Berlin on Own

[Janner13]

We were thinking of taking the ship tour into Berlin and then doing on our own. Any recommendations for transportation within the city and things that we must see?

[isutru]

I would use caution for that plan. Sites are not necessarily that close and public transportation is not that easy. We were in Berlin this month with a private guide and I am very glad we did that, and we very rarely use any guide. Nonetheless, I'm sure there are people who do it solo.

[Ljunggren]

Berlin is a huge city, but very easy to navigate. This due to one of the worlds best undergroundsystems. Buy a one day ticket in on of the machines on the platform, and dont forget to validate it! Enjoy!

As for sights to see: Fehrnseturm am Alexenaderplatz; a wonderful view of the city in the rotation restaurant - be there early to avoid looong lines. U-bahn/S-bahn Alexanderplatz.

KaDeWe, a very upmarket departmentstore on Kurfurstendam; dont miss the food deparment on the top floor, you have never seen anything like it! U-bahn Wittenbergplatz.

Berliner Unterwelten http://berliner-unterwelten.de/home.1.1.html a facinating jorney through bunkers of WWII and the cold war U-Bahn/S-Bahn Gesundbrunnen

 

+ another 1000 interesting sights, just google, Berlin is awesome!

[MeHeartCruising]

We were thinking of taking the ship tour into Berlin and then doing on our own. Any recommendations for transportation within the city and things that we must see?

 

I did this and was very happy with my decision. And I didn't even use transportation once I was dropped off by the ship's bus at the central location. I am healthy and simply walked all over the place to see what I wanted to see. However, I did not go inside very many buildings. It was mostly a walking tour thru the city. Once you decide what you want to visit and how long you need for them, you'll have a better idea if walking or the excellent underground system works best. Or a combination of both.

[buggins0402]

We were thinking of taking the ship tour into Berlin and then doing on our own. Any recommendations for transportation within the city and things that we must see?

 

Do you know where the ship drops you off? Much of your time will be the bus trip back and forth so time would be limited. For a day in Berlin, I'd just focus on Bradenberg gate and Reichstag area and walking down Unter den Linden to the TV tower and perhaps taking a quick S bahn trip to visit the remaining portion of the wall. S-bahn and U-bahn combine to create one of the best city transportation systems I've seen.

[Ultima Thule]

For a one day visit a Hop-on Hop-off bus might be an alternative. There are at least three companies, City Circle, Berlin City Tour and Berliner City Tour.

 

The city transportation system is excellent and easy to use once you got used to it. No ticket checks, no gates. Its just to get on or off.

Most useful would be:

 

S-bahn is a fast way to get between main railway station and former west and east Berlin centers (Zoologisher Garten-Hauptbahnhof-Alexanderplatz). No need to worry about the train numbers (S3, S5, S7, S75) as thay all stop on all stations downtown, just keep track of the direction.

 

Bus 100 is very popular for the tourists. Zoologisher Garten-Lützow Platz - Grosser Stern- Reichtag- Branderburger Tor - Unter den Linden - Museum island - Alexanderplatz.

 

U2 would be the most useful of the subway lines. Again its between Zoologisher Garten and Alexanderplats with stops at Potsdamer Platz (prewar commecial center) and Stadtmitte (city center). Direction "Pankow " is eastwards, direction "Ruhleben" is westwards. that's all you need to remember.

 

Note that all "Unter den Linden" is a huge construction site as they are working on a new subway.