Berlin (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

~ DK Publishing (Author) "BERLIN, THE CAPITAL OF the Federal Republic of Germany, has a population of approximately 3.5 million and covers 889 sq km (343 sq miles)..." (more)
Key Phrases: allowing photography, observation terrace, spree river, Potsdamer Platz, Friedrich Wilhelm, West Berlin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Eyewitness Travel Guides are the original illustrated travel guidebooks-and they're still the best. Since 1993, the Eyewitness brand has established itself as one of the industry leaders, with sales of more than 6.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Featuring more than 70 worldwide destinations, new titles are being added to the best-selling Eyewitness Travel Guides series each year. In 2003, to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK is re-launching the entire series, fully updated, and with a brand-new look.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: DK Travel; Revised edition (January 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789494302
• ISBN-13: 978-0789494306
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #794,433 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Guide Out There!, July 11, 2000

By	gellio "gellio" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eyewitness Travel Guide to Berlin (Paperback)

Just got back from a trip to Europe. Thought before hand that Prague or Paris would have been my favorite city. Although everything you may have heard about Prague is true- it is the most charming and beautiful place I've ever been - Berlin is simply magnificant.

I recently read, in a book (name escapes me) "Berlin is always in a state of becoming and never in a state of being." That was first said around 1900 and it again holds true 100 years later.

That in part, is what makes Berlin so magnificant. It has so many things that no other city in Europe has. Bombastic imperialistic architecture lies within bombastic communistic showpiece architecture, which lies next to classic baroque architecture, which all lies next to ultra modern architecture. West Berlin the capitalist show piece during the Cold War and East Berlin was the communist show piece. United as one- Berlin is in the state of becoming Europe's showpiece.

This guide takes you through Berlin like no other guide could possibly do. I had the unfortunate circumstance of being in Berlin a few weeks before this guide came out. I hit the main sights -but missed so much more because I used Time Out! It is unfortunate because this guide is so much better- save the lack of hostel information... but it shows you everything you could possibly want to see and do and know..

From strolling down the beautiful Unter den Linden to sitting in the Lustgarten or roaming through the green arces of the Tiergarten...or even soaring to the top of the television tower. Eyewitness Guide will take you there.

If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I'd be anywhere and everywhere in between the Brandenburg Gate and Alexander Platz.

If you're thinking of going to Berlin- stop thinking and go... If you're thinking of buying this guide, stop thinking and buy.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great travel companion, great souvenir!, August 16, 2000

By	Anna L. Kroll "annalois" (Newhall, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eyewitness Travel Guide to Berlin (Paperback)

Adding to other reviews, I just returned from a visit to Berlin with this wonderful book as my travel companion. The pictures are great, the descriptions wonderful, and there is a lot of good, practical information to help one get around in the city. There are a series of maps in the back which covers the whole city in sections which is also in grids. Sites refer to page number and grid on the map, so one can easily find where it is in the city. The city is divided into sections and color coded, with information about each section, since the city is characterized by the different areas in it. I found this particularly helpful in knowing where I was and where I wanted to go.

The only drawback, if one were to find one for this great book, is its weight. Because it is on heavier stock paper, the pictures are better, but the weight is increased. Overall, though, the extra weight is worth carrying around. I found this to be a great souvenir of my trip upon my return. In fact, I stayed with friends who are now living in Berlin. They found the book so useful, they begged to be able to keep it. I am ordering another copy for myself.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The worst DK guide out there, April 30, 2008

By	Marco (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Berlin (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE) (Turtleback)

I hate the thought of writing a bad review for a DK Travel Guide - they are by far the best travel guides available. But I feel I have to warn everyone about this one. There's always at least one bad apple in the barrel, and I've found the 'bad apple'.

First up, the good things. The background, history and descriptions of all the buildings are typical DK - first class, and better than every other guide out there. You can get the background story to the city and its art and architecture before you arrive.

I took the 2008 edition away with me to Berlin in April 2008. You'd expect up-to-date information, wouldn't you? I agree that some things do change; opening times change, museum regulations change etc. BUT - so many things change in a single city, in such a short time since this updated version was written?

I ended up missing so many things due to this book's wrong opening times to so many museums. Here are just a few things that happened -

- It states that all museums are closed on Mondays, and I arrived on a Monday at 9:30am. So I took my time spending the day wandering around the city. At 4pm I had a look at the Pergamon Museum, and saw its open on Mondays. I found that there are many museums open on Mondays. I could have spent a large chunk of my first day in one of the museums.

- I missed the Picture Gallery at Sanssouci because this guide stated the wrong closing time, even though I had paid for entrance to it.

- I lost a lot of time, in the first 2 days there, getting lost on Berlin's train system because the plan at the back of the book is wrong in so many places. Lines aren't shown, wrong line numbers are shown, several lines now go further than shown in the guide. Use the maps on the ticket machines.

- I wasted 2 hours traveling to a combined bookshop/art gallery that is a massive department store at the stated address. After this, I stopped relying on the practical information giving about anything.

- I nearly missed the magnificent Gemaldegallerie (Picture Gallery) in former West Berlin because the guide stated that photography isn't allowed inside. (One of my criteria for visiting a museum is to take photos.) I went there to visit the gallery's bookshop, and discovered that photography IS allowed, just without flash - and I should hope so! Luckily I went to the gallery's shop first things in the morning.

As another reviewer has already said, the 'Four Great Days In Berlin' suggested intinaries on page 10 and 11 would be impossible to do. The writer of this small section obviously has never done their own itinary. How can anyone take a 1 hour train journey to Wannsee, then walk for an hour in the forest to an art gallery, then walk further on to a lake, then take a boat trip on the lake to an island, then walk around the island, then get back to the train station to take the train to Potsdam, to 'enjoy the lovely Park Sanssouci ...' All this in the morning before lunch! (I spent an entire day at Park Sanssouci.) If anyone follows their itinaries, they wouldn't see anything at all - their trip to Berlin would be a huge blur in their mind.

Clearly DK have just reprinted the first edition of this guide, dating from 2000, and are passing it off as a newly revised edition for 2008. There is no way that entire buildings can be changed and train lines extended in the space of a few months since this newly revised guide was 'revised'. (Not even the efficent Germans could manage that feat). I have no idea what errors are in the restaurant and hotel areas of this guide as I didn't use them.

I have always used DK Guides whenever I travel, and will continue to do so. They are the market-leaders in travel guides. But my experiences with this one will make me very cautious in future. I'll be double checking the practical information given in all their guides in future.

* Just treat this guide as a book written in 2000 - don't trust any opening times or other practical information.