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Top 8 Things to do and Attractions in Berlin Germany!

Although Berlin is the capital of Germany, many people do not know the things to do and attractions in this wonderful city! Here is a quick low down of all the things you can do here (click on the links to see our coverage of each of them)

1. Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate is an iconic landmark in the whole of Berlin. A popular tourist site that is also home to many embassies, Brandenburg Gate sees many events taking place in and around its premise.

2. Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie : American soldier as you enter the Allies American Sector

One of the main crossings between East and West Germany, Checkpoint Charlie has seen a fair share of action during the Cold War, including the stand-off between 10 tanks from Soviet and American forces in 1961.

3. Berlin Wall & East Side Gallery

Cute Watch Tower @ Berlin Wall East Side Gallery

Besides the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre, the Berlin wall is also home to some fine street art. At the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery, you can see some iconic art work such as the cute watch tower above.

4. Berlin Zoo

The Alkapa at the entrance of the Berlin Zoo!

The Berlin Zoo is an excellent place to spend the day with the kids. There are some interesting animals such as the Alkapa which cannot be seen in our Zoo.

5. Alexanderplatz

Alexanderplatz and its iconic King Neptune Sculpture

Alexanderplatz was featured in the Bourne Supremacy where Jason Bourne met a contact in the movie. It is also close to iconic structures such as the Berlin TV tower, Red City Hall as well this sculpture of King Neptune seen above.

6. Berlin Central Station

Futuristic Berlin Central Station (Hauptbahnhof)

If you’re arriving by train, you would not miss this iconic train station. The Berlin Central Station is covered completely with glass on the exterior that gives it its futuristic feel. Great photo opportunities!

7. Berliner Currywurst

Is the Berliner Currywurst all that its hyped out to be? Find out in our post!

8. Hotel Stays

Berlin Hotel Huge room with beds and living area!

We stayed at the Hotel Amelie Berlin as well as the Berliner Hof Hotel. Do check out our posts about the hotels!

Related Posts

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Top 8 Things to do and Attractions in Berlin Germany
Berliner Hof Hotel – A great base to explore Berlin
Berlin Hauptbahnhof : Futuristic Berlin Central Station
Alexanderplatz Berlin : A relaxed evening and a sumptuous steak dinner at Block House
Hotel Amelie Berlin : No frills budget stay
Berliner Currywurst : Is it really all that its hyped up to be?
Berlin Wall East Side Gallery : Iconic Artwork Awaits
Checkpoint Charlie Berlin : At Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin
Holocaust Memorial Berlin : Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe
Brandenburg Gate Berlin Germany aka Brandenburger Tor : A Must Visit Attraction
Berlin Zoo aka Hauptstadt Zoologischer Garten : Back to Nature…
Berlin Wall Documentation Centre : History Before Your Very Eyes
Der Reichstag Berlin : Home of the German Parliament (Bundestag)

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We hope you have enjoyed our top 8 things to do and attractions in Berlin Germany!

Updated on December 29, 2020September 6, 2013Berlin Berliner Hof Europe Germany

Berliner Hof Hotel – A great base to explore Berlin!

Berlin Hof Hotel is a great starting point to explore Berlin. Located near to Berlin Hof Hotel are attractions such as the Gedachtniskirche, KaDeWe (Kaufhof Des Westerns – Shopping Mall of the West, biggest shopping mall in Europe) and the Berlin Zoo!

Gadachtniskirche - A symbol of the West Berlin during Cold War — Gadachtniskirche – A symbol of the West Berlin during Cold War

Another view of the Gedachtniskirche - Today it is a museum & anti-war monument — Another view of the Gedachtniskirche – Today it is a museum & anti-war monument

It was initially a challenge to locate the Berliner Hof. We walked up and down Tauentzienstrasse (Tauentzien Street) asking several passers-by and was still not able to find it. Finally, we asked the lady at the newspaper stand. She spoke to us in German but pointed in a general direction. We followed her direction and finally found it! Yup the Berliner Hof was undergoing renovation.

Hence the iconic Berliner Hof Bear also stayed indoors

Reception of the Berliner Hof at the 2nd level

As we were there early that morning, we left our luggage with the reception and visited the Berlin Zoo! We only checked in after the zoo and we were completely surprised by the size of the room!

Large Room at the Berliner Hof Berlin Hotel

Berliner Hof Huge room with beds and living area!

Living area with a sofa Berliner Hof Hotel

View of the main street from the living area from Berliner Hof Hotel

The room is REALLY HUGE! There is even an additional living space with a long work desk as well as a sofa. The TV is movable, allowing you to choose between watching at the living room or just laze in bed. We watched Big Bang Theory in German! 🙂

Bathtub at the Berliner Hof Berlin Hotel

Although the room has a oldish look to it. The room was clean and kept in good condition. Because of the location of the hotel, you can overlook the shopping street right from the living room area. Did we also mention that the room was huge?

KaDeWe (Kaufhaus Des Westerns) - Shopping Mall of the West — KaDeWe (Kaufhaus Des Westerns) – Shopping Mall of the West

KaDeWe is a short walk from the Berliner Hof. It is not only the largest shopping mall in Europe but also the 5th largest shopping mall in the world! With 60,000sqm of shopping space and more than 2000 employees, you’ll be spoilt for choice here! We also got our nespresso machine here which was on additional offer. If you’re a nespresso lover, check out the Nespresso outlets in Europe as they offer better prices for both the machine and capsules!

Map of the Berliner Hof Hotel

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For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals in Berlin right here!

Besides the minor hiccups of locating the hotel, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Berliner Hof Hotel in Berlin!

Updated on December 29, 2020June 26, 2013Berlin Berlin Zoo Europe Germany

Berlin Zoo aka Hauptstadt Zoologischer Garten : Back to Nature…

The Berlin Zoo is one of the main attractions and things to do in Berlin! We have heard many things about the Berlin Zoo and its comparison to the Singapore Zoo and since we were staying nearby, we decided to check it out!

Opening Hours of Berlin Zoo

The Berlin Zoo has different opening hours throughout the year, make sure you check out the following before you visit!

1st, January to 15th, March:
9 am – 5.00 pm
16th, March to 23rd, March:
9 am – 7.30 pm
24th March to 08th September:
9 am – 7.00 pm
09th September to 20th Okctober:
9 am – 6.30 pm
21st, October to 31st, December:
9 am – 5.00 pm
24th December:
9 am – 2 pm
31st December:
9 am – 5 pm

Admission Ticket Prices to the Berlin Zoo

For visitors, admission to the Berlin Zoo costs 13Euros, not exactly cheap. However, if you get the bundle with the aquarium, the price is 20Euros.

Things to do and Attractions in Berlin Zoo

Our first impression of the Berlin Zoo was that it is more of a garden than a Zoo. There are lots of greenery and spaces for people to stroll and just enjoy nature.

We later found out that the Berlin Zoo is actually huge. 34 hectares huge! It is also one of the oldest zoo around, opened in 1844! 😮 Check out the map of Berlin Zoo!

As we ventured deeper into the zoo, we kept hearing these loud animal calls. Turns out to be a species of monkey will throats that bulge as they go about doing their mating calls!

Touch Zoo

Besides the animals, there is also a touch zoo where kids can interact and feeds goats and little ponies.

This smart goat knows that visitors have to buy their feeds from this machine and it just hangs around the feed machine waiting for visitors to come!

Restaurants & Playground

Children's play area at the Berlin Zoo — Children’s play area at the Berlin Zoo

Beside the children’s play area, there’s small cafes/restaurants where you can get your fill and continue to visit the rest of the zoo. Here, at one of the restaurants we had a germknodel for 5euros…

Germknodel - Warm Prune Dumpling with Cold Vanilla Sauce 5Euros — Germknodel – Warm Prune Dumpling with Cold Vanilla Sauce 5Euros

It started out at something that we were not used to. But it turned out to be fairly addictive! The vanilla sauce was slightly sweet which matches the dumpling and the prunes were slightly sour that gives it a tangy feel. Not bad. Not bad at all… 🙂

Animals at the Berlin Zoo

After talking so much about the zoo itself, we shall finally visit the stars of the Berlin Zoo, the animals! Here are the list of animals that we felt were quite interesting…

We called this animal “Chomp Chomp” because it just chows down every fruit in its path! The fruits were distributed all over the sanctuary but it just scans the entire area and chows down all the fruits, leaving next to none for it’s companions!

Whats a visit to the zoo without see the king of the jungle! The Lion! Here you see it prowling up and down while the Lioness just sleeps in oblivion! The next picture was a rare catch. Kate caught the lion yawning…and the next moment, it just falls asleep!

But when you’re there, dont stay too close to the cages. This signs warns visitors of the “showers” they may get if they’re too near the lions!

Warns people that lions may pee past the barrier!

King Penguins and Penguins with hairy eyebrows like those in Happy Feet!

Chimpanzees doing acrobatics on the ropes

1 month old Anchali with its mother enjoying a stroll

We’ll leave you now with a video of the sea lion that sits proudly on a rock having its sun tan , while the rest can do nothing but watch and wait for their turn…

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How to get to the Berlin Zoo

The Berlin Zoo is located at Budapester Straße 32 which is actually right beside the Zoologischer Garten station for both U-bahn and S-bahn. Hence, just alight at these stations and the Zoo is just a short walk away.

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The Berlin Zoo is actually not as good as the Singapore Zoo in terms of educational value and visitor attractions. However, it does have a few animals that are unique to temperate countries. So do enjoy the Berlin Zoo the next time you visit Berlin!