Five Days in Berlin-Where to Stay?

Tim, For your stay in Berlin, I'd highly recommend Pension Peters. It's located between Bahnhof Zoo and Savignyplatz stations in a very nice part of town, with good restaurants nearby. Given the easy access to both S-Bahn and U-Bahn, it's relatively easy to get anywhere in Berlin from there. If you'll be taking any of the tours offered by the Original Berlin Walks (ie: Sachsenhausen & Orienenburg), it's only about an 8-10 minute walk to Bahnhof Zoo, which is where they meet. Some of the other sites you mentioned (Ministry of Finance building) are covered on some of their other walking tours. Check their website for details. Have you already visited the Topography of Terror Museum, the remnants of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie? They're all close to the Ministry of Finance building so would be easy to have a look if you're in the area. Checkpoint Charlie is VERY touristy, but I still found it interesting to have a look. There's also the interactive DDR Museum. Near Checkpoint Charlie, there's also the Trabi Tours office and street vendors selling Soviet-era military paraphernalia. Happy travels!

Like Ken, I very much enjoyed the DDR Museum, a hands-on way to learn about life in East Germany. I stayed at the Mercure Checkpoint Charlie. I really liked the hotel (and the free upgrade, for no apparent reason, didn't hurt). There's good transportation (metro, tram). No point to staying near the bahnhof ("Hbf", main train station), nothing else is near there. Checkpoint Charlie should be on your list - the nearby streets are lined with billboards all about the Wall - a free, outdoor museum. Skip the "official" museum, it's poorly organized and very overpriced. The train to Leipzig stops at Sudkreuz station, which may be easier for you to get to than the Hbf. It's a much smaller station, easier to manage.

Enjoy your time in Berlin. The German History Museum and the Treptower Park Memorial are absolute must visits, in my opinion. For hotels, I recommend the Arcotel Velvet, on Oranienburgstrasse. a 10-15 minute walk to Museuminsel and literally on top of an U-Bahn station and an S-Bahn station, plus free breakfast.
Last time I went, I stayed in an apartment on AirBnb that was wonderful, with a very considerate host and a very reasonable price. PM me if you would like specific details.

Hi, You've set up a full itinerary in Berlin. Logistically, maybe you can do Potsdam and the British War Cemetery on the same day. It would be a very full day indeed going to both places. On the opposite end, Berlin-Karlshorst for the German-Russian Relations museum is on the S-3 with Eckner as the terminus. Very easy to find the museum after exiting the Karlshorst station, signs point the way. I highly recommend this esoteric museum, esp. if you have a good knowledge of German. The same applies to the Resistance Museum (Gedenkstätte deutscher Widerstand). Plan on spending a good portion of the afternoon in each place. That Museum building in Karlshorst was also the site of the capitulation signed on 9 May. Given a choice between Tiergarten and Treptow, see the Soviet one at Treptow. Tiergarten pales in comparision. To access the Anti-War Museum in Wedding the closest way is by the U-Bahn.

I would stay in the east. The west is further away to most places you'll be visiting, a little more tricky to get around via public transit in general, and less "happening". The neighborhoods I like to stay in are around Hackeschermarkt, or Kreuzberg and Kreuzberg-Ost. Good transit connections, great food, art, and bar scene in all those neighborhoods. The German History Museum is an absolute must, in my opinion. We spent 3 hours there and didn't see everything.

Hi, There are advantages to staying in either the west or east. Should you choose to stay in the West, another poignant site having to do with mankind and war is the Käthe Kollwitz Museum on Fasanenstrasse, ca. 7 mins from Bahnhof Zoo towards Kurfürstendamm. She was an anti-war activist who managed to escape detection enough to survive the Nazi terror. Do you plan on driving in the Greater Berlin area? Seeing the museum in Berlin-Karlshorst may spark your curiousity to see Seelow of Seelow Heights fame. Still, the battlefield memorial/museum (Gedenkstätte Seelow Höhen) can be reached by train from Berlin.