You will never run out of things to see in Berlin; one of the world's greatest cultural and geopolitical hotspots, it is in a constant state of flux. It is also a global design center, garnering the UNESCO title of "City of Design." Lovers of design and architecture should keep their eyes open for amazing sights in every direction. Use this Design Destination Guide as a point of departure for your visit to Berlin.
See:
• Go up: Visit 1990s glass dome on top of the 1890s Reichstag or the iconic Berliner Fernsehturm (TV Tower) for an aerial view.
• Look down: In a city filled with monuments and memorials, two of the most thoughtful and beautifully designed memorials are in the ground: Stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) are cobblestone-sized brass plaques listing the name, dates of birth, deportation and death of victims of the Nazi regime. They are installed in front of the buildings where the victim resided. Look down to see Micha Ullman's memorial to the 1933 book burning at Bebelplatz; visitors peer down through a window in the middle of the square to find a library lined with empty shelves.
• Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation runs 18 incredible museums, including the final building of Mies van der Rohe's career, the Neue Nationalgalerie, and Hamburger Bahnhof (a contemporary art museum housed in an 1870s train station). Set aside a day for Museumsinsel, an island of five museums on the Spree.
• Alexanderplatz: It was a cattle market in the Middle Ages, the hub of Weimar Republic urban life documented in Döblin's novel (and the very very long Fassbinder TV miniseries adaptation) Berlin Alexanderplatz, and the City Center of East Berlin during the GDR years.
Tour:
• Go Art! Berlin Tours: Book a tour highlighting Bauhaus and Modernist architecture, or check out Berlin's green design scene.
• Reederei Spreetours: See the city by boat as you travel along the Spree.
• Walk along Karl-Marx-Allee: Originally Stalinallee, the massive Socialist boulevard is lined with housing built for workers in the Zuckerbackerstil (wedding cake style).
Shop:
• Kauf Dich Glücklich: The name means "shop yourself happy," and how could you not in this furniture shop/vintage boutique/ice cream parlor?
• Pro qm: This incredible book store has a great design section, and the space itself is something to see.
• Bauhaus-Shop: The shop at the Bauhaus Museum is everything you might imagine.
• Fleamarkets: Find old world treasures at the Straße des 17. Juni market, then head to Arkonaplatz in search of mid-century design.
Eat:
• Imbisse: All over the city, little kiosks sell food for Berliners on the move. Doner kebabs are ubiquitous and delicious Turkish sandwiches. Currywurst is a pork sausage served in curry ketchup that needs to be experienced firsthand to be understood.
• Cafe BilderBuch: Equal parts library and restaurant, BilderBuch is known for its brainy clientele and tasty cakes.
• Cafe Einstein Stammhaus: They bake their own bread and roast their own beans at this consummately European cafe.
• Wohnzimmer: The name means "living room," and it feels like you're sitting in a very cool one at the Helmholtzplatz cafe and bar.
Stay:
• Hotel Adlon: Steps from the Brandenburg Gate, the Adlon has been a Berlin icon since 1907.
• Honigmond: Guests at this beautiful and affordable hotel in the heart of Mitte are blown away by the garden tucked away in the back.
• Cosmo Hotel: This minimalist boutique hotel is a big hit with design-minded guests.
Please help us out and add to the guide in the comments - what are your recommendations for Berlin?
(Images: 1. Shutterstock, 2. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 3. VisitBerlin.de, 4. Pro qm, 5. Flickr user Mystery in the mail licensed for use by Creative Commons, 6. Kauf Dich Glücklich)
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Don't forget the amazing ice cream creations! Casa Italia on Unter den Linden has unbelievable sundaes exploding with fruit and some look like pasta dishes. http://www.casaitalia-berlin.de/ There are plenty of other places with good eis (frozen dessert treats) too. Allow more than one day for Museuminsul if you're a museum buff. Grill walkers selling sausages from a grill strapped right onto their body are a crazy sight on Alexanderplatz and elsewhere. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/world/europe/24bratwurst.html
I would love one of these guides for Frankfurt am Main :)
VEB Orange a store dedicated to selling items from the GDR it's all pretty mod fabulous. I got a set of gorgeous dishes there, white with red polkadots.
To be honest almost every store has wonderful treasures, Berlin seems to be a modernists dream so if you're going, have fun exploring and checking out the little shops along the way
Go to a military surplus store and get a "midget plug."
If you're interested in design you should stay at Miniloft in Mitte. It's an amazing building, all curvy with glass and steel. They have beautiful contemporary lofts and it's only 10 minutes from the also wonderfully designed main station.
I like the yellow streetcar (trolley or whatever) that is shown at the beginning of this section. Here in NYC the busses are plastered with ads, and they clash with the nice buildings that line the streets.
We went to Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Graz on our honeymoon 9 years ago.Really enjoyed Berlin and environ and the other cities.
One of my favorite Berlin places was Hackesche Hofe (restored courtyard building cluster with lots of design oriented businesses) http://www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/hackesche-hoefe/index.en.php and nearby sbahn station, Hackescher Markt. The latter is a great example of how Europeans make use of the arched (vaulted?) spaces below elevated brick train tracks/stations.
We stayed at the Honigmond and it was great.
Be sure to visit beautiful Berlin area parks.
Great art deco era museum near Schloss Charlottenberg (?).
Michelberger Hotel is a very nice hotel and bar/restaurant, check it out: http://www.michelbergerhotel.com/ It's affordable too!
@coconut hill
The Art Deco / Jugendstil museum near Schloss Charlottenburg is called Bröhan-Museum and definitely deserve a visit.
http://www.broehan-museum.de/en_index.html
@dardi: Yes, Brohan Museum, thanks!
Just saw this video of a cute restaurant, Katz Orange...in a courtyard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfPvEzNeAlw
This is a great list of recommendations for Berlin. I agree 100% with a tour of the Reichstag dome - really a must see on any trip in Berlin. The Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz is also worth visiting with its unusual roof and there you can also go in Europe's fastest lift to see Berlin from the Panorama point (http://www.panoramapunkt.de/en/potsdamer-platz.html). Gallerie Lafyettes is also beautiful inside - gorgeous staircases and tiled floors. And the interesting green water clock in the Europa Center is also worth admiring. As you say you will never get bored in Berlin as there is so much to see! There are also lots of great apartments that you can rent to have a beautiful home from home while in Berlin - like this one I stayed in last time I was in Berlin: http://www.ferienwohnung-24-berlin.com/unterkunft/auswert.php?id=4