Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
their variety is one of the city's great
strengths. And between them they are open
pretty much nonstop: Berlin really is a
24-hour city, and you'll never be short of
something to do. Yet despite this and the
immense cultural offerings - back to back
concerts and festivals throughout the year,
some 180 museums and dozens of
extraordinary historical monuments -
Germany's capital still remains satisfyingly
inexpensive
by Western European standards
generally, and certainly if compared to
London, Paris or New York.
OFFBEAT BERLIN
Beach bars
Sip a cocktail by the River
Spree in a
Strandkorb
(beach basket),
with sand between your toes.
See p.204
Gra
ti art
Learn to gra
ti with
Alternative Berlin, then find your own
bit of wall to practice on.
See p.125
Badeschiff barges
Swim or sweat in
the pools and saunas of the converted
barges of the Badeschiff, bobbing on
the inky River Spree.
See p.234
Go-karting
Career around the streets
in a go-kart.
See p.24
Flea markets
Rummage through
Berlin's flea markets for GDR memorabilia
and vintage clothes.
See p.232
What to see
hough cut off by the Wall for thirty years, the eastern part of the city - the Mitte district -
has always been Berlin's real centre and is its main
sightseeing
, and
shopping
hub. Most
visitors begin their exploration on the city's premier boulevard
Unter den Linden
, starting at
the most famous landmark, the
Brandenburg Gate
, then moving over
to the adjacent seat
of Germany's parliament, the
Reichstag
.
Unter den Linden's most important intersection is
with
Friedrichstrasse
, which cuts north-south. At its eastern end Unter den Linden is lined
by stately Neoclassical buildings and terminates on the shores of
Museum Island
, home to
eastern Berlin's leading museums, but its natural extension on the other side of the island is
Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse
, which leads to a distinctively GDR-era part of the city around
Alexanderplatz
, the eastern city's main commercial and transport hub. Northwest from
here, the
Spandauer Vorstadt
was once the heart of the city's Jewish community, and has
some fascinating reminders of those days, though today it's best known for the restaurants,
bars, boutiques and nightlife around the Hackescher Markt.
Back at the Brandenburg Gate, a walk south along the edge of the gigantic
Tiergarten
park takes you to the swish modern
Potsdamer Platz
, a bustling entertainment quarter
that stands on what was for decades a barren field straddling the death-strip of the Berlin
Wall. Huddled beside Potsdamer Platz is the
Kulturforum
, an agglomeration of cultural
institutions that includes several high-profile art museums. Also fringing the park are
Berlin's diplomatic and government quarters, where you'll find some of the city's most
innovative architecture, including the formidable
Hauptbahnhof
. he western end of the
Tiergarten park is given over to a zoo, which is also the name of the main transport hub at
this end of town. his is the gateway to
City West
, West Berlin's old centre and is best
known for its shopping boulevards, particularly the upmarket
Kurfürstendamm
.
Schöneberg
and
Kreuzberg
, the two residential districts immediately south of the
centre, are home to much of Berlin's most vibrant nightlife. he former is smart and is
popular as a gay area, while Kreuzberg is generally grungy and edgy. Beyond Kreuzberg's
OPPOSITE FROM TOP
SCHLOSS CHARLOTTENBURG; HAMBURGER BAHNHOF; OLYMPIC STADIUM
