How to spend two days in Berlin on the cheap
If you’re going to be in Berlin for two days and want to see its best bits without spending a fortune, walking tours are the best way to see the city’s countless historic sights as well as explore its little-known cultural gems in a short space of time.
In most cities, you’ll find free walking tours on offer and they’re usually ran by locals or students who brim with passion and knowledge about their city. In Berlin, head to Brandenburg Gate to find a tour you can join.
We did a Historic Berlin Walking Tour on day one in Berlin to see the textbook attractions, and spent our second day on an Alternative Berlin Walking Tour, where we were shown some of the city’s plentiful street art.
Both tours were free! We also took to the streets at night with a Berlin pub crawl, but that’s another story.
Our two day Berlin itinerary
Berlin is the perfect destination for a city break on the cheap, with budget flights from the UK, plenty of fun hostels and enough to keep you busy sightseeing for a few days without blowing all your cash. I flew to Berlin for two nights in February with the aim of seeing as much of the city as possible while spending as little of my student wages as I could.
Scotland had been blessed with relatively good weather for the time of year, and I chose to go to Germany where it was snowing. Hmm.
We stayed at Generator Hostel on lots of people’s recommendation, and got a free upgrade to a private room. Only a few stops from the airport, I would definitely recommend Generator!
Day 1: A Free Historic Walking Tour of Berlin
On the first day we did a free walking tour of Berlin, led by a very enthusiastic girl. It started at Brandenburg Gate outside the 1500 euro per night hotel that is infamous for that Micheal Jackson balcony incident, and we traipsed around the city from there, covering the Holocaust memorial, The Gendarmenmarkt, Humboldt University, the Book Burning Memorial, Berlin Cathedral, and lots of other things with German names I didn’t quite catch. It was really interesting and learning about history while standing on top of Hitler’s bunker is a unique travel experience.
Here’s a statue of a man punching a horse.
Berlin Nightlife
That night we did a pub craw with Canadians, drank triple vodkas and ended up at Matrix club. The Berlin nightlife is pretty much 24 hour but by 5am we were wrecked. A day trekking around in the snow had taken its toll. We got a midnight feast of Currywurst and Jagermeister – possibly the worst thing in the world. German delicacies are not delicious.
On the way back to Generator a girl on the train started whispering to me in German. It was only when her friend, who was slowly turning green next to her, threw up everywhere that I figured out what she was trying to warn me about.
Day 2: The best way to see Berlin’s street art
On day two we did The Alternative Walking Tour, so we really saw both sides of Berlin. Some of the street art was unreal! We went to Kunsthaus Tacheles, an art center which the now squatting artists have been forced out of due to demolition, thanks to the city’s gentrification. The Tacheles used to be full of workshops and studios, a cinema and even a nightclub. The pictured sculpture park below closed just after I was there after Nordbank decided they could get money out of it.
Did you know that millennials are now choosing Berlin instead of overpriced London?
I even spotted a Banksy piece next to his rival, Robboe’s artwork.
Earlier that day we had bought emergency toothpaste and unknowingly brushed our teeth in the door way of the Tacheles. Bad packing skills, but at least we seemed to delight a few bemused locals.
The tour ended at the Berlin Wall, then we explored the other side of the city but got cold so we went back to the hostel.
That night was a bit of a write off, as we headed out at 1am when the S-Bahn stopped running then spent 5 hours lost on buses in Germany. In the snow. At 5am.
Germany is a big and scary place. It was an interesting trip but I think I’ll only go back to Berlin in the summer.
Planning your own trip to Berlin? Search and book Berlin hotels on booking.com.
Was your experience of Berlin different to mine? Let me know whether I should come back in the sunshine in the comment sections!
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Iga Berry (@igaberry1) says
Berlin is one of my fav cities! Actually I like it so much that I am considering taking German lessons! Let’s connect on Bloglovin Have a lovely day, Iga xxx
mark says
Great read and great pictures. We loved Berlin but yes the bus system can be confusing we experienced that first hand aswell
Cheers
Mark
Nancy says
Appreciate the Berlin budget tips! Great photos –
Stuart Forster says
Berlin offers visitors great value for money. One of my favourite memories involved going up into the iconic glass cupola on top of the Reichstag building. Tickets for that are free but are worth booking well in advance as the queues can get quite long if you try to get hold of them while you’re in the city
Samantha says
I am hoping to visit Berlin very soon! Its a great city and I hear so many good things about it! I’d quite like to do the street art tour as well…and you should definitely visit again in the sunshine as it sounds like you had a good time there 🙂 And a city is always different in different seasons 🙂
christine says
I love the currywurst there!!! Looks like you still had a good time on a budget 🙂
The Educational Tourist says
I visited Berlin once as part of a whirlwind adventure where I just got a taste of a lot of place. Now I want to go back and spend more time. This is a great post! Thanks for the inspiration.
Mary Charie | Two Monkeys Travel says
To be honest, most of the traveling blog site out there shows off summery sunny beaches and cities, what I love with this particular article is that you’re showing place, food and things we can do even it’s somehow cold. The biggest thing is, this is Berlin! And to visit it in a tight budget is awesome!
Simone says
Oooh I want to visit Berlin so bad 🙂 Your photos are lovely & that is so good about the room upgrade! Winning 🙂
Simone x
Gypsycouple says
Ooh!! Lovely pics!! We skipped Berlin the last time around opting for Munich and Frankfurt for our limited stay in Germany. Seems we’ll have to pay another visit soon
Jessica says
I’m loving all of the colorful street art throughout your photos! Looks like a lovely time of year to visit, and you shared some great spots I will definitely have to add to my list for when I make it to Berlin. Thanks for sharing!
Nic from Roaming Renegades says
I literally can’t wait to visit Berlin. I have been to Hamburg and absolutely loved Germany, I just know I will fall in love with Berlin! We will be one quite a budget when we visit too as it will as part of our RTW so this is great to know!
Anne Klien ( MeAnne) says
Berlin is high on my list this photo along the art street are gorgeous! Hopefully to get there next year.
Natasha Amar says
The street art in Berlin is the biggest reason I want to visit, and your pictures confirm that it’s very interesting.
Karla says
Awesome post and lovely photos! Been to Berlin in 2012 with 2 good friends, I must say your witty post title is spot on! The city is definitely interesting, a bit scary at times, but nonetheless has its own charm. Hope to be back soon!
Tatiana says
That’s my city!!! 🙂 And, yes, you need to come back in summer! Berlin is a totally different place in summer, in winter it’s just grey and cold – even I get depressed here 🙂
And you definitely have to return to try a better currywurst! It can be tasty, too, have you tried some of the original ones, like at Curry36 or at Konnopke?
Sean says
I love street art, and can’t wait to get to Berlin which is known for it. But Currywurst and Jagermeister?!? No way.
Dannielle Lily says
Hahah yeah not the tastiest combination Sean!
Hannah says
Love this. People always think city breaks are expensive, but this proves they don’t have to be!
Dannielle Lily says
I think any trip is what you make it, regardless of budget! Thanks for your comment Hannah
Ashlee Litfin says
The street art looks amazing. The alternative walking tour looks like my kinda thing 🙂
Danielle says
I would love to do that alternative walking tour. I’ve been to Berlin several times (I live in Germany just a few hours from Berlin) but I haven’t seen nearly enough of the street art for my liking.
-Danielle