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Boutique hotels in Berlin

Berlin Activities

Highlights the best Berlin has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Worth getting out of bed for

Highlights the best Berlin has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Viewpoint
Built by the Communists to loom over free West Berlin as a symbol of Soviet might, the Fernsehturm (television tower) in Alexanderplatz is the tallest structure in the city at 368m. Take a lift up to its viewing platform. From here, you can see the entire city spread out beneath you. For information, go to www.berlinerfernsehturm.de.

Arts and culture
When the Cold War ended, artists from all over the world flocked to Mitte, in search of low rents and the creative vibe. The area is still home to plenty of quirky galleries specialising in experimental art. Try Eigen + Art (280 6605) on Auguststrasse, or Tacheles (+49 (0)30 282 6185), an artists’ collective in an old department store on Oranienburgerstrasse. The latter regularly hosts impromptu parties and gigs. For more traditional art, head to the Alte Nationalgalerie (+49 (0)30 2090 5577) in Mitte and Tiergarten’s Gemäldegalerie (+49 (0)30 266 2951).

Something for nothing
The city’s four Weinerei bars (www.weinerei.com) are a blessing for visitors struggling to adapt to the soaring rate of the euro. Simply pay a €1 deposit to get a glass, then help yourself to as much wine as you like. Pay as much as you think fair – and maybe treat yourself to one on the house…

Shopping
If you’re looking to update your look, then you won’t go far wrong in Mitte. Walk along either Alte or Neue Schönhauser Strasse, and you’ll find all manner of designs you won’t see anywhere else. Women should pack their men off in the direction of clothes store Respectmen (+49 (0)30 283 5010) and music Mecca DNS Recordstore (+49 (0)30 247 9835), and then spend a leisurely couple of hours browsing the innovative creations at Claudia Skoda (+49 (0)30 280 7211) and vintagewear at Sommerladen (+49 (0)30 177 299 1789), or trying on the beautiful shoes at Calypso (+49 (0)30 2854 5415).

Daytripper
Just half an hour outside Berlin, Potsdam, former seat of the Prussian royal family, is a refined alternative to the bustle of the German capital. Based around the rococo Schloss Sanssouci, the town is famed for its ornate gardens and lush parkland.

Perfect Picnic
Stock your picnic hamper in the food hall of department store KaDeWe (+49 (0)30 21210) and then take the S1 train from Schöneberg to Wannsee, two linked lakes in the southwest of the city, and dine on the shores.

Walks
New Berlin Tours (+49 (0)30 5105 0030) and Original Berlin Walks (+49 (0)30 301 9194) will both lead you expertly through streets that were at the forefront of one of modern European history’s most turbulent periods.

Activities
Berlin Zoo (+49 (0)30 254 010), right in the city centre, is home to Knut, probably the world’s most famous polar bear. Swimming is extremely popular in Berlin, and the city has many beautiful, Soviet-era schwimbads. Stadtbad Mitte (+49 (0)30 3088 0910), close to Lux 11, comes with heated tiles, a criss-cross beamed glass roof and stained-glass windows picturing proud workers going about their toil.

Diary

June The city’s biggest gay carnival (and, believe us, there are quite a few), the Christopher Street Day Parade, sees more than 400,000 take to Berlin’s streets in all manner of flamboyant costumes. Expect lots of piercings. October Commemorating the day in 1989 when the wall finally tumbled, the Day of German Unity on 3 October sees street parties being held throughout Berlin. December Christmas markets spring up throughout the city – pretend to do your shopping whilst joining the locals in getting subtly sloshed on schnapps and glühwein.