More than 20 years after the fall of the wall, Berlin progressed into a glittering, glamorous metropolis teeming with tourist attractions, from top art galleries and museums, to grand opera houses and booming nightclubs, gourmet restaurants and ethnic snack stalls. No matter what your tastes are, be they punk or posh, you will surely satisfy them with a trip to Berlin.
With such a momentous past, the starting point to any tour of Berlin has to be the famous Tiergarten district, Germany’s administrative center and home to dozens of its most historically and culturally significant buildings. The grandest of these is the Bundestag, found in the restored Reichstag building which was largely destroyed in World War II, where the Federal Chancellery is now housed.
Next on the list is the city’s famous Brandenburg Gate, the historic symbol of Berlin, built in 1791 by the famous architect Carl Gotthard Langhans. Throughout the Cold War years, the Brandenburg Gate came to be seen as a one of the biggest symbols of the division between East and West, and the Warsaw Pact and NATO. However, since the fall of the wall the gate is now taken on a much more promising role, symbolizing the German reunification.
Old and New Berlin
While you’re visiting the Brandenburg Gate, don’t forget to check out the remains of the Berlin Wall itself, as well as Checkpoint Charlie, the famous border crossing on which so many lives were lost.
Berlin is not only about history though, it’s also a place of culture with something to suit everyone – top class museums like the Deutsches Historisches Museum, the Philarmonic Orchestra, and dozens of beautiful parks such as the Tierpark and the Botanischer Garten und Museum.
Those looking for nighttime action will also find plenty to do in Berlin, where there are hundreds of bars and night spots waiting to be discovered – you can certainly forget all about sleeping early when you pay a visit to the lively pubs like the Black Box Music Club or the Junction Bar, both of which come with a fantastic friendly crowd and live bands each night. Meanwhile, clubbers might want to check out Berlin’s biggest club, Club and Discothek Haus B, which features top DJs playing regularly from all over Europe.
Berlin is a place to be swept away by the vibrancy and riches of its heritage and its people. The city is another unforgettable experience for the whole family.
Main attractions: The Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz , Hauptbahnhof, Fernsehturm, Schloss Charlottenburg, the Reichstag, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin Cathedral, Museum Island, Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Olympiastadion, and scores more.
Currency: Euro
Official language: German
Area: 891.85 km2 (344.3 sq mi)
Population: 4,429,847
Electricity:
- Voltage: 220-240 Volts (U.S./Canada are 110-120 Volts)
- Primary Socket Types: Schuko, Europlug
- Multi-voltage appliances (laptops, etc.)
- 110-120V electronics: Plug adapter + step-down transformer
- Hair dryers, curling irons, etc.: Plug adapter + voltage converter
Other places to see & things to do: The Spree river, the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Philharmonic Concert Hall, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the Pergamon Museum, the Jewish Museum, Deutsches Theater, Berliner Dom, City hall, TV tower at Alexanderplatz, and many others.
Images courtesy:Foto Füchsin - Fotolia.com, MorBCN, Gary - Fotolia.com
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