We were heading on an evening flight to Berlin, so the first day didn’t entail of much. However, I was shocked that our flight only took 1 hour and 15 minutes, despite saying it should take 2 hours, so we made it there in what felt like no time! We arrived in Berlin at around 8.30pm and hopped on a train to reach our hotel. This was super easy and smooth to do and took about 40 minutes door to door. We were staying at the incredible Eurostars Berlin which is one of Berlin’s top five-star hotels. Even though it was late, I had to go explore as soon as I arrived. I dropped my bags and immediately went around and had a look. The hotel has a rooftop pool, which looked incredible at night as it overlooked the Berlin Skyline. Along with this, there’s a spa, gym and sauna that I was excited to use for the rest of my stay. We grabbed some quick and easy food at one of the restaurants nearby and headed to bed ready to explore the next day!
Day 1 – the top tourist sites
We decided that day two was going to be for tickboxing those top tourist sites that we wanted to see in Berlin. But first, I went for a swim and sauna in the hotel spa area, and it was the perfect way to start the day. After this, we decided to go grab some brunch. We headed to Your Welcome – a spot that I had seen recommended on TikTok and does traditional German breakfasts. It has an old-fashioned yet quirky décor, as the café’s been there for nearly 100 years (of course, changing owners across the years). In the afternoon, we visited The Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery, Tiergarten Park, and Brandenburg Gate, all of which are on most people’s to-do lists when in Berlin.
We then went back to the hotel, freshened up a little and headed out to a German pub for dinner. We chose The Berliner, due to the fact it offers a slightly different way of ordering beers. The pub runs its beer and drink prices as a stock exchange, meaning the cost of everything changes as you buy it, depending on the popularity. So, you have to keep an eye out on the board. This means you can find some really cheap beers or also get charged a lot for your favourite if it rises just as you buy it – a fun novelty experience! I opted to try currywurst for dinner. But, as a veggie, I obvs went for the meat-free version and unfortunately, this was not for me… I ended up switching with my dad for the pizza. Currywurst is super popular though, so definitely give it a go if you’re visiting – I just didn’t really enjoy it.
Day 2 – hotels, museum visits and our first snow of the year
On all my trips with First Choice, we go and visit some of the other hotels in the city and capture some content, so that’s what I did this morning and into the early afternoon. Both my visits were great – we went to Adina Apartment Hackescher Markt and The Social Hub Berlin. Both offered great facilities but were quite different. Adina Apartment Hackescher Markt felt great for families with apartment-style hotel rooms, where you can cook and fit more guests. Whereas The Social Hub Berlin is better for sociable travellers, perhaps those travelling solo or maybe a group of friends. This was because it had so many social spaces to choose from including a bar, ping pong tables, gym and also daily events! After the hotel visits, we went and visited some museums. We went to the Topography of Terrors Museum, which provides an important and historical outlook on the events leading up to, during and after the Second World War. After this, we went to the Memorial of the Murdered Jews, which again had a similar exhibition. I’d highly recommend visiting both on your trip – just remember to be respectful when taking photos and videos when you are there. I chose not to take any.
That evening we headed out to McLaren’s Bar. This bar is a replica of the bar used in How I Met Your Mother, one of my favourite TV programmes. They do themed drinks related to the programme and the whole inside is fitted exactly like the show. I would definitely recommend it. We decided just to grab a couple of drinks here and then headed to a Thai restaurant for some food. We went to Joy and I couldn’t recommend it enough. The food was INCREDIBLE. We went for the papaya salad and summer rolls to start, followed by a peanut curry and teriyaki stir fry for mains and it was all 10/10! The staff were also super lovely. After my experience with German food the night before, I went for something I knew I’d like, but don’t worry I did try some more German dishes later on the trip…
Day 3 – Studio of Wonders, Christmas markets and the XtraCold Icebar
On our third fully day, we got some breakfast at Factory Girl café which is a hip café and very Berlin if you know what I mean… trendy and chic. We got some healthy pancakes made out of carrots and sweet potato, I believe, along with a traditional shakshuka. They were a lot better than they sounded… After this, we went to The Studio of Wonders experience, which is an interactive art gallery with different illusions and picture-worthy experiences inside. We then went to Alexanderplatz to experience the Christmas markets. We also shared a vegan schnitzel and fries for lunch, and this was a much better experience of German food than my original curry wurst. We then went back to the hotel to make use of the spa facilities again as, unfortunately, the rain got very heavy. However, this made being in the pool and sauna feel a lot cosier.
That evening we headed out to the XtraCold Icebar. This is a bar made completely out of ice, even down to the cups you’re drinking out of. It was great for the photos and a really cool experience overall. However, you’ll want to only spend about 30 minutes inside, as it gets freezing! We stayed afterwards for a drink though, as with your tickets you get three complimentary drinks and tickets cost less than £20 for entry, so it’s a pretty good deal. I booked this through First Choice Experiences. That night we opted for something quick to eat and headed to Swing Kitchen, a veggie fast food joint across Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I had this when I visited Vienna last year and loved it, so again, I was very pleased with my meal. They had Swiss and German takes on salads, wraps and burgers – I’d definitely recommend. We then headed out to a trendy bar, as we were in Berlin, of course. We went to Bredouille Bar, which had a speakeasy feel to it and I’d deffo recommend.
Day 4 – a sunny wander and home time
Today was our last day in Berlin and we took it chill. We grabbed breakfast at a cute coffee shop around the corner from our hotel called Pure Origins. They did pastries, baguettes and really good coffee, so I’d recommend it if you want a casual spot. I also thought it looked like a great place to set up your laptop if you’re on a work trip. After this, we just strolled around the city, checked out Museum Island, went back to Tiergarten Park and grabbed another coffee. For most of our trip, sadly the weather in Berlin was a little rainy, but on this day it was sunny and had a crisp winter feel to it, so it was lovely to just have a wander around the city. We did have to pile on the layers though, as it was nearly 0 degrees. We then headed back to the airport at around 3pm for our 6pm flight and that was the end of our Berlin trip. We had a great time, and I would 100% recommend Berlin for a city break adventure!
If @baileyturvey’s trip sounds like a bit of you, have a look at our Germany holidays and you can find all his picks on our Insiders Hub.
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Author: @baileyturvey
Last updated: 23/04/2025
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