated the contrast. While there's certainly no need to change hotels for someone with a short stay, since you have two weeks, you may want to spend a week each in different areas.

The Kastanienhof was more expensive but also nicer; I feel both were good places for the money spent (my mother was less thrilled with the Peters, however). Both are near streets with lots of good and varied restaurants (Oderberger Strasse near Hotel Kastenienhof and Bleibtreustrasse near Pension Peters); even if you're not staying in these areas, the variety of restaurants on these streets is noteworthy.

Thanks everybody for all your suggestions!! I ended up booking an apartment on Airbnb in Charlottenburg. I tried to find something in Kreuzberg or Prenzlauer Berg but had bad luck with owners who said the dates weren't available (although they showed up as available on the website), or just never responded to me. I'm near an U-Bahn stop which is what I wanted, so I'm sure it will work out fine.

Hi,

Which U-Bahn stop in Berlin-Charlottenburg?