jpie

My sister is coming to visit me in Paris and we are considering a 2 to 3 day trip to Berlin..

I have been once to Berlin the year the wall came down and know it is vastly changed. So I have some questions for those of you who know the city:

We will probably take easyjet. Is it worth renting a car for a few days? The last time I was there I actually drove from Paris, so had one, but not sure that is really a good idea. Is public transport good to get to the major sites tourists would want to see? It seems like a bigger town than Paris in my memory, so would a car be a nice thing to have or, like London, more of a drag?

Could you suggest any hotels and desirable neighborhoods to make our base, particularly if you think it is better not to rent a car. We would prefer something on the budget side, kind of the 2 star hotel for 100euros or so in Paris, but I don't know if that is reasonable in Berlin.

My one trip there was so long ago, and my strongest memory at that time was that it was like going from an old black and white film (the eastern side with, at the time, virtually no restaurants or hotels) to a "color film" side of town, right on the old checkpoint charlie site, and all the sudden seeing all sorts of American fast foods! It was really interesting. But I know from friends it feels completely different now

Thanks in advance!

CharlieB

No need to rent a car. Berlin has one of the best public transport systems of any city in Europe - fast, efficient, and user friendly.

msjuice624

I just came back from a trip to Hamburg (with a 2 day trip with my own sister to Berlin)and we wanted to see all the major stops in Berlin. I would emphatically say no to a car. While the city is big all the "big sights" are near train stations.

Intrepid1

Not to overdo it but I would agree that between the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn networks you will NOT need, or want, a car in Berlin, especially if you are used to using public transport as you undoubtedly are.

Betsy

Now that you've gotten good transpo advice, here's some hotel information: Type Berlin Hotel into the search box at the top of your page and many messages from the archives will appear on the left hand side of the page. You can read suggestions provided to others. Here's one of the posts to get you started:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34577219

Suggest you pay close attentiont to the posts that are about Potsdammer Platz. It's a safe, vibrant, central area. We loved it.

jpie

Thanks all:

It sounds like public transport it is. And thanks Betsy I will start to look up hotels and neighborhoods.