Europe Travels: A Complete Guide For Backpacking In Berlin

The glamour and art of Berlin is mesmerizing anyone who is keen into exploring its fascinating culture, remarkable architecture, vibrant nightlife, splendid food, and rich history. If you have decided to visit Berlin, the city full of history, artific expression, wondrous architecture, incredible parties at bars and clubs and dozens of museums, then you are at the right place.
 
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Check out tips and tricks told by our travel experts to explore top attractions in Berlin that bears marks of a tangible history.
 

Budget Needed To Visit Berlin

 

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Accommodation is very cheap, food and drinks are affordable, making the city a famous spot for backpackers, students and artists. Recommended price is 51 SGD - 70 SGD per day if you are on a backpacker’s budget and if you want more luxury, then you can keep the price till 100 SGD-150 SGD per day.
 

Duration Of Trip

 

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You can easily spend a week in Berlin since it is a very spread out city and there are tons of things to do in the city. But we recommend to give at least four days. There are dozens of world-class museums, including, Museum Island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, jazz clubs and remarkable landmarks for you to explore!
 

Top attractions

 
Pergamon Museum
 
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Housing an excellent collection of artifacts of the ancient era, the Pergamon Museum is one of the most famous museums of Germany. It holds sensational reconstructions of several archaeological excavations, such as, the Market Gate of Miletus, the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate, the Mshatta Facade, and Processional Way from Babylon. All in all, this is a cultural and treasure trove for history buffs!
 
Address: Bodestraße, Mitte
Admission: 18.84 SGD
 
Neues Museum
 
  
Travel through human history in the Neues Museum that contains around 9000 artifacts from ancient world. The extensive collection of Museum includes the Nefertiti Bust, papyrus texts, mummies, sculptures and relics, jewellery, and literary works. If you are into Egyptian antiquities and want to learn more about their art, this museum is for you!
 
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Built by Friedrich August Stüler, one of the most prominent architects of Berlin, this Museum was originally a 19th century architecture but was destroyed during World War 2. Later, it was restored in 1999 by David Chipperfield, a British architect and he did it with exquisite mixture of original components along with recycled bricks, making it a contemporary and ancient mix of elements. Inside the museum, there is phenomenal collection of artefacts like the bust of Nefertiti, classical antiquities, and Egyptian art.
 
Address: Bodestraße, Mitte 10178
Admission: 18.84 SGD
 
Natural History Museum
 

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Had enough of history and need a wild stroll into science and research space? Hold on to your seatbelts and get you inner geek ready for this science adventure. Natural History Museum is certainly going to be your next stop! This museum is a combination of history and research facilities that are dedicated to study of life and planet Earth. Botany and Zoology enthusiasts would love to dive in the collection of over 30 million items falling under categories of geology, palaeontology, zoology and mineralogy. Bugs, snakes, plants, fossils, rocks, meteorites - you name it and you will find that element in Natural History Museum.
 
Address: Invalidenstraße 43, Mitte 10115
Admission: 12.56 SGD
 
Bode Museum
 

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This particular Museum is going to be a walk into the past with state-of-the-art masterpieces dating back to the third century. It holds sculptures including Antonio Canova’s Dancer, Donatello’s Pazzi Madonna, Tarquinius und Lucretia by Petro Tacca, sculptures by Tilman Riemenschneider and Ignaz Günther and religious objects, mosaics and carvings from the third to fifteenth century.
 

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Walking through the intricate statues and relics, you will be lost in the out-of-the-world feeling that descends along with a beautiful calm.
 
Address: Am Kupfergraben, Mitte 10117
Admission: 15.7 SGD
 
Brandenburg Gate
 
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Don’t forget to visit Brandenburg Gate - Without which, your exploration of Berlin city is incomplete. Built in 1791, it was the border of East and West Berlin. Standing at the heart of the Berlin, today it represents unification of Germany and is a symbol of demarcated Cold War city and flourishing metropolis.
 
Address: Pariser Platz, 10117
Admission: Free
 
Berlin's Fernsehturm (TV Tower)
 
Berlin's Fernsehturm (TV Tower) is the tallest building in Berlin, situated near Alexanderplatz in Berlin-Mitte. Built in late sixties by the German Democratic Republic, it is 356 meters high and you can have a 360 degree view of the city if you go to the top.
 

 
If you go one floor higher, there is a revolving restaurant and a bar, where you can linger and enjoy a meal.
 
Address: Panoramastraße 1A, 10178 
Admission: 20.41 SGD-31.4 SGD
 
Berliner Dom
 

 
Berlin’s most grandiose church, the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church shortly known as Berliner Dom, is one of the most prominent landmarks in Berlin. This has been the court church to the Prussian rulers, the Hohenzollern dynasty, and the German Emperors. It holds a marvellous organ with 7,000 pipes and ornamental designs in the interior of Church. You can visit the top of the dome for wonderful city view.
 
Address: Am Lustgarten, 10178
Admission: 10.99 SGD
 

Where To Stay - Hotel or Hostel?

 
If you are doing a budget travel, then we recommend you to go for hostels where you will be able get reasonable prices, as opposed to hotel rooms. An average hotel room could cost you about 150 SGD-200 SGD. On the other hand, you can get a highly-rated hostel room in about 20 SGD -47 SGD.
 
Following are some of the highly rated hostels that are reasonably priced and would ensure a comfortable stay:

• PLUS Berlin

• Jetpack Alternative

• The Circus Hostel

• EastSeven Berlin Hostel

• Pfefferbett Hostel

• Wombats City Hostel Berlin

 

Nightlife - Club Hopping in Berlin

 
If you like clubbing and are looking to go out for an exotic taste of Berlin nightlife, then you are in for a big ride! Being the city’s biggest draws, nightlife is prominent is Berlin. You can go all-out for club-hopping in some of the city’s best clubs:
 

• Tresor Night Club

• Matrix

• Club der Visionäre

• SODA Club

• AVENUE Night Club Berlin

• Arena Club

• POLYGON Club and Garden

• E4 Club Berlin

• BRICKS Berlin

• Watergate

• Ma Baker Club Berlin

• Zig Zag Jazz Club Berlin

 

Public Transportation

 
 
Berlin is a spread-out, huge city and you need to take public transportation to get from one place to another. You can take trams, trains, buses, subways, and taxis. You can use one ticket for the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, bus and regional train. Travel tip: It is essential to get your ticket validated before entering the transport vehicle.
 

• Single One-Way Ticket: 4.08 SGD

• Bike Rental: 4.08 SGD-18.84 SGD/day

• Day Card: 10.52 SGD

• Short Distance Single One-Way Ticket: 96.55 SGD

• Group Ticket : 25.43 SGD

• Berlin Schönefeld Airport Express Train: 4.71 SGD

• Bus between Tegel Airport and City Center: 3.77 SGD

• Taxi Between Schönefeld and City Center: 62.80 SGD

• Taxi Between Tegel Airport and City Center: 31.40 SGD–39.25 SGD

 

Overall

 

 
While planning your trip, make sure to remember some practical tips for enjoying yourself at Berlin without unprecedented hassles. Get a Berlin pass if you plan to see a lot of museums, which will save you a lot of money. Also, if you want to buy souvenirs, then visit Flea Markets to get good deals. Dress warmly, the climate in Berlin keeps on changing, from sunny day in morning to chilly air in the night.
 
Bring your student ID, if you have one, it would get you in just half price in all the museums of Berlin. And while planning and packing for your trip, make sure to remember travel insurance to ensure peace of mind with coverage against travel inconveniences and medical expenses.