Hotels - Berlin - Germany

Berlin sits at an important crossroads between East and West Germany and is a frequent host of international business conventions and trade expositions. As a result, the city is outfitted to cater to volumes of tourists. Visitors will find accommodation in every price range in the city centre as well as in the satellite districts away from Berlin-Mitte.

Budget accommodation is situated in the western hemisphere of the city, in nostalgic neighbourhoods that have been hosting tourists for ages. Interspersed are a number of grand hotels in Charlottenburg and along Kurfürstendamm Avenue. The Grand Hotel Esplanade and the Hilton Berlin Hotel are two of the finest.

The Hilton is one of the few upscale hotels to spring up east of the former wall. It's conveniently situated next to a metro station and boasts all of the amenities you would expect of a hotel of this class. The Grand Hotel Esplanade suffered during the war and moved to a new location in the 1980s. Today it is one of Berlin's most luxurious, with an outstanding bar and lounge and views over the river.

Mitte is the central district in Berlin, with plenty of ancient architecture attesting to its roots in the Middle Ages. Visitors staying in Mitte are close to several landmarks like the ancient Marienkirche and Nikolaiviertel buildings. The Brandenburg Gate is also an important tourist attraction found here. Hotels run the gamut in the city centre, with a few truly upscale establishments and a greater number of mid-range hotels.

Charlottenburg is the centre of western Berlin and was a booming district in the 1920s. Today, a hint of old-world grandeur is remembered in the ageing luxury hotels that line Kurfürstendamm Avenue. Since the wall fell, investors have been pouring resources into eastern Berlin, leaving Charlottenburg to fend for itself. Restaurants, shops and attractions like the Memorial Church continue to attract tourists, however.

In the middle of the metropolis is the Tiergarten, a nicely landscaped park dotted with sculptures and ponds and fringed by grand, government palaces. The Tiergarten has fewer hotels than Berlin-Mitte or Charlotennburg, but it does boast a number of upmarket options.

Eastern Berlin is appealing to those who want to get a taste of Germany under the communist regime, though the vestiges of that era are quickly being supplanted by new developments. Tourists staying in eastern Berlin will typically find themselves alongside German tourists.