Klunkerkranich

Berlin

　　In the warmer months, vibes, views and sounds are the ammo of this club-garden-bar combo on the rooftop parking deck of the Neukölln Arcaden shopping mall. It's a great place for day-to-night drinking and chilling to local DJs or bands. Sustenance is provided. Check the website – these folks come...

RAW Gelände

Berlin

　　This jumble of derelict buildings is one of the last subcultural compounds in central Berlin. Founded in 1867 as a train repair station ('Reichsbahn-Ausbesserungs-Werk', aka RAW), it remained in operation until 1994. Since 1999 the graffiti-slathered grounds have been a thriving offbeat sociocultural centre for creatives of all stripes. They...

Oberbaumbrücke

Berlin

　　With its jaunty towers and turrets, crenellated walls and arched walkways, the Oberbaumbrücke (1896) gets our nod for being Berlin’s prettiest bridge. Linking Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain across the Spree, it smoothly integrates a steel middle section by Spanish bridgemeister Santiago Calatrava. In summer, street musicians and artists often turn the...

Tränenpalast

Berlin

　　During the Cold War, tears flowed copiously in this glass-and-steel border-crossing pavilion where East Berliners had to bid adieu to family visiting from West Germany – hence its ‘Palace of Tears’ moniker. The exhibit uses original objects (including the claustrophobic passport control booths and a border auto-firing system), photographs and...

Hansa Studios

Berlin

　　Complete this analogy: London is to Abbey Road as Berlin is to…Well? Hansa Studios, of course, that seminal recording studio that has exerted a gravitational pull on international artists since the Cold War. Now used as an event location, the only way to get inside this famous building (and find...

Tiergarten

Berlin

　　Berlin’s rulers used to hunt boar and pheasants in the rambling Tiergarten until garden architect Peter Lenné landscaped the grounds in the 19th century. Today it's one of the world’s largest urban parks, popular for strolling, jogging, picnicking, frisbee tossing and, yes, nude sunbathing and gay cruising (especially around the...

Museum für Film und Fernsehen

Berlin

　　Germany's film history gets the star treatment at this engaging museum. Explore galleries dedicated to pioneers like Fritz Lang, ground-breaking movies like Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi-era Olympia and legendary divas like Marlene Dietrich. The TV exhibit has more niche appeal but is still fun if you want to know what Star...

KaDeWe

Berlin

　　Continental Europe's largest department store has been going strong since 1907 and is certainly a tempting retail temple. Explore the historic maze of high-end wares, seemingly stocking everything any heart desires. And don’t miss the legendary gourmet floor on the sixth floor. A mind-boggling selection of epicurean treats from around...

Bode-Museum

Berlin

　　On the northern tip of Museumsinsel, this palatial edifice houses a comprehensive collection of European sculpture from the early Middle Ages to the 18th century, including priceless masterpieces by Tilman Riemenschneider, Donatello and Giovanni Pisano. Other rooms harbour a precious coin collection and a smattering of Byzantine art, including sarcophagi...

Reichstag

Berlin

　　It’s been burned, bombed, rebuilt, buttressed by the Wall, wrapped in fabric and finally turned into the modern home of the German parliament by Norman Foster: the 1894 Reichstag is indeed one of Berlin’s most iconic buildings. Its most distinctive feature, the glittering glass dome, is served by a lift...

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Berlin

　　At this gritty multifloor party pen with lots of nooks and crannies, a steady line-up of top DJs feeds a diverse bunch of revellers with dance-worthy electronic gruel. Intense club nights usually segue into the morning and beyond. Run by a collective, the venue also hosts cultural, political and gender...

Brandenburger Tor

Berlin

　　A symbol of division during the Cold War, the landmark Brandenburg Gate now epitomises German reunification. Carl Gotthard Langhans found inspiration in Athens’ Acropolis for the elegant triumphal arch, completed in 1791 as the royal city gate. 　　It stands sentinel over Pariser Platz, a harmoniously proportioned square once again framed...

Griessmühle

Berlin

　　Hugging an idyllic canal in Neukölln, Griessmühle is a sprawling indoor-outdoor space with a funky garden strewn with tree houses, Trabis (GDR-era cars) and flower beds. The project by the ZMF artist collective woos attitude-free electro lovers with an events roster that includes not only parties and concerts but also...

KitKatClub

Berlin

　　This ‘kitty’ is naughty, sexy and decadent, listens to electro of all stripes and fancies extravagant get-ups (or nothing at all). Berlin’s most (in)famous erotic nightclub hides out at Sage Club with its four dance floors, shimmering pool and fire-breathing dragon. The Saturday-night CareBall Bizarre party is a classic among...

Jüdisches Museum

Berlin

　　In a landmark building by American-Polish architect Daniel Libeskind, Berlin’s Jewish Museum offers a chronicle of the trials and triumphs in 2000 years of Jewish life in Germany. The exhibit smoothly navigates all major periods, from the Middle Ages via the Enlightenment to the community’s post-1990 renaissance. Find out about...

Kater Blau

Berlin

　　The successor of the legendary Bar25, Kater Blau showers freewheeling club-goers with fine electro in a rambling indoor-outdoor playground, featuring two floors and a boat with deck for chilling. The SaSoMo party starts at midnight on Saturday and goes nonstop through Monday evening or longer. The door is quite selective....

Panoramapunkt

Berlin

　　Europe’s fastest lift, Panoramapunkt yo-yos up and down the red-brick postmodern Kollhoff Tower in 20 seconds. From the bilevel viewing platform at a lofty 100m, you can pinpoint the sights, make a java stop in the 1930s-style cafe, enjoy sunset from the terrace and check out the exhibit that peels...

Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart

Berlin

　　Berlin's contemporary art showcase opened in 1996 in an old railway station, whose grandeur is a great backdrop for this Aladdin's cave of paintings, installations, sculptures and video art. Changing exhibits span the arc of post-1950 artistic movements – from conceptual art and pop art to minimal art and Fluxus...

Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer

Berlin

　　For an insightful primer on the Berlin Wall, visit this outdoor memorial, which extends for 1.4km along Bernauer Strasse and integrates an original section of Wall, vestiges of the border installations and escape tunnels, a chapel and a monument. Multimedia stations, panels, excavations and a Documentation Centre provide context and...

Bikini Berlin

Berlin

　　Germany’s first concept mall opened in 2014 in a smoothly rehabilitated 1950s architectural icon nicknamed 'Bikini' because of its design: 200m-long upper and lower sections separated by an open floor, now chastely covered by a glass facade. Inside are three floors of urban indie boutiques, short-lease pop-up 'boxes' for up-and-comers,...

Prince Charles

Berlin

　　Prince Charles is a stylish mix of club and bar ensconced in a former pool and overlooked by a kitschy-cute fish tile mural. Electronic music shares turntable time with hip-hop, RnB and other beats. The venue also hosts concerts and the Burgers & Hip Hop street food party. In summer,...

Teehaus im Englischen Garten

Berlin

　　Not even many Berliners know about this enchanting reed-thatched teahouse tucked into the northwestern corner of Tiergarten park. It's best in summer, when the beer garden overlooking an idyllic pond seats up to 500 people for cold beers and a global roster of simple, tasty dishes from quiche to schnitzel....

Altes Museum

Berlin

　　A curtain of fluted columns gives way to the Pantheon-inspired rotunda of the grand neoclassical Old Museum, which harbours a prized antiquities collection. In the downstairs galleries, sculptures, vases, tomb reliefs and jewellery shed light on various facets of life in ancient Greece, while upstairs the focus is on the...

SO36

Berlin

　　This legendary club began as an artist squat in the early 1970s and soon evolved into Berlin’s seminal punk venue, known for wild concerts by the Dead Kennedys, Die Ärzte and Einstürzende Neubauten. Today the crowd depends on the night’s program: electro party, punk concert, lesbigay tea dance, night flea...

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche

Berlin

　　Allied bombing in 1943 left only the husk of the west tower of this once magnificent neo-Romanesque church standing. Now an antiwar memorial, it stands quiet and dignified amid the roaring traffic. Historic photographs displayed in the Gedenkhalle (Hall of Remembrance), at the bottom of the tower, help you visualise...

Urban Nation

Berlin

　　Creating a museum for street art may be akin to caging a wild animal. Yet, this showcase of works by top urban artists pulls the genre out from the underpasses and abandoned buildings and makes them accessible to an entirely new audience. From Alias to Zezao, the beautiful bi-level space...

Alte Nationalgalerie

Berlin

　　The Greek temple–style Old National Gallery is a three-storey showcase of 19th-century European art. To get a sense of the period's virtuosity, pay special attention to the moody landscapes by Romantic heart-throb Caspar David Friedrich, the epic canvases by Franz Krüger and Adolf Menzel glorifying Prussia, the Gothic fantasies of...

Café am Neuen See

Berlin

　　Next to an idyllic lake in Tiergarten, this restaurant gets jammed year-round for its sumptuous breakfast and seasonal fare, but it really comes into its own during beer garden season. Enjoy a microvacation over a cold one and a pretzel or pizza, then take your sweetie for a spin in...

Checkpoint Charlie

Berlin

　　Checkpoint Charlie was the principal gateway for foreigners and diplomats between the two Berlins from 1961 to 1990. Unfortunately, this potent symbol of the Cold War has degenerated into a tacky tourist trap, though a free open-air exhibit that illustrates milestones in Cold War history is one redeeming aspect. ...

Gemäldegalerie

Berlin

　　This museum ranks among the world's finest and most comprehensive collections of European art with about 1500 paintings spanning the arc of artistic vision from the 13th to the 18th century. Wear comfy shoes when exploring the 72 galleries: a walk past masterpieces by Titian, Dürer, Hals, Vermeer, Gainsborough and...

Schloss Charlottenburg

Berlin

　　Charlottenburg Palace is one of Berlin's few sites that still reflect the one-time grandeur of the Hohenzollern clan, which ruled the region from 1415 to 1918. Originally a petite summer retreat, it grew into an exquisite baroque pile with opulent private apartments, richly decorated festival halls, collections of precious porcelain...

Topographie des Terrors

Berlin

　　In the spot where the most feared institutions of Nazi Germany (including the Gestapo headquarters and the SS central command) once stood, this compelling exhibit chronicles the stages of terror and persecution, puts a face on the perpetrators and details the impact these brutal institutions had on all of Europe....

Fernsehturm

Berlin

　　Germany's tallest structure, the TV Tower has been soaring 368m (1207ft) high since 1969 and is as iconic to Berlin as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. On clear days, the panoramic views are stunning from the observation deck (with bar) at 203m (666ft) or from the upstairs Sphere restaurant...

East Side Gallery

Berlin

　　The East Side Gallery is the embodiment of Berlin’s grit and guts. It’s a symbol of hope, creativity and resilience – for Berliners, but also the rest of the world. 　　In 1989, the Berlin Wall, a grey and grisly divider of humanity, was finally torn down after 28 years. Today...

Pergamonmuseum

Berlin

　　The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp back to the ancient worlds of Babylon, Greece, Rome and beyond – and some argue that its artifacts should be returned to where they were found. 　　One of the world’s...

Neues Museum

Berlin

　　For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated attractions thanks to an extraordinary architectural design blending past and present with ancient historic collections. 　　After decades of disuse, an...

Museumsinsel

Berlin

　　Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel (Museum Island), a one-of-a-kind collection of five grand museums capturing diverse cultures and historical periods through rare artifacts. 　　Museumsinsel is situated on the northern half of Spreeinsel,...