In this series, I’ll introduce one fabulous destination and show you where to stay, savor and play on two different budgets. Splurge-worthy picks are all about luxury resorts, fine dining and individualized experiences, while budget-friendly ideas offer bargain digs, cheap (but good) eats and free or inexpensive activities to enjoy. I’ll provide money-saving tips (even for the splurges) and ensure that whatever your budget is, you’ll be able to make the most of your vacation.
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Highlights of a Berlin Vacation on Two Budgets
Germany’s capital buzzes with energy and contrasts. It wears its unvarnished history and culture on its sleeve, whether it’s palaces or watchtowers, opera houses or techno clubs or youthfulness or stateliness. And Berlin’s kaleidoscope of offerings can be equally enjoyed on a budget or on a spree.
Luxury: Total cost for two people: $1,825
- Stay: A fashion-forward boutique hotel set in a former embassy with a sanctuary-like setting, tucked away beside the Tiergarten (the city’s famous central park) and the Berlin Zoo ($725).
- Savor: A 10-course, terroir-driven tasting menu with wine pairings at a Michelin-starred restaurant ($850).
- Play: A day of pampering and indulgence at a Balinese-inspired spa in the center of the city ($250).
Budget: Total cost for two people: $148
- Stay: A modern hotel with Italian-inspired design and a rooftop terrace steps away from the subway ($100).
- Savor: Berlin’s signature ‘currywurst’ served with a crisp German lager in the heart of a vibrant downtown square (8$)
- Play: A themed guided bike excursion with a local expert who leads you on a half-day tour of Berlin’s highlights or a specialized tour focusing on the Cold War history. (40$)
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Stay: Where to Sleep on Your Berlin Vacation
Splurge-worthy Choice: SO/ Berlin Das Stue:
Once serving as the Royal Danish Embassy, Berlin Das Stue stately exterior belies a sleek, playful and original interior of plush textures and original art.
Though the double marble staircases, cascading light feature and alligator sculpture in the lobby might be intimidatingly chic, the staff are personable, approachable and happy to share their expertise. As much as we enjoyed every detail about our stay, it was the people who gave it its home-away-from-home feeling, reflecting its name.
- Vibe: Sleek and playful with plush textures, original art and helpful friendly staff
- Location: A leafy, green oasis in the middle of the city, with direct access to the central park and Berlin Zoo, with some rooms overlooking the furry and feathered residents and parkland.
- Wellness Centre: Features spa treatment rooms, a 46-foot indoor swimming pool and a Finnish sauna.
- The Library: An elegant but comfortable room equally suitable for working or lounging.
- Accommodations: All the beautifully designed rooms have high ceilings and in-room Nespresso machine and minibar. The embassy rooms ($725) and suites have additional features like balconies or terraces and freestanding bathtubs.
- Restaurants:
- Carte Blanche: Serves up classic French dishes in an inviting brasserie atmosphere.
- Stue Bar: Craft cocktails and casual fare to enjoy in their ever-so-fashionable saloon.
Other Splurge-Worthy Options:
- Hotel Adlon Kempinski ($800): Located beside the iconic Brandenburg Gate, has been the luxurious stay for many rich and famous guests including Einstein, Queen Elizabeth and Michael Jackson.
- Hotel Oderberger ($200): A converted 19th-century public bathhouse with a 65-foot-long indoor pool underneath a vaulted cathedral-like ceiling, giving its guests a very Berlin experience with an impressive historic setting in one of the city‘s trendiest neighborhoods.
- Ameron Hotel Abion Spreebogen Waterside ($175): The centrally located, upscale property boasts scenic views of the River Spree and elegant rooms.
Budget-Friendly Choice: Aletto Potsdamer Platz
Opened in 2020, Aletto Potsdamer Platz offers modern comforts and connectivity, making it an ideal base to explore Berlin. With Italian-inspired design, excellent transportation options, and welcoming communal spaces, we never felt as though we were settling for less because of its low price point.
- Vibe: Contemporary and welcoming with bright, functional design. The atmosphere is relaxed, with guests gathering in shared spaces to eat, play cards, or enjoy a drink.
- Location: Though the neighborhood is nondescript, the hotel is steps from the Potsdamer Station and in just five stops on the U-Bahn (underground), we stepped off in the historic Mitte district, oohing and aahing at the architecture around us. You can also access the S-Bahn (surface transport) from here.
- Rooftop Terrace: Features lounge areas, herb and flower beds and views of the Berlin TV Tower.
- Common Areas: Spacious and social areas include a grassy courtyard, a lobby with a large dining area, and a rec room with foosball and vending machines.
- Accommodations: 430 rooms in varied categories — from budget-friendly private pods ($70) to spacious family rooms ($100). Rooms are cleverly designed with configurable layouts and hidden storage.
- Aletto Restaurant: Serves Italian dishes in the large dining room, where guests also gather casually in the evenings. In the mornings, a generous breakfast buffet awaits to fuel your day’s adventure.
SheBuysTravel Money-saving Tip: The Berlin WelcomeCard (starting at $35) provides unlimited transit use for a set number of days. Pick it up at the airport or the central train station. Once activated, all your trips are validated, so there’s no need to fuss with tickets or machines. It also offers discounts to over 200 attractions.
Other Budget-Friendly Accommodations:
- Also easy on the wallet is the Circus ($100), a popular hostel with an on-site microbrewery and even an exhibit dedicated to David Hasselhoff. It has both dorms and private rooms and its central location provides easy access to the city’s top sights.
- Other low-cost places to consider include Pension Peters ($110), a friendly, affordable guesthouse in West Berlin, Cat’s Pajamas Hostel ($90), a stylish yet affordable stay in the trendy Kreuzberg neighborhood and Easy Lodges Berlin ($80), quirky, tiny-house style cabins.
Savor: Where to Eat on Your Berlin Vacation
Like the city itself, you can find anything you fancy in Berlin from classic German fare and multicultural dishes served at street stalls to unforgettable Michelin-starred fine dining experiences and everything in between.
Splurge-Worthy Culinary Decadence
For the ultimate Berlin dining experience, our pick is Nobelhart & Schmutzig:
- Why Go: Michelin-star rated and a stand out for its originality, ‘vocally local’ philosophy, experiential service and, of course, outstanding food.
- What to Expect: A 10-course tasting menu that guests enjoy while facing the open kitchen. With only 28 seats, it’s an intimate experience that feels almost like a dinner theater, except the food is the star and the staff are cast.
- Food: Each course comes with its own origin story and an equally storied wine pairing ($425). I’m salivating just thinking about our meal here.
- Tip: Tables book up quickly, so reserve before your trip.
SheBuysTravel Tip: If you want more culinary choices, check out the more than 20 Michelin-starred restaurants in Berlin.
Other Dining Options Worth Splashing Out On:
- KaDeWe, known as the ‘Harrods of Germany’, delights food lovers as much as it does shoppers. Its sixth floor is dedicated to sweet and savoury delicacies with mouth-watering displays of chocolates, patisseries, truffles the size of baseballs, artisan cheese and prepared dishes. Deciding on what to eat from the maze of counters and restaurants can be daunting, but there are no wrong choices.
- If you’re looking for more traditional German fare, consider Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt ($60) for plate-size schnitzel, pork knuckle and steins of Bavarian lager. For a meal or drinks with a view, head to Baret ($50), the rooftop restaurant on top of the Humboldt Forum (an arts and cultural museum). High above the city, you can enjoy a cocktail and bites with a bird’s eye view of the Prussian grand institutions on Museum Island.
- Other stellar choices include: Ristorante Cumberland ($60), upscale Italian fare in a grand setting; Brasserie November ($55), refined French-inspired dining; Berta ($45), Israeli-German fusion with bold flavors; Schnitzelei Wedding ($40), elevated German comfort food and excellent beers.
Cheap Tasty Eats
- Don’t leave Berlin without trying currywurst, Berlin’s quintessential street food. Declared a national dish, it consists of sliced Bratwurst sausage smothered in curry-flavored tomato sauce. Served at street stands throughout the city, each has its own variation and spice recipe. CurryWolf ($8) has one of the most typical and tastiest versions. We enjoyed every bite with a German lager while people watching at their Ku’damm location, the city’s lively shopping and entertainment district.
- The unofficial national dish is the doner kebab. Berlin has the biggest Turkish community outside of Turkey and their influence can be tasted at places like Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap ($8.50), which has as a cult-like following (and usually a long queue) and Imrel Grill ($8), located in the multi-cultural Neukölln neighborhood.
SheBuysTravel Money-saving Tip: Markets not only provide travellers with a glimpse of local life, but also a place to sample a variety of authentic neighborhood dishes inexpensively. Berlin has some fantastic ones to choose from, including:
- Hackescher Markt, ideal for quick bites in the historic center
- Preußenpark (Thai Park), an outdoor market featuring authentic Thai street food
- Uferhallen food pop-ups, which dishes out casual food and drinks in a cool, artsy courtyard in the up-and-coming wedding district
- Arminiusmarkthalle, a historic market hall that houses affordable street food stalls and casual eateries.
Play: Things to Do on Your Berlin Vacation
“Whatever you come for, you can find in Berlin,” a local told me when I asked her for recommendations on what to do. Not exactly useful, but she was right. Germany’s capital has a vibrant cultural scene (both traditional and contemporary), distinct personality-driven neighborhoods, a compelling and thought-provoking history and enough activities to keep you busy for a year. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
Activities Worth Splashing Out On
- An indulgent Day at Vabali Spa: In the center of the city lies a five-acre sanctuary that features ten saunas, three steam baths, four pools, massage/treatment rooms and a lovely Asian-inspired restaurant. Special sessions include sound-bathing and guided meditation ($125). For a true splurge, add on one of their massages or body treatments.
- Berlin by Trabant Stretch-limo: This private tour not only gives you a chance to see the highlights of Berlin with your own knowledgeable personal guide, but also do it in a cult classic vehicle. The Trabant series of automobiles were manufactured in East Germany from 1957 to 1991 and became symbolic of life in the GDR (former East Germany). Cost is approximately $300 per group of up to five people.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Like most of the country’s spas, Vabali is ‘textile-free,’ meaning no bathing suits allowed. Robes are worn for moving between areas but removed before entering the pools, steam rooms and saunas. Guests sit on towels that are placed so no part of the body (including the feet) touches the surface directly. Though it challenged our North American sensibilities somewhat, the casual nudity in a spa setting is very much the cultural norm here and overall it was a relaxing way to experience a slice of life in Germany (though we opted not to go in pools).
Free and Inexpensive Fun
As one of the most affordable cities in Western Europe, Berlin is a frugal traveler’s wonderland with a slew of low cost and free activities to choose from.
- Pedal through History: Join a guided bike tour with Berlin on Bike that takes you to the city’s best attractions or one that focuses on the Cold War history. We chose the latter and felt goosebumps at moments as we followed parts of the Wall Trail and learned about the wall that encircled the city and divided the world. The tour company also does walking tours ($40).
- Exploring Museumsinsel (Museum Island): Bordered by the Spree River and the Kupfergraben Canal, this UNESCO World Heritage site is a literal island. Five world-class museums make the island their home: Altes Museum (Old Museum), Neues Museum (New Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Bode Museum and Pergamon Museum.
- Not only are they each worth checking out on their own merit, but the Museum Island’s grounds are a pleasure to stroll around in. Surrounded by these grand institutions, groups of friends and family lounge on the grass around the fountain, buskers perform and tourists snap selfies. We took a few photos, too (OK -maybe a few dozen).
SheBuysTravel Money-saving Tip: If you’re planning to visit more than a couple of museums, buy a Museum Pass Berlin ($38), which allows free entry to over 30 public museums, including the five mentioned above, for three consecutive days. Note: the pass doesn’t cover private museums like the DDR Museum (though it’s worth the $15 price tag if you’re interested in the social history of former East Germany).
- Admire the Art of the East Side Gallery: This longest stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall is now an outdoor exhibition with murals and messages. Some are whimsical while others are thought-provoking. The most famous — the kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker — still stops visitors in their tracks. After strolling along the wall and admiring the works, we wandered down to the river, where young Berliners and international students lounged in floating hostels and riverside watering holes.
- Relax in Berlin’s Leafy Oases: Germany’s capital is one of the greenest in Europe, with green spaces making up roughly a third of its total area. Tiergarten is the emerald crown jewel of Berlin’s extensive park system with 210 hectares of parkland right in the middle of the city. Once the former hunting grounds of Prussian kings, it’s now enjoyed by locals and visitors alike who come to walk its treelined trails, watch graceful swans swim in its ponds or cycle on its paths, which was exactly what we spent a morning doing.
Other parks to enjoy include: Monbijou Park, an urban beach on the bank of the Spree River; Volkspark Friedrichshain, a city favorite, offering wooded hills and fountains; the Treptower Park, home to a huge Soviet war memorial; the Körnerpark, a manicured Baroque parkland hidden within Neukölln’s lively streets; and Viktoria Park, famous for its waterfall.
Delve Deeper into History at these Free Attractions:
- Palace of Tears (Tränenpalast) was named for the tearful farewells that took place at the former border crossing at Friedrichstraße railway station. The museum focuses on the personal — stories of separations, contents of suitcases and small acts of defiance.
- Walk through the Brandenburg Gate, where the Berlin Wall first fell in November 1989.
- Scarred by fire, war and the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag is once again the striking home of the German parliament. Norman Foster’s glass dome offers 360° views of the city and its transparency represents openness and accountability of the government. Be sure to pick up a free auto-activated audio guide to learn about the building’s architecture, landmarks and the workings of parliament. Note: Entry is free but should be booked online well in advance and bring ID.
- The Berlin Wall Memorial is the most comprehensive site dedicated to this period of history with several outdoor exhibits, including the Window of Remembrance, which is dedicated to the people who died at the wall.
- Opened in 2005, Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial spreads across a five-acre field strewn with 2,711 concrete slabs, forming an eerie, disorienting maze. Cut off from the noise of the city, visitors navigate themselves among the sombre blocks for their own personal journey of remembrance.
- Checkpoint Charlie, once the main crossing between East and West Berlin for diplomats and foreigners, is now filled with tourists posing for selfies. It’s still worth a visit and the open-air exhibition offers more information on the city’s Cold War history.
Enjoy Musical Experiences Gratis:
- The Classic Open Air at the Gendarmenmarkt is a highlight for summer visitors and takes place every evening Tuesday through Sunday in the summer. While the main seated area requires a ticket, you can enjoy the Berlin Symphony Orchestra or the German Opera in one of Berlin’s most beautiful squares from outside the perimeter fencing.
- The Berlin Philharmonic offers free concerts every Wednesday at 1 PM between September and June.
- Every Sunday, Mauerpark transforms into a sprawling block party. The main draw is the Bearpit Karaoke, but you’ll also find other free performances scattered throughout the grounds.
- Berlin hosts over 200 festivals annually, including some of the most anticipated international musical events like Berlinale Live, where celebrated film scores are performed for the cinema-lovers; the pioneering CTM Festival, a celebration of experimental electronic sound; Lollapalooza Berlin, the blockbuster pop and rock weekend; and the popular Fête de la Musique, with hundreds of free concerts across the city.
SheBuysTravel Money-saving Tip: Websites like Eventbrite and Meetup list all kinds of free events, many in English, that are open to visitors as well as locals. Also, Berlin’s official tourism site has a Free of Charge page that lists a staggering 772 free permanent and temporary exhibits, galleries and events.
Note: All prices are in US dollars.
Fun Facts about Berlin
- Berlin has more museums than rainy days (about 170 compared to 106).
- Currywurst was invented in Berlin in 1949 by Herta Heuwer, who mixed ketchup with British curry powder.
- Berlin has more than 960 bridges spanning its rivers and canals. And that’s more than Venice.
- An abandoned airport runway is now a local weekend hangout. The former Tempelhof Airport is now a massive public park, where Berliners picnic, cycle and kitesurf on its runways.
- An iconic traffic light figure is a local celebrity. The cheerful Ampelmännchen (little traffic light man) from the GDR era was so beloved that Berliners protested to keep him after reunification. You can now find him on everything from socks to cookie cutters.
- 2025 marks the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Commemorations include installations and events along the former ‘death strip’.
- David Bowie lived in Berlin from 1976 to 1978. He famously called the city:
“The greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine.”
When You Go:
Berlin is easily accessible, with direct flights to Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) from several major North American cities, including New York, Washington-Dulles, Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto.
The easiest and most cost-effective method to get into the city from BER is the Airport Express (FEX) train. Taxis and ride-sharing services are available but significantly more expensive.
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