Which Part of Berlin to Stay in

Berlin is a massive sprawl of a city. Close to the sites would be Mitte, but you may not necessarily find small family owned hotels or lively nightlife unless you're on Oranienburger Strasse. Prenzlauer Berg and Charlottenburg have what you're describing but are a decent, not unreasonable, ride away from the sites.

I'd say the closest to the neighborhoods you've described is Prenzlauer Berg. I've been able to rent wonderful listings off Airbnb there and the neighborhood has a great food scene, mostly international, plus some cool boutique shops your daughter might be interested in. On Sundays, the Mauerpark in what was once a no-man's-land turns into an interesting flea market.

I love Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain but they're like the German version of Portland, so if hipster-ism wears thin with you, go for visits only. I've never stayed in Charlottenburg but it seems like the west side version of Prenzlauer Berg. Consider renting bikes wherever you stay; traffic is surprisingly light for a large city and very, very bike friendly. It will help with the huge distances you will have to cover to see all you want. PM me with any questions.

Emily

Google maps will show the neighborhood names when you zoom in close enough. Berlin has a good transport network, so you will be able to reach anywhere on the U-bahn, S-bahn, or tram.

Here's my Berlin trip report from 2012, with my reviews of hotels found in Rick Steves - Hotel Kastanienhof in Mitte right near Prenzlauer Berg, and Pension Peters in Charlottenburg. Sorry if it's a bit hard to read - some of the formatting got mixed up when the Helpline was turned into this Forum: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/berlin-and-dresden-trip-september-2012

Although Hotel Kastanienhof is not so close to the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, it's on a tram line that goes to many central sights easily. Pension Peters is right near the Savignyplatz S-Bahn stop. As said above, Berlin is HUGE, and you can't be near everything no matter where you stay.

If you want a 3 star level hotel, the Kastanienhof may suit; the Peters is more basic.

We stayed at Myer's Hotel last September and thoroughly enjoyed the stay - we would do it again. Lots of good restaurants and places to shop nearby and it's about a half block from the tram or Straßenbahn, which is a wonderful way to get just about anywhere you want to go in Berlin. If you purchase the Berlin Welcome Card then you can ride any of the trains or buses as much as you want. There are various options available that you should check out before purchasing. I would suggest buying it at the airport, but you can also find it at the train station by Alexanderplatz.

Hi,

What you have listed as sights to see, I would suggest staying in Mitte. Prenzlauer Berg is too far in the east, and forget about Kreuzberg I went through part of it once, finally in 2007 after 40 years visiting Berlin, didn't interest me at all. Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg fit you wish list as regards to restaurants, lively, well attended places.

If you want a more conventional, traditional setting on where to stay, I would suggest the areas of Charlottenburg, which is in the western part, main streets Kantstrasse, Kurfürstendamm, or Wilmersdorf. Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg are more youth oriented but that's changing too.

Probably I would compare Berlin-Charlottenburg to Bloomsbury if I'm not too far off. To get to the sights in the eastern part you can take the S-Bahn at Savignyplatz or Bahnhof Zoo. I stay in a simple Pension a couple of blocks from Kantstrasse close to Savignyplatz in Charlottenburg, well served by public transportation and numerous restaurants.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and information. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time getting a feel for Berlin, and where I think we should stay. Maybe I'm influencing my own memories, and I know that in several cities, it took a couple of stays to figure out our best place to stay in a city, so maybe I've gone through this for other places. It's part of the fun of researching a trip, I guess!

Lexma,

I quite like the area in the western part along Kantstraße, between Bahnhof Zoo and Savignyplatz stations. Transportation is very convenient, there are lots of nice restaurants and Pension Peters was very comfortable.

I like Spandauer Vorstadt the most. It's the best preserved quarter of Berlin with some iconic buildings like Hackesche Höfe, the New Synagogue, Tacheles or Volksbühne, it's hip and trendy, public transport is great (S-Bahn, 2 U-Bahn lines, 3 or 4 trams), and you can walk to Museumsinsel or the Alex.

Lexma, I had the same problem before my first visit to Berlin. Take a look at booking.com, you can filter by area and see the locations on a city map. You can also read reviews by recent guests. Not necessary to book through them, but their website has some useful information.

Hi Lexma,

Maybe I have a bias toward the western part of the city, but I have always liked the area around Savigny Platz. I have stayed on the Platz itself, as well as at hotels a block or two either way on Kant Strasse. There are also some excellent places to eat very near there.

On my only visit, I stayed at the Mercure Checkpoint Charlie. I'd go back in a flash. The location was (longish) walking distance (20-30 minutes) to Museum Island, Brandenberg Gate, etc., but also close to a U-bahn station and buses that got me to places faster (or home when I was too tired to walk anymore).

I stayed at the Hotel Kastanienhof during my last stay in Berlin. We didn't use the tram at all, but walked three blocks or so to the SBahn. There was an UBahn station about 3-4 blocks in the the other direction. I thought it was quite good and we were seeing all the same sights that you have listed. The walk to the SBahn took us past a lot of restaurants so we previewed them in the AM and made decisions at night. :) There was lots of variety within easy walking distance. One night we did go to Potzdamer Platz to see a movie and ate in that area.

Pam

If you can stay in Prenzlauer Berg, you will be very happy. It's very "boho" which is to say, lots of nice restaurant options, family friendly and not too "hip" and edgy like Kreuzberg (which is increasingly run over with American beatniks). It's residential enough but close to Mitte and the museums, and it's all in all a very beautiful area for people watching, shopping, eating, etc. There are nice parks and a good Sunday market with cheese and produce etc.

Enjoy!

A lot of people are recommending Kantstrasse/ West Berlin/ Charlottenburg. Based on your preferences for Bloomsbury and St germain I think that the Charlottenburg area to the west will strike you as a little dull or quotidien. Take my advice and go to Prenzlauer. It's gorgeous and handy to almost everything you are doing.

Lexma, I stayed for a week in Berlin in 2012 and went through some similar wondering. Ultimately, I decided on Mitte, and that was the right choice for me. I stayed the week in an apartment right by the Hackescher Markt S-bahn and found the location ideal. Berlinhabitat.com rents that apartment and several others in Mitte for what you'd pay for a hotel (or less). Highly recommend this option (or looking for something comparable in Wimdu or VRBO). We're going back this summer and have rented the same place for our stay. Lots of restaurants and shopping nearby, and you're halfway between Museum Insel and Alexanderplatz. [Took a couple of bike tours that meet at/left from Alexanderplatz--don't remember the company, but that was lots of fun.] Enjoy your stay.

Be aware that the Hackescher Markt area, while safe enough, has a ton of tourists, nightclub spots, and after dark, prostitution that is dealt out in the open. You will see it, for sure, if you visit the area at night.

Prenzlauer Berg is, frankly, a more gentrified area.

My wife and I plan to spend a couple days in Berlin before taking the train to Szczecin, Poland. Our train leaves from Gesundbrunnen station at 8 in the morning so we want to be close to the station. I found a hotel that has very good reviews; it's named Hotel Big Mama (we got a chuckle out of the name). We are meeting a friend in Berlin who is from a couple hours away. She's concerned because an associate said that it's not in a good area. Does anyone have experience with this area?

Thanks,

Jimbobob, Hotel Big Mama gets quite good reviews on both TA and Booking.com, only negative seems to be the location but if you're not planning to wander the streets in the middle of the night it's probably just fine.

stay close to HackesherMarkt
easy jump on and off the S-bahn, good restaurants..... great place to set and watch people