The Student Room Group

City break for a young couple. Berlin?

Hello, my boyfriend and I are looking for a place to go on holiday this year. We prefer cities over beach holidays, but want somewhere that we can spend around 5 nights.

We've previously been to Barcelona and Rome, and are considering Berlin this year. Has anybody been to Berlin and know if 5 nights is okay there and if so, which area should we stay in that's central?

Or can anybody recommend any other cities where we can spend 5 nights with plenty of things to do? We're both students so don't want anywhere too expensive

Thanks :-)


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Berlin is beautiful in the winter (also FREEZING cold). The free city tours in Berlin incredible, you don't need to pay much to have a good time. You can easily spend 5 nights there and not run out of things to do. There are some really cool free wine bars (pay what you think your night was worth) and some great food.

You'll want to fly there. Use Skyscanner and look at the month view for the cheapest flights.

There's a good guide to the best cheap hotels here: https://www.booking.com/city/de/berlin.en-gb.html. I've found hotels to be pretty cheap and nice there, so just go with one in a good location with good reviews. Tripadvisor is always worth checking too.

Youth hostels can also be a good shout in Berlin (you can get private rooms), just make sure to check how far away they are. Some are SUPER far out (these ones are also generally quieter which can be a good thing). Scope them out on https://www.hostelworld.com/ and book ahead of time.

Other than that, I love Seville, Malaga, Paris, Amsterdam.
(edited 5 years ago)
Hello, I'm from Germany and not too fond of Berlin, but that might just be me personally. I heard it's amazing for clubbing if that's your sort of thing and of course there are tons of things for history fans (museums, mostly). I'm just not sure if five days aren't a bit too much (but then, I hardly ever stayed anywhere for more than three nights in a row except for London). You could look at hotels in Mitte, try to avoid Neukölln (high crime rates).
Reply 3
Original post by Ann-Sophie
Hello, I'm from Germany and not too fond of Berlin, but that might just be me personally. I heard it's amazing for clubbing if that's your sort of thing and of course there are tons of things for history fans (museums, mostly). I'm just not sure if five days aren't a bit too much (but then, I hardly ever stayed anywhere for more than three nights in a row except for London). You could look at hotels in Mitte, try to avoid Neukölln (high crime rates).


Hi, thanks for your reply! That's dissapointing, Clubbing isn't really what we're going for. Do you think 5 nights is too long? We aren't going there for definite because of that reason, so we're open to suggestions!


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Reply 4
I stayed in Berlin for a summer. Best city I've ever seen in Europe imo. So many attractions for all kinds of people.
I'm very passionate about this because it is my favorite city. If you ask me, Berlin is the perfect place for young people. You need to experience it :smile:
5 nights would be too long for me but maybe you can look up things to do in Berlin (you can ask if you want to know something specific) and figure out whether that'll fill up your days? I just think Barcelona and Rome are so full of things to do that Berlin might seem a bit lame compared to that. Maybe you could go to Berlin for a few days, then over to Hamburg (busses are cheap, starting at 8€ per person which is about £6) and fly back home from Hamburg? The bus only takes three hours so you wouldn't really lose too much time. If Hamburg sounds like something you could enjoy, of course.
How young are you ?

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Reply 7
Original post by AsandaLFC
How young are you ?

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I'm 19 and my boyfriend is 21 :-)


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Original post by Nichola95
I'm 19 and my boyfriend is 21 :-)


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Whose going to pay ?

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Reply 9
Original post by Nichola95
Hi, thanks for your reply! That's dissapointing, Clubbing isn't really what we're going for. Do you think 5 nights is too long? We aren't going there for definite because of that reason, so we're open to suggestions!


Another German here, and I disagree with Ann-Sophie - Berlin is great (especially in summer), and I hate clubbing :wink: The museums are superb (Museumsinsel etc.), there's tons of history to behold (Nazi era, cold war era etc.) and you can easily get out into the surrounding woods and have a dip in a lake. Berlin is also one of the cheapest cities in Europe, absolutely no comparison to London.
Original post by Sir Fox
Another German here, and I disagree with Ann-Sophie - Berlin is great (especially in summer), and I hate clubbing :wink: The museums are superb (Museumsinsel etc.), there's tons of history to behold (Nazi era, cold war era etc.) and you can easily get out into the surrounding woods and have a dip in a lake. Berlin is also one of the cheapest cities in Europe, absolutely no comparison to London.


Agreed. Agreed Agreed. I dreamt of going to Berlin for so many years, and when I got the chance of a weekend away (was living in northern France at the time) with return travel and a hotel guaranteed for 119 euros, I knew it was an offer too good to turn down. I ended up going with one of my uni friends (who is now my housemate), a friend of ours from another UK uni, and our friends from the USA and Canada. We ALL fell in love with it. Berlin has some ace tour guides and restaurants. The second day, we all split up and did our own thing, so I went travelling around the city by myself. Avoid the Fernsehturm though - I found that a disappointment. The Wall is great as is checkpoint Charlie.

Original post by Ann-Sophie
5 nights would be too long for me but maybe you can look up things to do in Berlin (you can ask if you want to know something specific) and figure out whether that'll fill up your days? I just think Barcelona and Rome are so full of things to do that Berlin might seem a bit lame compared to that. Maybe you could go to Berlin for a few days, then over to Hamburg (busses are cheap, starting at 8€ per person which is about £6) and fly back home from Hamburg? The bus only takes three hours so you wouldn't really lose too much time. If Hamburg sounds like something you could enjoy, of course.


I went to Berlin AND Rome last Spring for 2 days each, and I've got to say I honestly disagree with you. Berlin was one of the highlights of my tour of Europe. Rome was great, but I was a tad disappointed. Rome was part of a package holiday of a tour around Italy, whereas Berlin was just a weekend break. Venice is a much better part of Italy, as are Pisa and Florence! Milan's alright but it's not really anything special.
Original post by gagaslilmonsteruk
Rome was great, but I was a tad disappointed. Rome was part of a package holiday of a tour around Italy, whereas Berlin was just a weekend break. Venice is a much better part of Italy, as are Pisa and Florence! Milan's alright but it's not really anything special.


I'm divided about Rome - I've always been a fan of ancient Roman history and there's obviously no better place to go for that than Rome. When I was a teenager my family booked a private, two-day tour of Rome with a proper historian, a great experience. But at the same time I recall Rome being way too busy for my taste - congested, bad air, loud. I can't say I like Rome as a modern city.

Florence, on the other hand, is great in every respect :biggrin:
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 12
I've been to Berlin twice - the first time we stayed quite outside the city centre, near East Side Gallery, but the second we stayed right near Alexanderplatz and it was an ideal location. You can get round the city very easily on the U-bahn (and you can probably get away with not buying a ticket, too!)
Original post by Mackay
You can get round the city very easily on the U-bahn (and you can probably get away with not buying a ticket, too!)


You can probably get away not buying a ticket in a lot of public transport around the world, but as a visitor in another country it's rather rude to commit an offence right away, isn't it?
Reply 14
Thanks everyone! I'd love to go to Florence but think it's too expensive for us to go this year, Berlin seems like a good cheaper option! We were only worried that there wouldn't be enough to do for that amount of time, but I guess there is :smile:
I went with my boyfriend about a year ago and we loved it! We stayed for 4 nights (Monday - Friday) and we found that plenty of time to see what we wanted. We stayed in an area called Steglitz, it's not very central but everything is so easily connected that it didn't really matter and it felt safe. I've heard that Krakow in Poland is also cheap with a lot of things to do! Booked to go this summer :smile:
Original post by Nichola95
Hello, my boyfriend and I are looking for a place to go on holiday this year. We prefer cities over beach holidays, but want somewhere that we can spend around 5 nights.

We've previously been to Barcelona and Rome, and are considering Berlin this year. Has anybody been to Berlin and know if 5 nights is okay there and if so, which area should we stay in that's central?

Or can anybody recommend any other cities where we can spend 5 nights with plenty of things to do? We're both students so don't want anywhere too expensive

Thanks :-)


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Berlin sounds like a great place to go! I would suggest living around Alexanderplatz, as it is a very central location and gets you anywhere across the city. Many museums and attractions are walking distance from Alexanderplatz and you won't get lost as long as you can see the TV Tower!

Personally, I think 5 nights is sufficient, but I think it depends on what you are interested in. Given that Berlin is a city full of history, there are plentiful museums and sites that you can visit, but if you are not into that, then you might find it somewhat boring. Alternative culture is popular in Berlin (particularly on the East side with the graffiti artwork on walls) and there are walking tours that do take you to these places.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 17
I went to Berlin a couple of months back, its a nice city with a good night life. Transport is easy enough with the Underground system. I'd definately recomend it. If you go some German Beer (Krombacher or Berliner) and a Currywurst is a must!
Berlin is amazing.

One of the easiest cities to navigate, even has 24 hour public transport on the weekends! Awesome city, try and stay in the Mitte area if it is your first time. Venturing out from here to see all the sights would easy as.

Matthew.
Original post by Sir Fox
You can probably get away not buying a ticket in a lot of public transport around the world, but as a visitor in another country it's rather rude to commit an offence right away, isn't it?


Yep. And the reason why they manage to keep the public transport so cheap is that they don't have to spend all the money British public transport does on infrastructure to make sure that everyone pays. It's less than 7 euros a day - the same as a pint of beer in London. Just pay it.

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