Guide For Planning a Fun Berlin Weekend Getaway
Sometimes everyday life just feels like too much. That’s when travel adrenaline kicks in and you simply just need to getaway for a weekend to explore a brand-new city. In those moments, Berlin makes a wonderful choice for an exiciting getaway weekend.
Berlin is one of the most vibrant cities in Europe. With great nightlife, astonishing sights and monuments, a dark yet humble history, and an amazing art scene, Berlin is probably one of my favourite cities in Europe.
Here is a guide to planning your weekend getaway to Berlin.
Friday Night: Arrive straight from work ready for fun
Flight tickets from any city in Europe to Berlin are relatively cheap and short. If you book in advance, you can even find some for less than £50 from London and flight time can go up to three hours in Europe.
With only three days in Berlin, you want to dig directly into the lively and diverse nightlife of Berlin.
Berlin is known for its big techno scene, and here are two top club suggestions:
Try to get into Berghain/Panorama Bar
Berghain is known to be the hardest club to get in. The bouncers are extremely picky when it comes to letting people in, everybody who gets in really must loves techno. Give it a try, but don’t get your hopes too high. If you do get in, the night is one of the best club experiences you will ever have.
Berliners call it the ‘Renate’. The club is made of many small rooms that either host dance floors, or comfortable couches, benches and beds to relax in. The club has a really cosy and chill atmosphere. In summer, you can enjoy the outside garden. There’s even a wooden boat in which you can sit in.
If you are feeling more of a chill one but still want to get the Berlin-vibe, the following places are the ones for you:
Quasimodo This is one of the oldest jazz clubs of Berlin. Together with Ronnie Scotts in London and New Morning in Paris, they form the best Jazz clubs of Europe. Great live music, great space, Quasimodo is a must in Berlin!
Chamäeleon Chamaeleon is quite a different kind of night. It’s a cabaret theatre which focuses on bringing music, dance, acrobats and theatre with a contemporary twist. The night promises a cutting-edge performance
Urban Spree Urban Spree is an art space dedicated to bringing together exhibition, artists studios, DIY workshops, concerts and also has a ‘Biergarten’ (Beer Garden). The music sessions in this art centre are really amazing as it’s not only about the music but also the artistic and inspiring atmosphere of the 1,700sqm building. In summer, they also have home-made food, diner events, outdoor screenings. This is really an all-in-one space, so check out their program here.
Saturday: Spend The Day On Museum Island (Museuminsel)
Museum Island is a beautiful part of Berlin with amazing architecture and the river Spree surrounding the buildings gives an extra touch to the scenery. It welcomes five of the biggest museums in Berlin. One of the best things to do is to buy the day tickets. It gives you access to all museums during the day. The price for this ticket is 18€ and 9€ with concessions.
Here are my favourite museums on the island, but I would say that these really vary according to your tastes in art.
1. The Pergamon Museum
This houses one of the biggest collection of Middle Eastern Art, with the magnificent Ishtar Gate of Babylon or Market Gate of Miletus. It is open Saturday from 10am to 10pm and entry fee is at 12€ and 6€ with concessions. But definitely worth the price in my opinion.
2. The Neues Museum
This museum groups major antiquity collections from Egyptian, Pre-historic and Classic eras. It is opens from 10am-8pm on Saturdays and entrance is same price as Pergamon’s.
3. The Altes Nationalgalerie
This museum shows a wide range of paintings and sculpture from the neo-classical period through Romanticism but also Impressionist and Modernist Art. Tickets start at 5€ with concessions and 10€ for adult tickets. The gallery is open from 10am-18pm Saturdays.
Sunday: Stroll Around the Flea And Food Markets and/or Rent Bikes And Go Around The Sights Of Berlin
One of the issues with travelling on a weekend is taking the risk to find your activities closed on Sundays. Opening times really differ from country to country, and Berlin is one of the few cities in Europe where all their shops remain closed on Sundays. So if you wanted to do a shopping spree, this will have to be on the Saturday. However, there are plenty of other activities to do on the Sunday. So grab a pint of beer and your curry Bratwurst (I recommend this one) and let’s see what you can explore in Berlin on a Sunday.
Walking around in Flea and Food markets is regarded as one of the favourite activities for Berlin people if not their favourite activity. I believe this is the best way to go back in time for a couple of hours while enjoying the good food and nice people of Berlin. This means you could also probably bring back something nice from Berlin to your home. Beware though if you do not like crowds, this might be your nightmare. But if not here are my favourite Berlin Markets:
The Mauer Park – Every Sunday, from 9am to 6pm, everybody rushes to this flea market to find amazing vintage clothes, jewellery, old vinyl disks and bags. But what’s truly peculiar with this market is its karaoke sessions that take place at the amphitheatre in the afternoon
Thai Park – Although this market takes place during summer days, (this year starting in May), if you are visiting Berlin in the right period, this is definitely one to check out if you are a fan of Asian food. Curries, satays, salads, desserts, noodles you will find anything Asian in that market. It takes place on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 8pm.
Berlin is one of the most bike-friendly cities in Europe, so don’t be afraid to hop on a bike to visit the sights of the city. It’s only 2€/hour, and there are many locations to rent your bike from. See here for info on where you can rent a bike from. There are so many different possible routes to take with your bike. If you visit this website, you can choose from 56 different routes and follow your desires!
Sunday Night: Fly back home!
Grab either public bus (the 163, 171, X7, N7, N60) and S-Bahn (S9 and S45), or there is also the direct train that takes you from the Schönefeld Airport to City Centre in 30mn: take RE7 or RB14. Here is more information.
I hope this guide has helped you make the best of your weekend in Berlin!
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About The Author: Morgane Travers is an avid traveller. She finds there is nothing more rewarding than the life-lessons taught when surrounded by a completely new environment and culture. Follow her adventures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
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Image Source: Pixabay
