Mark’s Score 8.4
You are possibly already familiar with Berlin, even if you live far away. The Runaway Bride staring, Julia Roberts and Richard Geer was filmed in Berlin. If you have seen the movie, then you already know that Berlin is a charming country town full of Edwardian architecture. Downtown Berlin is, in fact, designated a National Register Historic District with 47 structures designated as an “historic place.”
The original village was first built in the 1790s on the site of the Burley Plantation. The town does not derive its name from Germany’s capital. Instead, the name is a bastardization of the Burleigh Inn “burl-in” which stood at the crossroads of the Philadelphia Post and Sinepuxent Roads. Most of the original buildings were destroyed by a series of fires between 1895 – 1904, giving Berlin its current Edwardian charm. With the rise of the beach resorts in Ocean City in the early 1900s, the Berlin train station became the entrepôt for the nearby beaches.
When we were looking for a place to buy a house, we looked at a couple of places in Berlin. I had never seen Berlin before our visit, and I fell in love with the town. We didn’t buy in Berlin because it is only a few miles from the Sinepuxent Bay and only a few feet (meters) above sea level. I doubted the investment wisdom of buying a house at sea level so close to the water in an age of rising sea levels.
In my view, Berlin offers a selection of restaurants and shops unrivaled on the lower shore. Though I think Snow Hill, Oxford, and St Michaels are prettier, Berlin makes up for that deficit in the quality of its restaurants and the unique quality of its shops. There are more commercial choices in Berlin than in Oxford and Snow Hill, and on the whole its restaurants are better than the restaurants in St Michaels.
Berlin’s downtown also offers the advantage of being geographically small. Everything you would wish to visit is just a short walk from the downtown municipal parking. Berlin itself is also conveniently located. If you like to gamble the Ocean Downs Casino is only a few miles (kilometer) northeast of town. It is only 6 miles (10 kilometers) to the Ocean City Boardwalk. If you want quieter beaches, Assateague Island National Seashore is also about 6 miles (10 kilometers) to the Southeast. If you like craft beer there are four craft brewers in town, Berlin Beer Company, Oaked at the Globe, Burley Oak, and Sinepuxet Brewing Company.
Berlin is one of those special places that offers vibrant shopping and nightlife while maintaining its historic charm. But like Snow Hill in spite of all the tourists it still feels like a real place where real people live, work and play. It is a quitter less touristy version of St Michaels. It still retains its small-town authenticity, which is probably why Hollywood chose it as a small-town America film location. It is for all these reasons that I rate Berlin so highly. If you are going to visit the Delmarva, Berlin should be high on your list of places to visit.
Places rated in or near Berlin
| Rating Date | Place | Category | Score |
| 2024 Nov | Beach Memories | Shop/Art | 9.50 |
| 2025 Mar | Una Bella Salute | Shop/food | 9.20 |
| 2024 Nov | Atlantic Hotel Bistro bar | Restaurant/Bar | 9.15 |
| 2024 Nov | Relish Décor | Shop/Specialty | 9.08 |
| 2024 Aug | Black Smith | Restaurant/Bar | 9.03 |
| 2025 Mar | Baked Dessert Café | Shop/Bakery | 8.98 |
| 2024 Nov | Eastern Woodland | Shop/Plants | 8.95 |
| 2025 Mar | Berlin Beer Co. | Restaurant/ Brewery | 8.89 |
| 2024 Dec | Gilbert’s Provisions | Shop/Providore | 8.43 |
Places reviewed in or Near Berlin
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