Young adults from America and all over Europe are flocking to this German city like ex-patriots flocked to Paris between the two world wars. An architectural wonder with a vibrant nightlife and intellectual culture, Berlin is more alive now than ever. This winter, bear the cool weather for low-priced deals to the city that split Western and Eastern Europe and see what all the fuss is about.
Go Today (tel. 800/227-3235; www.go-today.com) has a six-night/seven-day package starting at $589. Travel is good from November 1 to December 15, 2005 and again from January 6 to March 31, 2005. In addition to round-trip airfare from New York area airports (other gateways are additional) and accommodations, the trip includes daily breakfast and hotel service charges and taxes. The package does not include airport departure fees and security taxes. Hotels are all centrally located and range from three- to four-star properties. Some blackout dates apply for certain hotels. A three-night Berlin quick trip is available for $629 with travel good through October 31, 2005. This trip needs to be booked by October 20, 2005.
An eight-day/six-night package deal to Berlin with daily departures from November 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006 is available through Continental Journeys (tel. 800/601-4343; www.continentaljourneys.com) starting at $879. Accommodations are at a "tourist class" hotel near the center of the city. The package includes round-trip economy class airfare from New York's JFK or Newark airports, six nights at a hotel of your choice that increases in cost based on level of luxury, daily breakfast at the hotel, a city tour, and hotel taxes and service charges. A six-night Berlin-Munich combination trip is available starting at $1,139 with a single supplement available for $369. You get a tour of each city as well as train transportation between the two German cities. Additional nights are available at a discounted rate.
A land-only trip to Berlin is available from Germany Travel Tours (tel. 800/268-4155; www.germanytraveltours.com) good for travel from November 4 to December 28, 2005. Starting at $238 with a hotel near Berlin's opera house, the trip includes three-nights accommodations, a buffet breakfast, a city tour and a day in Potsdam with a visit to Sanssouci Palace, Germany's version of Versailles built by Frederick the Great in 1745 complete with large gardens and baroque landscaping. For travelers with slightly more time, a 12-day 11-night journey to Berlin, Prague, Budapest and Vienna starts at $1,113. All rail is included in the land-only trip with upgrades to first-class available as is air transportation from Prague to Budapest. The trip spends two nights in Berlin, three nights in Prague, three nights in Budapest and three nights in Vienna. Buffet breakfasts and some traditional dinners serving national dishes are included in the price of the package.
One of Berlin's many strengths is its nightlife scene. The city is very liberal as bars enjoy flexible closing times, and smoking is acceptable everywhere. Plus, it's inexpensive. A beer costs roughly $3 at some Berlin's bars. Bars range from swank cocktail lounges to seedy underground dives. Try the Green Door Cocktail Lounge (tel. + 49 030/215-25-15; www.greendoor.de), a chic bar owned by Fritz Müller-Scherz , a living Berlin film legend. Beers are more than $3 bucks here and the bar lists a closing time, but we hear people stay after hours to enjoy the storytelling and late-night energy. For another cool spot, try the Gainsbourg Berlin Bar Americain (tel. + 49 30 3137464, www.gainsbourg.de), a drinking hole dedicated and named for Serge Gainsbourg, the great French crooner. Just off the Savigny Platz, the bar attracts a wide range of characters and an international clientele.
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