Which neighborhood to stay in Berlin?

It's been about 10 years since I was there - I believe the area we stayed in was called Charlottenburg. We stayed just south of the busy street Kurfurstendamm in a small hotel. The hotel is closed now, but we liked the area. It was near one of the main train stations Zoo Bahnhof, and near a few metro stops. Plenty of shops and restaurants. I was there with my two daughters and we felt safe walking around at night. There are lots of neighborhoods, though. I'm sure others will have good ideas.

I stayed for a week in an apartment near Viktoriapark in the Kreuzberg district. There were many local shops, markets, restaurants and supermarkets within a short walk plus the U - Bahn station got us to all the sights in a few minutes. I would certainly stay there again when I return.

A visit to the former airport at Tempelhof was interesting and only a 15 minute walk away.

Your age group, interests and preferences (budget, nightlife yes / no, old / modern style, lively / quiet, ...) would help me to give a relevant suggestion.

Hello - thanks for your reply.

We are young 50s (or we like to think we are...). We have never been to Berlin before so look forward to a combination of history, food and a little night life (perhaps not as much as we did in our 20-30s). As we are flying from the other side of the world - our budget is not the lowest or the highest. I have read that Mitte is a good neighborhood to stay?

-- smiling --
Berlin-Mitte is a huge district with appr. 40 sqkm area and nearly 400k residents plus guests :-) It is one of the ten largest administration districts in Europe. Berlin-Pankow is larger and close to #1 Hamburg-Wandsbek.

Back to your question. So, as you started talking of neigborhoods this is the better idea. We call that "Kieze".

A really beautiful central place is Gendarmenmarkt - little more expensive but it depends on when you travel and how much in advance you will book. Not so much nightlife directly there but in good reach, e.g. Blue Man Group at Potsdamer Platz.

My gut feeling wants to recommend you Breitscheidplatz / Kurfürstendamm / Zoologischer Garten area, also Savignyplatz. Good nightlife with restaurants and bars (some with live music) in the side streets. Walking and HoHo bus tours start in the western city, even most history sights are in the eastern center. By S-Bahn you will get there very fast with a lot of sights but you can take also buses 100 and 200.

Another option is the area between Hackescher Markt and Rosenthaler Strasse: closer to sights, some restaurants. For me a little bit too touristic already.

A still somehow hidden place but close to center place in one of the most beautiful 1900 neighborhoods is Bergmannkiez. I really like it because you will still find some Berlin orignal people there (not locals only). Also some lovely places such as "Konditorei Frau Behrens Torten". With U6 ou are very fast at eastern center. For nightlife local famous Yorckschlösschen is close and also English Theatre Berlin.

Tip: Make yourself familiar with Berlin public transport.

Have a good time in Berlin and greetings to NZ - my cousin lives on southern island :-)

When do you plan to visit Berlin?

On this same topic, we are also planning a trip to Berlin in June. Any recommendations of hotels would be greatly appreciated. We are in our 60's, so the night life is not really an interest (at least after 9:00!) We are looking for a hotel in a safe neighborhood with restaurants nearby, in an area convenient to transportation for seeing the sights. The budget is moderate. We have looked in the guidebook, but are overwhelmed with choices and a bit aimless since we don't know the neighborhoods. Does anyone have a favorite hotel?
Thanks!

My wife and I stayed at Hampton by Hilton Berlin City West, Charlottenburg, last May and found this neighborhood and hotel to be a good choice. We stayed on Hilton points, otherwise I probably would have looked for something a little less expensive.

Just as info: whole Berlin is a very safe area compared to other international destinations (e.g US). We have no no-go areas and a very strict regulation on firearms' ownership.

For tourists at crowded and touristy places tricky pickpockets and donation fraudsters are the only "thread". Police of Berlin has an information and prevention flyer for details at bottom of linked page.

We stayed at Savigny Platz area, and liked it, stayed at Pension Peter, a walking distance to Savigny Platz SBahn station.

@vftravels, we plan on using Hilton points in Berlin, too! I was eyeing the Hampton by Hilton Berlin City Centre Alexanderplatz on the other side of town. How did your Hampton do with access to public transportation, length of time to get to major sites, etc.? (We are considering Reichstag, Berlin Wall Memorial, DDR Museum, KaDeWe, Brandenburg Gate - did you visit any of those and if so, how easy was it to get to from your Hampton?

I found the Hilton we stayed at to be reasonably convenient. Museum Island takes some time to get to, and the Gemaldegalerie is a long walk from any public transit. It was fine for the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate. Ten minute walk to Savignyplatz S-Bahn. Alexanaderplatz would also be great but I did not regret staying in Charllotenburg. We were right near one of the hop on hop off bus stops too.

We stayed at the Leonardo Hotel Berlin Mitte for a week and would happily stay there again. It was an easy walk to public transportation, restaurants, and shops, and we liked its location close to the River Spree (which we thought was pretty). It was also nice and quiet, and relatively budget-friendly.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187323-d6896648-Reviews-Leonardo_Hotel_Berlin_Mitte-Berlin.html

https://www.leonardo-hotels.com/leonardo-hotel-berlin-mitte

Thanks to everyone for the hotel recommendations! It is very helpful. We will check out all of your suggestions.

Enjoy your trip! Our upcoming trip to Berlin is a visit to the grand baby so the neighborhood is already decided.

We were in Berlin last Sept and Oct and stayed at Pension Peters in Savignyplatz area it was wonderful tremendous breakfast included. Easy access to all the transportation right on one of the main bus routes for sight seeing etc.and walking distance to great restaurants. We especially liked Dicke Wirtins and one of the restaurants nearly next door. Very safe area we felt and not so many people. When we left to come back home we stayed at the Ibis closer to the zoo for one night also great breakfast very clean east to get to bus back to airport.

Quick mention of mittendrin boutique hotel. Four-bedroom hotel/B&B in a large flat in an early 20th century building on Nürnberger Strasse, just off Ku'damm near Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Owned by the lovely Sabine, who is a former stage actress from Munich. She will do laundry for a very reasonable fee. Amazing breakfast. U station within half a block. Wittenbergplatz U station and buses about 2 blocks away. Zoo Station (S/U) about a 10-minute walk. NO AIR CONDITIONING, which can be a problem in summer. I've stayed there 27 nights over the last 3 years -- 6 more scheduled in early May. My favorite place to stay pretty much anywhere.

thanks all for your replies and advice!

My wife and I were in the same boat as you and we're somewhat overwhelmed by the variety of neighborhoods, the pros and cons of each, how each would influence our sightseeing, etc. We also went through the RS guide for Berlin and tried to book but hotels we're filling up since we are there the first week in August and it's the International Beer Festival (and we don't drink). Finally decided on a centralized location - in the Mitte - at the Melia on Friedrichstrasse. It's right on the Spree River (if you call you can get a river view) and just blocks from Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate, etc. Just across the river is Prenzlauer Burg. The hotel is also a block or two from the Friedrichstrasse train station.

I always stay in the area of Savignyplatz but not at Pension Peters although located at the corner of Kantstrasse and Savignyplatz, the location is ideal...restaurants of numerous cuisines, internet cafes, grocery stores, S-Bahn and bus stops, close to K-damm, and the post office, etc.

Numerous Pensionen and small hotels are situated in that neighborhood.