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Hi guys, My partner and I will be visiting Berlin in September and wondered if anyone can recommend fun stuff to check out there? Anything you think is worth checking out: trendy parts of town, shops, restaurants, bars, sights, events,parties, and etc.. We're going to do some of the touristy things, but wanted to hang out with the locals too. Thanks!

Visit Sans Souci.

What is that?

Berlin is one of my favorite cities. Up there with New York and New Orleans actually. So many things to see and do and the gay community - though a bit leathery for my taste - are always welcoming. Visit the Tiergarten park and enjoy the nude areas. It's always interesting to watch the tourists walk through while the men strip and soak in the sun. You might find a few in the bushes too. LOL

Personally, I love East Berlin over West Berlin. The west was built to show off western culture to the eastern communists. There is the Ku'damm which is the high street of Berlin. You'll find all the high end shops there. The Berlin Zoo is also there.

East Berlin is cool in that there are many wide tree lined streets with shops and cafes and music clubs everywhere. The club life is most in East Berlin so if you are looking for where to stay aim for the eastern side of the city.

Hope that helps.

charmm saidWhat is that?

Frederick the Great's palace in Potsdam, outside Berlin.

And don't stay at the Axel hotel. It's good, but not worth the money and is in an odd area - you'd do much better to stay closer to Mitte.

there's already a lot of threads about berlin and there are loads of details and recommendation, look them up. have fun.

Most people today want to visit the Reichstag Dome (the building that looks like the gherkin in London). It is really stunning, and offers a great view. Unless you get dining reservations for the top floor restaurant, you must get advance reservations to get into the Dome (there is no charge for the reservation).
The website where you are supposed to register for your free registration is:
http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/besgrupp/histaust.html
At the bottom on the left side is a button for "online registration," that they want you to use.
However, most people find that, whether you use the german or the english version of the website, and whether you use Internet Explorer or Mozilla as a browser, you can never connect with "Online Reservations." It simply does not work. We finally got reservations for a visit by sending an email explaining the problem of not being able to use the website to: [url]kuppelbesuch@bundestag.de[/url]

To get a reservation you should include in your email request the number of persons to be visiting, your full names as they appear on your passports, birthdates, addresses, and the day, date, and time of your requested visit. After about 2 weeks, when I was about to give up and try calling their office, I finally got an email response with the reservation, which we had to take with us when we went to visit (like a ticket). As far as I can determine, this is the only way (except for a restaurant reservation) for an american/foreigner not in a tour group to get access to the dome. I am sure they want all the information for security purposes, since it where the Bundestag meets, and there is such danger of terrorist attacks today.

It was well worth all the trouble to get to climb up inside the dome.

I would buy the guidebook Top 10 Berlin, put out by DK Eyewitness Travel. It is on glossy paper, fits in a pocket, and has info on all the different neighborhoods and sights of this very large city., and includes Postdam. For gaylife, you could get a gay guide to Berlin when you get there.

thanks guys

Does sombody know if All Seasons hotel is located in a good place? I mean next to the gay clubs and bars and in the center as well..
http://maps.google.co.il/maps?hl=iw&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1280&bih=833&wrapid=tlif134505780011411&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=all+seasons+mitte&fb=1&gl=il&hq=all+seasons+mitte&cid=0,0,3442700257326592137&sa=X&ei=DPQrUPT4MKHX0QXSloCQBQ&ved=0CNUBEPwSMAM