Travel diaries: Berlin travel guide- Things you must know and best places to visit

Berlin travel guide, Part 1

Hi there! how are you today? I’ve been waiting to write this blog post for the longest time and the time has finally arrived. As you know, I visited Berlin at the beginning of March and fell deeply in love with this city. It definitely shares the first place as my favorite city in the world with London. Something about Berlin feels like home to me, the environment, atmosphere and the amazing people, everything was so amazing and inviting.

Unfortunately, I was injured during my stay there. I slipped and feel on solid ice, and had to go to the ambulance to stitch my eyebrow. But without this injury, I wouldn’t have experienced the full, wonderful things Berlin has to offer- the amazing people who helped me and served first aid called the ambulance and were so nice, the professional surgent and nurse who relaxed me and made such a great job. I wouldn’t change a thing!

So… without further ado, let’s start with my guide to Berlin

Things you need to know before visiting Berlin

+ I highly recommend you to reserve tickets to the Reichstag as soon as you order your flight tickets. Tickets to the Reichstag always sell out so fast, so when you 100% sure you’re going to visit Berlin- book your tickets right here. They are completely free, and you have the option to choose between a 90-minute Guided tour and a visit to the Dome of the Reichstag, or only for a visit to the dome.

+ Berlin’s public transport is amazing! Berlin is divided into zones, and I suggest you buy the daily ticket for zones A+B (it costs 7€). If you need to travel to Schonefeld Airport, buy a ticket to zones A+B+C.

+ In Berlin you don’t need to buy a specific ticket to a specific public transport option. Berlin has a wonderful. well-developed public transport and you have many options to choose from- Buses, upper (S-Bahn) and lower (U-Bahn) trains, trams and more. Your ticket will be valid at any public transport option you’d want

+ When you buy a ticket, you MUST stamp it on a red machine on the platform or inside the bus. There are red machines that will allow you to stamp your ticket. When you stamp a ticket, the date and time will appear on it. You need to stamp a ticket only once and travel with it on every single public transport option you want. Your ticket won’t be valid for full 24 hours, it’ll only be valid until 3:00 AM (the daily ticket).

+ It doesn’t matter when you buy the tickets to the Berlin public transport. You can buy them even a year before using them- as soon as you don’t stamp them. I suggest you buy all the tickets on the first day so you won’t need to go through the same process every single day. Pay attention to the zones, because as I mentioned if you need to go to Schonefeld Airport you need the ABC ticket.

+ I highly recommend you look for a hotel in Mitte area, this is the best location to stay in while visiting Berlin. For my personal hotel recommendation- you’d need to wait for the second part blog post 🙂 If you don’t want to miss it, subscribe to my newsletter and follow my social-media platforms.

+ Check the weather a day before your flight. Berlin’s weather forecast is changing every day, so this is the best way to get ready.

Sightseeing

1.Brandenburg Gate

This gate is the most popular and one of the most important symbols in Berlin and whole Germany. Brandenburg Gate was a symbol of peace in the years following its establishment, but during the Cold War it received a completely different meaning: symbolizing the separation between the two parts of the city, east and west. in 1989 after the wall was demolished until now, this gate symbolizes freedom and is a valuable symbol to Berliners and Germans.

Tip: I suggest you visit Brandenburg gate during the sunset when it’s all lit, it’s so beautiful 🙂

2.Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The huge Holocaust memorial consists of 2711 concrete blocks, arranged in different heights and sizes and are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere. It represents a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with humanity. Walking there between those huge blocks made me so emotional. The location of this memorial and the massive size of it are a reminder of the cruel things that happened and will never happen again.

+Tip: there’s an underground museum right under this memorial, the entrance is free and you should definitely check it out.

3.Führerbunker

The Furherbunker’s was the main and last of the Führer Headquarters used by Hitler. Its location wasn’t marked until 2006 in order to prevent it from becoming a neo-Nazi center. When you’ll arrive there you won’t see the actual bunker, because it was destroyed back in 1947. What you will see, is an empty parking lot with a little sign that explains all about this place.

Tip: read about this place before your visit. Coming there without any information is useless and meaningless.

4. French Cathedral

This beautiful Cathedral was built about 300 years ago and is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I’ve seen in the city. It’s located in a beautiful place and I recommend you to visit there if you want to take some magical pictures.

5. Book burning memorial at Bebelplatz

This underground memorial a library with empty shelves commemorates the book-burning at Bebelplatz. The emptiness resembles the loss of the books by those who the Nazis ostracised and persecuted, the ones who whose stories were no longer allowed to be told. Symbolically, the underground bookshelves have space for around 20,000 books, the same number of the burnt-books.

Must visit

1.Reichstag Building

The building of Greman parliament has so much history.  Beyond the historical and political importance of the building, it’s an outstanding architectural work, which reflects one of the outstanding features of Berlin – preserving the details of the past, alongside progress and renewal- a magical thing that you’ll see everywhere in this city between historical buildings and skyscrapers. The Dome of this building is a modern touch that symbolizes the transparency of the government. The Reichstag symbolizes Berlin’s unity and is one of the most Important symbols to Germans, too. I didn’t have the chance to visit the Reichstag, unfortunately, even though I had the tickets because I was injured two hours before I had to go there. But no worries, I’m sure I’ll visit there as soon as possible!

2. Berlin wall / East Side Gallery

This wall divided East and West Berlin during the Cold War. The presence of the wall created a split among the city’s residents since residents of the western side were not allowed to enter the eastern side. Many escape attempts by desperate people ended in death and the wall made everyone suffer. There are only a few parts of the wall exist today. One of them is the East Side Gallery, which is one of the most well-known sites in Berlin and is probably the most important proof that in the past there was a wall that divided Berlin in two. When coming to visit the East Side Gallery, there’s a 1-kilometer walk waiting for you there, along with about 105 paintings created by talented artists from all over the world.

3. Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror is a museum located where the headquarters of the Gestapo, the high command and security service of the SS were located during the Nazi regime. this is one of the most-visited places of remembrance in Berlin. In this museum, you’ll find an exhibition dealing with the suppression and cruelty of the Nazis. The exhibition documents the actions of Gestapo soldiers and the SS. The are many hard-to-watch pictures and content in the museum, but it is an important place to visit, see and even hear- there are recordings that you can actually listen to during your visit there.

+Tip: there’s a visitor’s notebook at the exit from the museum. Leave your thoughts there, it’s so important!

4. Ritter Sport Chocolate Museum

This place is a must-visit for the chocolate lovers out there. This museum offers a lovely experience where you can make your own chocolate bar. There’s, of course, a vegan-friendly option too. just choose the Dark chocolate and ask one of the employees for the vegan toppings list. I added popping candy, coconuts, and almonds to my chocolate, It was so good! While the chocolate is in the making, you can spend some time at the museum. It’s located upstairs and there you’ll read about chocolate and use the Ritter Sport photobooth. It’s such a stunning memento from Berlin! After 25-40 minutes, depending on the number of visitors, your chocolate will be ready.

Tip: Come to visit this museum as early as possible- this way you won’t need to wait or stand in a long line.

Where to shop

Alexanderplatz

This is the famous shopping area in Berlin where you can find the spectacular TV tower and stores like Primark, TkMaxx, C&A DM drogerie markt, and more.

Alexa Mall

Located near Alexanderplatz, and is filled with many local and international stores like Hm, Kiko Milano, mango, Zara, Pimkie, etc and a huge Cinema. This mall is HUGE and super busy during the weekend, I personally prefered visiting Mall of Berlin which was less busy.

Mall of Berlin

This mall is absolutely gorgeous. The interior design of it is brilliant and I really enjoyed spending time there. It isn’t as big or crowded as Alexa mall and I really like the atmosphere there. There are many well-known stores there, for example,  C&A, DM drogerie-markt, Bershka, French Connection, Hm and more. If you’re getting hungry during your visit there, I recommend you to check out Boussi Falafel. They have many vegan options and the food is delicious.

DM drogerie-Markt

As I already mentioned in my Prague Guide – DM is my favorite drugstore. It’s affordable, the prices there are unbelievable and they offer many vegan and cruelty-free options. I highly recommend you to check out their home brands like Alverde and Balea, which are cruelty-free and the vegan products are marked as vegan. Other brands I love- Lavera, Essence, and Catrice. Their food section is vegan-friendly as well and you’ll be able to find there things like spreads, tofu, hot-dogs, and chocolate. DM is my favorite place in Berlin, Seriously!

Veganz Supermarket

Oh, this place… The vegan heaven. This vegan supermarket is everything that I’ve dreamt about and more. Veganz is a 100% vegan supermarket that offers literally everything- From vegan pizza and cheese to vegan meat, yogurt, cookies, gummy bears and shrimps to vegan dog food. You can even find there vegan cosmetics and magazines. They also have a tiny restaurant inside the supermarket where you can drink your coffee, eat a vegan cake and enjoy a vegan croissant with cheese (DO NOT MISS THIS VEGAN CROISSANT!). I promise you 100% satisfaction there. I want to live inside this supermarket.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post!

Read Part 2 of this guide: click here

+READ ABOUT A VEGAN-FRIENDLY, SUSTAINABLE, CHIC HOTEL IN BERLIN HERE!

+Read about more experiences in Berlin + more vegan restaurants here

Interested in booking a hotel in Berlin or any other place in the world?   I highly recommend you to book your hotel with Booking.com by clicking here

want to learn how to plan the best trip ever? >> click here

For my ultimate packing guide (+packing list) click here

XOXO,

Noa

Historical info sources: Wikipedia, VistBerlin.de