Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LANDMARK
EUROPA-CENTER
24hr;
Kurfürstendamm,
Zoologischer Garte, Zoologischer Garten)
The 103m-high Europa-Center was Berlin's first 'skyscraper' at its 1965 opening, with the
giant Mercedes star spinning on its rooftop a symbol of capitalist West Germany's miracu-
lous economic recovery. Today, the aging shopping centre exudes charming retro flair and is
enlivened by such quirky sights as the Lotus Fountain and the psychedelic
Flow of Time
Clock
by Bernard Gitton.
You can catch the lift to the 20th floor to enjoy the panorama or get an eyeful of pretty
people and Berlin at the swish
Puro Skylounge
.
Europa-Center was built on the site of the
Romanisches Cafe, a popular hang-out of 1920s artists and intellectuals.
HISTORIC SITE
ZOO PALAST
from €10.50; 100, Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten)
International stars got the red carpet treatment during Berlin's International Film Festival
(Berlinale) between 1957 and 1999 at West Berlin's most glamorous cinema. After a three-
year renovation it returned to the spotlight in late 2013 and now screens blockbusters
(dubbed into German) in seven fancily appointed theatres. Check out the cool 1950s foyer.
MUSEUM
MUSEUM FÜR FOTOGRAFIE
030-266 424 242;
www.smb.museum/mf
;
Jebensstrasse 2; adult/conces-
sion €10/5;
10am-6pm Tue, Wed & Fri-Sun, 10am-8pm Thu;
Zoologischer Garten,
Zoologischer
Garten)
The artistic legacy of Helmut Newton (1920-2004), the Berlin-born enfant terrible of fash-
ion and lifestyle photography, is given centre stage at Berlin's Photography Museum in a
converted Prussian officers' casino behind Bahnhof Zoo. On the top floor, the gloriously re-
stored barrel-vaulted
Kaisersaal
(Emperor's Hall) forms a grand backdrop for changing
high-calibre photography exhibits drawn from the archive of the State Art Library.
Shortly before his fatal car crash, Newton donated 1500 images along with personal ef-
fects to the city in which he was born. He had studied photography here with famed fashion
photographer Yva before fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938. His work reflects a lifelong obses-
sion with the female body, which he often portrayed in controversial, quasi-pornographic
poses. One famous image shows a crouched model wearing a horse's saddle, while his best-
known work - the 'Big Nudes' series - stars a flock of stark-naked Amazons. Even his land-
scapes and still lifes are often charged with cold eroticism. The galleries on the 1st floor
