Attraction
Brandenburg Gate
Berlin's best-known landmark, a neoclassical gate completed in 1791 and crowned by the Quadriga, which stood beside the Wall until it reopened in December 1989.
There are more things to do in Berlin than almost any other European capital can offer, and the city's recent history is never far away. The Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe stand within a short walk of each other, Museum Island holds five major museums on a single island in the Spree, and surviving stretches of the Berlin Wall at Bernauer Strasse and the East Side Gallery tell the story of the divided city. Each district has its own character: Mitte for sights and galleries, Prenzlauer Berg for cafés and leafy streets, Kreuzberg and Neukölln for food, bars and street life, and Charlottenburg for the Kurfürstendamm and the old West.
Berlin's food scene runs from currywurst stands and Turkish and Vietnamese kitchens to several Michelin-starred restaurants, and its coffee roasters, beer gardens and famous clubs give it a strong reputation for nightlife. Three to four days covers the main sights and a few neighbourhoods, and five days leaves time for a day trip to Potsdam.
Attraction
Berlin's best-known landmark, a neoclassical gate completed in 1791 and crowned by the Quadriga, which stood beside the Wall until it reopened in December 1989.
Attraction
The seat of the German Bundestag, completed in 1894 and rebuilt by Norman Foster, whose glass dome and roof terrace can be visited free with advance…
Attraction
The central memorial to the division of Berlin, set along Bernauer Strasse with a preserved section of Wall, border strip, watchtower and free exhibitions.
Attraction
Peter Eisenman's field of 2,711 concrete stelae near the Brandenburg Gate, with an underground information centre telling the stories of Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Attraction
The longest surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall, 1,316 metres along Mühlenstrasse, painted by artists from around the world in 1990.
Attraction
A museum on Museum Island, rebuilt by David Chipperfield, home to the bust of Nefertiti, the Egyptian collection and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History.
Café
The Mitte café of one of Berlin's best-known speciality coffee roasters, on Auguststrasse in the gallery district, serving its own light-roasted coffee daily.
Café
A Kreuzberg coffee roastery and bakery that opened its first café on Reichenberger Strasse in 2010 and is known for its cheesecake.
Café
A pioneer of speciality coffee in Berlin since 2006, with a café on Oderberger Strasse in Prenzlauer Berg serving its own roasts.
Café
A brunch café and coffee roaster on Münzstrasse in Mitte, serving seasonal filter coffee and espresso with a breakfast and lunch kitchen.
Café
A traditional Konditorei near the Tiergarten, making cakes for around 170 years and best known for Baumkuchen, the layered tree cake.
Café
An organic bakery café in Mitte, baking by hand with Bioland ingredients since 2009, and famous for its cinnamon rolls.
Hotel
Berlin's most famous grand hotel, facing the Brandenburg Gate on Pariser Platz, with 385 rooms and suites, a spa and the Michelin-starred Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer.
Hotel
A five-star design hotel in a former 1930s embassy building on the edge of the Tiergarten, beside the Zoo, with a spa, pool and French restaurant.
Hotel
A boutique hotel in a heritage-listed building on Oranienplatz in Kreuzberg, with a restaurant famous for Peking duck and live concerts five days a week.
Hotel
A playful design hotel in the Bikini Berlin building beside the Zoo, with Jungle rooms overlooking the Tiergarten, the Monkey Bar and NENI restaurant on the…
Hotel
A boutique hotel in a listed public bathhouse on Oderberger Strasse, opened in 1902, with 70 rooms and a restored neo-Renaissance swimming pool.
Hotel
A friendly boutique hotel on Rosenthaler Platz in Mitte, run by the independent Circus group, with a café, bar and easy U-Bahn access.
Bar
Berlin's most famous techno club, in a former power station near Ostbahnhof, with the Panorama Bar upstairs and marathon weekend Klubnacht parties.
Bar
A garden bar and cultural venue on the roof of the Neukölln Arcaden car park, with views over the city, DJs, concerts and events.
Bar
A cocktail bar on the 10th floor of the 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin, with views over the city, the Tiergarten and the monkey enclosure of Berlin…
Bar
A long-established beer garden and restaurant on Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg, which describes itself as Berlin's oldest beer garden.
Bar
A historic dance hall on Auguststrasse, open for more than a century, with dancing, a restaurant serving German cuisine and the preserved Mirror Hall upstairs.
Bar
A basement live music club on Kantstrasse, open since 1975 and one of Berlin's oldest venues, hosting jazz, blues, soul, funk and other concerts.
Restaurant
A Kreuzberg snack bar on Mehringdamm serving currywurst since 1980, open from morning until the small hours.
Restaurant
A family-run currywurst stand under the elevated U-Bahn on Schönhauser Allee, run by three generations since Max Konnopke started selling sausages in 1930.
Restaurant
A tavern beside a surviving stretch of the medieval city wall that describes itself as Berlin's oldest restaurant, serving traditional Berlin cooking since 1621.
Restaurant
A historic Kreuzberg tavern on Oranienstrasse, serving hearty Berlin and German dishes since 1902 in a traditional tavern setting.
Restaurant
A popular Vietnamese restaurant in Mitte, opened by Dat Vuong in 1999, known for its pho, glass noodle salads and twice-weekly changing dishes.
Restaurant
A Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant on the Planufer beside the Landwehr Canal in Kreuzberg, open every evening with warm food until 11pm.
Thing to do
The 368-metre television tower beside Alexanderplatz, with an observation deck at about 203 metres and the revolving Sphere restaurant just above.
Thing to do
A restored nineteenth-century market hall in Kreuzberg with food stalls and producers, best known for its Street Food Thursday evenings.
Thing to do
The former Tempelhof Airport airfield, open since 2010 as a vast public park where you can cycle, skate and walk along the old runways.
Thing to do
A linked series of early twentieth-century courtyards off Rosenthaler Strasse, with Art Nouveau tiles, independent shops, a cinema, a theatre and restaurants.
Thing to do
The home of the Berliner Philharmoniker, a tent-like concert hall at the Kulturforum with seating around the stage, guided tours and free lunchtime concerts.
Tour operator
A Berlin walking tour company running since 1993, known for its Discover Berlin introduction and themed tours on the Third Reich, Sachsenhausen and Potsdam.
Tour operator
A Berlin association that runs guided tours of bunkers, air-raid shelters, tunnels and Cold War sites beneath the city, starting near Gesundbrunnen station.
Tour operator
A Prenzlauer Berg bike tour and rental company based at the Kulturbrauerei, offering 3.5-hour tours of the highlights, the Berlin Wall and alternative Berlin.
Tour operator
Berlin's major passenger boat operator, running one-hour historic city cruises on the Spree and longer bridge tours from central landing stages.
Tour operator
A Berlin tour company focused on street art, subculture and the city's creative side, with a three-hour Alternative Berlin Tour from Alexanderplatz.
Three to four days covers the main sights, Museum Island and a few neighbourhoods; five days allows a day trip to Potsdam
Mitte is best for first-time visitors and sightseeing, Prenzlauer Berg suits families and café lovers, Kreuzberg is good for food and nightlife, and Charlottenburg is calmer and close to the Kurfürstendamm
Regional trains and the S-Bahn run from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Hauptbahnhof, Friedrichstrasse and Alexanderplatz in roughly half an hour to 40 minutes; buses and taxis are also available
Berlin is more affordable than many western European capitals, with good-value food, free memorials and parks and reasonably priced public transport, though hotel rates rise during trade fairs and major events
Berlin is generally safe; watch for pickpockets on busy trains and at major sights, keep an eye on bags in crowded nightlife areas, and use the bike lanes and crossings with care