Berlin worth it?

Really, the only way you can determine if Berlin is "worth it" is to do a bit of research either on the net or in a guide book to see if the attractions of a world class city like Berlin are up your strasse or not. I would go back in a minute if I were not so obsessed with Paris.

What is your definition of "sightseeing." To me, it's seeing the sites that includes museums, historical monuments, natural beauty, etc.

Another one of the unanswerable questions. I get criticized for calling these questions silly but I personally believe that nearly everything is worth seeing once. Only then can YOU determine if it was worth it. I cannot determine that for you.

Lily, Berlin is definitely worth seeing (you could spend months there and still want to come back) but since you're already visiting two large cities (Frankfurt and Munich) and only have ten days, I would skip Berlin this trip, especially if you're not into museums and history. You'll have more than enough of both in Frankfurt and Munich, lots of interesting street life and scenery, with sidewalk restaurants, shops, parks, etc. Have a great trip!

You can visit Berlin for several days at least, without going into a single museum. This is a large, capital city. I guess I am not sure what you mean by sightseeing if you do not like history. Do you just want scenery? If so, then Munich is going to be better for you.

But Berlin is definitely worth it, I would want to go there before any place else in Germany. I am a tiny bit biased, as I live here in this country, but the whole Bavarian thing just does not do it for me. Guess I am more into the history thing, WW2, the cold war, the Berlin airlift, the concentration camps, the wall, that kind of stuff.

What are you doing in Munich if you're not into history or museums? All that and more you can do in Berlin most certainly as well. If even our Frankfurt promoter Jo is recommending Berlin as the #1 German city to visit you should believe us that it is with NO DOUBT a place to see.

However, if you only have 10 days for the entire trip and Munich and Frankfurt are already part of it you need to consider carefully how much time you'll spend in each place. You need at a bare minimum 2-3 days for the city and you'll just scratch the surface - not to mention the travel time to get there from the south of Germany.

If you go to Berlin, to really get even just a taste of what it has to offer would be a minimum of 3 days. With it being so far out from the rest of your trip, if you go, you need to devote a fair amount of time to it. We spent four nights there last summer and saw most of what we wanted, but a couple more days would have been perfect. In reading your other post, I would opt out of Berlin this trip and concentrate on building an itinerary with the other locations you mentioned (and pairing them down a bit).

Having been to all three cities I would choose Munich and Berlin over Frankfurt (no offense to people from Frankfurt), I just think Munich and Berlin have more to offer.

BUT getting to Berlin will take up a good portion of a day unless flying.

With just ten days I would concentrate on southern Germany as the sights with Alps are more spectacular.

Don't just stay in the cities, I think Germany's true charm is in the villages and towns.

Thanks for all the info. I think I do want to visit Berlin but I'll have to wait for the next trip to Germany, since we will be so far away in the Bavaria Region and only with 10 days.

Definitely get to Berlin at some point. We only were there two full days, and I could easily go back for a week. Everyone in the family loved Berlin, and I want to drag my parents there, because neither has been, even though they have spent over three decades combined living in Germany.

The shopping alone is worth it!

Lily,
I lived in Frankfurt in the 1980s and saw Berlin before the wall came down and then went back in 2005. There is a lot of history there. So if you are into history and learning something about what it was like to live behind the Berlin Wall or World War 2 and then to see the changes or not so many changes today..then it is well worth it!

For us, we were surprised how underdeveloped east Berlin still was compared to West Berlin. West Berlin is becoming the new Paris of Europe with the jet setters.

Part of travelling to Europe for me, is always learning some history and culture. Sightseeing is relative of course. Have a great time.
Irene

I was doing a tour of Germany and had to go to Berlin on business but didn't want to because I thought it sounded dull. Well, was I wrong. I fell madly in love. Berlin is fantastic, interesting, vibrant, beautiful, full of interesting sights. Stay in east berlin. East Berlin is just fabulous. I loved Munich but Berlin was my favorite.