Why Go?
Berlin is big, bold and dramatic with history fluttering on every corner, but it also has an irrepressible sense of humor and has always welcomed independent spirits.
A good place for families then? Of course. There are parks everywhere (kitted out with enviable playgrounds), English is widely spoken, the transport system is easy and extensive and on weekends the city lets out a collective sigh and relaxes – sunny Sundays are wonderful for biking around, with few cars in sight.
And don’t forget the food – sausage galore. Every family should squeeze into a Photomat booth and strike a silly pose for a selfie, try currywurst (the local fast food snack) and take a whirl around the revolving Fernsehturm TV Tower for a bird’s eye view.
Activities
DDR Museum
Berlin has a lot of museums covering everything from currywurst to Bauhaus. But if you only visit one, make it this one, which details life in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Despite the serious nature of the topic, it’s interactive for kids. It’s full of cupboards and drawers to bang open and shut, a driving simulator of the Trabant, the classic tinbox car of the East, and a fully furnished 1970s apartment, a vision in brown and orange. See the Stasi interrogation cell and, if you’re truly brave, try the boiled pork knuckle in the restaurant.
Clärchens Ballhaus
This eccentric Berlin survivor, which opened in 1913, was bombed in World War II, but re-opened in 1945. With its wood paneling, candle-lit tables and glittery Phoenix Nights-style stage, it’s been used as a film set by Quentin Tarantino and Tom Cruise, and attracts everyone from bearded hipsters and families to sequined former East Berliners reliving their youth by waltzing around the dance floor. Try for the Sunday afternoon dance session, where children can easily join in. Take a peek upstairs at the spooky ballroom, which was once used for illicit sword fights.
Loxx Miniatur Welten Berlin
To get a bird’s eye view of the city you can either head to the top of the TV Tower or here, to the third floor of the Alexa shopping center, where Berlin has been lovingly made in miniature. This incredible model town is populated by thousands of tiny people, and has 150 trains running at any one time. You can spot all the major sights, but peer a little closer and you’ll see the Mad Hatter and Alice roaming the Tiergarten, the chocolate factory manned by Santas and the giant spider that roams here.
Tempelhof
Berlin’s first airfield, which opened in the 1920s and played a key role in the Berlin Airlift during the Cold War, is now being redeveloped as the city’s latest park. Urban gardeners have dug in, and wildlife is returning.
Mauerpark
Part of the Berlin Wall still stands here, but this grassy area is now known for its chaotic Sunday flea market. Long and winding lanes of stalls sell everything from Playmobil figures, Asterix comics, T-shirts and, well, just junk, while budding musicians provide the soundtrack – West African percussionists, rock drummers and a band of funky regulars called Rupert’s Kitchen Orchestra.
Me Collectors Room
This relatively new art gallery was inspired by the Cabinets of Curiosities of the Renaissance era, eccentric collections of art, natural objects and the downright weird. But it’s also one of those galleries where the shop is as fascinating as the exhibitions, so after you’ve spotted a stuffed Nile crocodile, tiny skulls and a narwhal tusk (or is it a unicorn’s horn?), you can shop for insects, starfish and strange shells, as well as build-your-own kaleidoscopes, origami sets and Berlin-designed jewelry.
SWWSW
Fans of the recycled, the vintage and the ethical will love Berlin. This Kreuzberg concept shop was set up a few years ago by Sylke Rademacher and Nicole Bednarzyk, who wanted to showcase the best in sustainable design. The pair source products from all around the world, from cork iPad cases to beautiful teak and rosewood radios handmade in Indonesia, as well as organic garden boxes for children and seed bombs if you’re into some guerilla gardening.
Veborange
Spend an afternoon browsing the independent and vintage-chic shops of Prenzlauer Berg’s Kastanienallee and the adjoining Oderberger Strasse. Drop into Uhranus for quirky souvenirs, watches and the occasional robot, and Upcycling Deluxe for zoo animals made from old flip flops and wallets made from rice sacks. VEBorange is a mix of unique trinkets and unusual finds. Step into the back room for a kitchen filled to the brim with collectable East German plasticware. At the very least, pick up a map of Berlin before the Wall fell.
Where to stay
Circus
From your terrace at the Circus Apartments, you can spy the needle-like spire of the TV Tower, then check the in-room iPad for local recommendations before strolling to leafy Weinberg Park. If you’re staying a few nights, these fresh new apartments are an excellent idea. They’re spacious, and the fridge can be stocked ahead of arrival. The Scandi-fresh Kitchen Café below does tasty all-day food, with squeeze-your-own orange juice for breakfast. The nearby Circus Hotel and Hostel are also worth considering. Both are affable, open-plan spaces with Pop Arty design and a can-do attitude (plus strollers you can rent).
Hotel Am Steinplatz
The Steinplatz was something of a starlet from the 1920s to the 1950s, when Brigitte Bardot and Alain Delon stayed. Last Christmas it was reborn as a boutique hotel with shiny Art Deco design, chandeliers like spaceships and video screens showing silent-era Berlin street scenes. Set on a quiet square off Berlin’s main Ku’Damm street, this hotel is well positioned for the zoo and the famous KaDaWe department store, as well as the arty cafés and small galleries of the Charlottenburg district. The restaurant specializes in German cuisine, but children can go “off menu” – the chef isn’t above whipping up sausages and chips.
Hüttenpalast
Berlin has some of the quirkiest accommodations around, but one of the most inspired ideas is a caravan park – indoors. It’s a former vacuum-cleaner factory in the hip Neukölln district, which has been turned into an outside-inside space, complete with trees, plants, benches, folding chairs and several retro caravans. There are also a few wooden beach huts and normal guest rooms, but it’s best to camp, waking in the morning to walk, towel over shoulder and toothbrush in hand, to the bathroom, then heading out for a coffee and croissant in the café. If you’d prefer a more conventional stay, the Brilliant Apartments are in leafy Prenzlauer Berg, across the road from Mauerpark, an area filled with interesting shops and cafés.
Where to eat
25 Hours Hotel Bikini Berlin
In-the-know locals head to this new west Berlin hotel, part of Design Hotels, for early evening cocktails on the 10th-floor terrace, but it’s also a great spot for lunch. Set on the loft-style top floor, the Neni restaurant resides in what looks like a country greenhouse – green and lush and with floor-to ceiling-windows. The food basks in the warmth of the Mediterranean, including small plates of falafel with fresh mint, houmussy, caramelised aubergine and couscous, and almond-crusted chicken strips with sweet potato fries. Leave room for the chocolate fudge brownies. From here you can see right into the monkey enclosure at the zoo. Outside, there are a couple of hammocks for your own little monkeys.
Nest
The cool-as-a-gherkin Kreuzberg district, south of the River Spree, is tailor-made for a lazy Sunday cycle safari – or a Saturday one, if you want to catch the shops while they’re open (Oranienstrasse is home to some of the best). When hunger strikes, head to Nest, a local favorite, and sit at one of the communal tables outside. On Sunday, there’s an extensive buffet lunch, a colorful spread of Middle-Eastern-meets-German mezze, cured meats, cheeses and yogurts.
I Due Forni
Berlin’s love affair with pizza is best expressed at this chaotic restaurant, which pummels brick-oven fired dough with a no-nonsense punk attitude (and decor). It’s got all the ambience of a German beer hall, so you can be as noisy as you want and the staff won’t raise a pierced eyebrow. The thin-crust pizzas have every topping under the sun, though your children may want to skip the Pferdefleisch (smoked horse meat). You can also head to sister restaurants Il Casolare in Kreuzberg or Il Giradischi, which conveniently has its own ice-cream shop next door.