Best known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars, and for its numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. History and cultural buffs will be in their elemen but don't forget Berlin is also home to many modern, upscale shopping areas filled with department stores and small boutiques that offer the latest in European trends and fashion.
And of course there is no city in Europe that parties harder than Berlin; the nightlife of most cities is tame in comparison. There are lots of hip relaxed pubs and funky clubs with the elastic opening hours Berlin is famed for. Most of the usual good places to go are in the center of Berlin (Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg), but the eastern part of the city has all the nightlife.
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Must-sees in Berlin
Jewish Museum
Visit the moving Jüdisches Museum to remember the tragedy of the Holocaust. Here, you can discover the personal stories of eminent and ordinary Jews who contributed to the life of Berlin during the Weimar Republic, but tragically lost their lives in the Second World War. The powerful architecture by Daniel Libeskind is based on the plan of an exploded Star of David and lines drawn between the site and former addresses of prominent Jewish figures such as Walter Benjamin and Mies van der Rohe. Windows bring light that pierces the otherwise dark passages and voids stand for the emptiness left by the destruction of Jewish culture. To contemplate the loss, take a solitary walk through the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, designed by Peter Eisenmann. The field of 2,711 stelae arranged in rows over a city block in Potsdamer Platz memorialises the Murdered Jews of Europe. For more info go here.
Reichstag
The imposing Reichstag was controversial from the beginning. The Nazis used its burning down in 1933 as an excuse to suspend basic freedoms. But since its celebrated renovation by Lord Foster, the Reichstag has again housed the Bundestag (the Federal German parliament). No dome appeared on Foster's original plans, but the German government insisted upon one. Foster, in turn, insisted that unlike the structure's original dome (damaged in the war and demolished in the 1950s), the new dome must be open to visitors. A lift whisks you to the roof; from here, ramps lead to the top of the dome, which affords fine views of the city. At the centre is a funnel of mirrors, angled so as to shed light on the workings of democracy below but also lending an almost funhouse effect to the dome. A trip to the top of this open, playful and defiantly democratic space is a must, but beware of queues: come first thing or in the evening if possible, and note that the dome is occasionally closed to the public (check the website for details).
Berlin Wall
It's not so long ago that East Berliners were lifelong prisoners behind the Wall. Although the majority of it was demolished in 1990, a small stretch remains on the southern border of Wedding. Along the way, you can see a restored segment at the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, next to a documentation centre that charts the stories of escapees who attempted to cross the divide. At the Sandkrugbrücke, located on a former border crossing, a stone commemorates the first person to be shot dead trying to escape to the West. Pause to see Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, where a museum display about the history of the Wall marks the spot of the once forbidding border, which was only open to non-Germans and Allied forces. Just walking across what was once Europe's most impassable frontier is a real experience. For more info go here.
Jewish Museum
Visit the moving Jüdisches Museum to remember the tragedy of the Holocaust. Here, you can discover the personal stories of eminent and ordinary Jews who contributed to the life of Berlin during the Weimar Republic, but tragically lost their lives in the Second World War. The powerful architecture by Daniel Libeskind is based on the plan of an exploded Star of David and lines drawn between the site and former addresses of prominent Jewish figures such as Walter Benjamin and Mies van der Rohe. Windows bring light that pierces the otherwise dark passages and voids stand for the emptiness left by the destruction of Jewish culture. To contemplate the loss, take a solitary walk through the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, designed by Peter Eisenmann. The field of 2,711 stelae arranged in rows over a city block in Potsdamer Platz memorialises the Murdered Jews of Europe. For more info go here.
Reichstag
The imposing Reichstag was controversial from the beginning. The Nazis used its burning down in 1933 as an excuse to suspend basic freedoms. But since its celebrated renovation by Lord Foster, the Reichstag has again housed the Bundestag (the Federal German parliament). No dome appeared on Foster's original plans, but the German government insisted upon one. Foster, in turn, insisted that unlike the structure's original dome (damaged in the war and demolished in the 1950s), the new dome must be open to visitors. A lift whisks you to the roof; from here, ramps lead to the top of the dome, which affords fine views of the city. At the centre is a funnel of mirrors, angled so as to shed light on the workings of democracy below but also lending an almost funhouse effect to the dome. A trip to the top of this open, playful and defiantly democratic space is a must, but beware of queues: come first thing or in the evening if possible, and note that the dome is occasionally closed to the public (check the website for details).
Berlin Wall
It's not so long ago that East Berliners were lifelong prisoners behind the Wall. Although the majority of it was demolished in 1990, a small stretch remains on the southern border of Wedding. Along the way, you can see a restored segment at the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, next to a documentation centre that charts the stories of escapees who attempted to cross the divide. At the Sandkrugbrücke, located on a former border crossing, a stone commemorates the first person to be shot dead trying to escape to the West. Pause to see Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, where a museum display about the history of the Wall marks the spot of the once forbidding border, which was only open to non-Germans and Allied forces. Just walking across what was once Europe's most impassable frontier is a real experience. For more info go here.
Berlin
