Berlin is a city that blends culture, history and creativity in a way few destinations can match. Museum Island hosts incredible museums and galleries, history buffs flock to the powerful reminders of its wartime past, and I’m informed (by Evie my 22-year-old daughter), that the club scene here is world-class!
Pretty much every corner of Berlin has a story to tell. It’s no surprise that this vibrant, affordable and well-connected capital has become such a popular stop for interrailers and other travellers exploring Europe.
Capri by Fraser, Berlin
Capri by Fraser, Berlin is a brilliantly placed apart-hotel with a central location on Museum Island in Berlin’s Mitte District, close to many of the capital’s cultural highlights. Stay here and you’re within easy reach of Berlin Cathedral, the Humboldt Forum, the Altes Museum, Neues Museum and Alte Nationalgalerie, making it a fantastic base for museum-hopping, sightseeing and exploring on foot.
The hotel itself sits on Petriplatz, right on Museum Island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Berlin’s most historic areas. There’s even a little piece of that history inside the hotel. During construction, archaeologists uncovered structural remains dating back around 850 years, and you can still see them today beneath parts of the floor in the lobby area, which is pretty impressive.
The hotel gives you that lovely mix of hotel comfort and apartment-style freedom. It works just as well for a short city break as it does for a longer stay, especially if you like having a bit more space than a standard hotel room.
There are 143 studio and one-bedroom apartments, all designed with a modern, art-led feel. Rooms come with kitchenettes, living areas, ensuite bathrooms and entertainment systems, so you’ve got everything you need to feel properly settled.
Visiting as part of a three week long Interrail journey, Evie and I were thrilled to have access to a washing machine (and airer too!), so we were able to completely refresh during the stay. I’ll admit, it’s not rock & roll, but it was much appreciated! The kitchenette area comes with useful essentials including a microwave, fridge, coffee machine, crockery and glassware, with pots and pans available if you fancy cooking rather than eating out every night. Perfect.
The free Wi-Fi was good enough that I could get some work done too while Evie relaxed on the balcony with views out to The Humbolt Forum.
When you’re checked in and ready to head out into Berlin, it’s around a 10-minute walk to join the hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses, which stop at Schlossplatz, close to Berlin Cathedral and the Lustgarten, so you’re straight into the heart of things if you want to make the most of your time on a weekend break in the city.
Lustgarten
A handy spot for picking up the hop-on-hop-off buses, Lustgarten is a gorgeous park and fountains area, surrounded by some of Berlin’s biggest historic buildings:
Berlin Cathedral / Berliner Dom – The huge domed church on the eastern side of the Lustgarten. It’s the most spectacular building you’ll probably notice first, it’s stunning.
Altes Museum – A grand neoclassical museum with the columns, directly facing the Lustgarten. It’s one of the key museums on Museum Island.
Humboldt Forum / Berlin Palace — A large, reconstructed palace-style building on the Schlossplatz side, opposite/just south of the Lustgarten. If you’re walking across from Capri by Fraser you can walk through the courtyard to get to Lustgarten.
Wartime Memorials
We used the Big Tour Bus to get around, hopping on and off whenever we wanted to look around. The following sites of interest are well served by all of the tour bus companies:
Brandenburg Gate – Berlin’s most iconic landmark and such a powerful symbol of the city’s history and reunification. It’s gorgeous when it is lit up at night too.
Checkpoint Charlie – One of Berlin’s most famous Cold War landmarks, marking the former crossing point between East and West Berlin. Today, it’s very busy with tourists, but it’s still worth seeing for the reminder of when the city was divided and this spot sat right on the frontline between two worlds.
Topography of Terror – This is one of Berlin’s most sobering historic sites, set on the former headquarters of the Nazi secret police. A surviving section of the Berlin Wall still runs alongside it, making it a moving place to pause and take in both the city’s Nazi and Cold War history in one spot. It’s pretty chilling.
Parks
Evie and I love to visit parks and green-spaces when we’re travelling, and Berlin has some stand-outs:
Tiergarten – Close to the Brandeberg Gate this park is beautiful, and absolutely huge. Once a royal hunting forest, it’s been a public pleasure garden, a war-scarred landscape (a lot of the trees were used for fuel when supplies were scarce), and it is now one of Berlin’s most loved green spaces. We walked for an hour around the different statues and areas in the north-eastern section before heading back to the tour bus, we didn’t encounter a café in that time, so be prepared with water if you’re visiting in the warmer months!
Monbijoupark – A lovely little green space beside the River Spree, close to Hackescher Markt. This was my favourite place that we stopped for a break – with riverside views, a few independent bars, and a relaxed local feel. We had beautiful weather and the park was buzzing with music.
James-Simon-Park – This sits just nearby Monbijoupark, between the Spree and the edge of Museum Island. It’s smaller but brilliantly placed for you can see right across to the Bode Museum. It’s one of those easy-to-miss spots that’s perfect for a coffee stop, or just taking in how beautiful Berlin looks along the river when the sun is shining.
Even with all the museums, parks, memorials, and general sightseeing that we packed into our visit, we still felt like we had barely scratched the surface in this historical city. There is so much more to explore, and I’d happily stay at Capri by Fraser Berlin again. It gave us the space, comfort and independence we needed, while keeping us close to so many of the places we wanted to explore.
For a city as big, bold and fascinating as Berlin, having that kind of easy, central base makes all the difference.
To book visit https://www.frasershospitality.com/en/germany/berlin/capri-by-fraser-berlin
Prices from £74 per night in July.
Article written and images by Sally Bendall @girlabouttravel and @girlaboutyorkshire
Many thanks to Interrail for their support.
