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Berlin Attractions

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin © Berlin Tourist Office

Brandenburg Gate

The impressive and symbolic Brandenburg Gate that lay forlorn for so long in the no man's land behind the Berlin Wall, is now once again renovated and accessible, along with the newly reconstructed Pariser Platz that links the gate to the beautiful Unter den Linden Boulevard. The gate is Berlin's only remaining city gate, built of sandstone between 1788 and 1791 with 12 Doric columns according to a design by C.G. Langhans. Six columns support a 36-foot (11m) transverse beam, similar to the propylaeum of the Acropolis in Athens. The massive gate is topped with a stunning statue of the Goddess of Victory facing east towards the city centre (this was added in 1794). The gate is closed to traffic, as is the adjacent Pariser Platz, a gracious square that was once surrounded with beautiful buildings sadly destroyed in the Second World War. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall new buildings have been built, however, to designs closely following those of the originals.

Check Point Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie

The infamous border crossing point in the wall dividing West and East Berlin has now become a shrine to the wall's memory with the addition of a museum, Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. For nearly 30 years, between 1961 and 1990, Checkpoint Charlie in the Friedrichstrasse was the only crossing point between East and West Berlin. The soldier's post can be visited, and tourists can be photographed under the border sign.

Address: Friedrichstraße 43-45; Website: www.mauermuseum.de; Telephone: (030) 253 725-0; Opening time: Daily 9am to 10pm; documentary films are screened throughout the day, with showings of the historically significant feature films 'Mit dem Wind nach Westen' daily every two hours and 'Mein Kampf' daily at 7.30pm; Admission: €12.50 (adults), €7.50 (scholars/students)

Eastside Gallery

Eastside Gallery

The remains of the infamous Berlin Wall have now become the largest open-air art gallery in the world. The longest section of the wall, which has been preserved, stretches from Ostbahnhof station to the Oberbaumbrucke, and has been given over to graffiti artists from around the world. A total of 118 artists from 21 countries have exerted their skills on the 4,318-foot (1,316m) long section of the wall, and this collection has become a Berlin landmark and a tourist attraction. Best known paintings are Dimitri Vrubel's Brotherly Kiss and Gunther Shaefer's Fatherland. The gallery is billed as an international memorial for freedom.

Address: Mühlenstraße; Website: www.eastsidegallery.com; Admission: Free

Jewish Museum © Jens Ziehe

Jewish museum

Although relatively new the Jewish Museum in Lindenstrasse has already gained an international reputation for its significant architecture and unique exhibitions that bring history alive. The bulk of the museum is housed in a windowless and doorless steel-clad, silver building, designed by Daniel Libeskind, sited alongside the yellow Baroque edifice of the Berlin Museum. Visitors enter the Jewish Museum through the Berlin Museum to explore the exhibition rooms, which are clustered around a main axis void, designed to signify the empty and invisible aspects of Jewish history.

Address: Lindenstraße 9-14; E-mail: info@jmberlin.de; Website: www.juedisches-museum-berlin.de; Telephone: (0)30 2599 3300; Transport: U1, U6 to Hallesches Tor or U6 to Kochstraße; Opening time: Monday 10am to 10pm, Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 8pm; Admission: €5 (adults), children under six free; concessions available

Hamburger Bahnhof © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin/F. Friedrich

Hamburger Bahnhof

One of the most popular art galleries in Berlin is housed in a train station. The historic Hamburger Bahnhof, built in 1846 at the Tiergarten, was badly damaged during the Second World War, but has been restored and reopened, with some modern elements added to the architecture, as an exhibition venue for an extensive contemporary art collection. The former station now offers 107,639 square feet (10,000 sq metres) of space filled with works by the likes of Andy Warhol, Josephy Beuys and Roy Lichtenstein. The basis of the exhibition is the Marx private collection, but there are changing exhibitions and good examples of the Italian Transavanguardia and minimalist art on show too.

Address: Invalidenstraße 50- 51; Website: www.hamburgerbahnhof.de; Telephone: (0)30 397834-11; Transport: U6 to Zinnowitzer St.; tram M6, M8 or 12; S3, S5, S7, S9, S75 to Hauptbahnhof; Opening time: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 6pm; Saturday 11am to 8pm; Sunday 11am to 6pm. Guided tours are conducted on Sundays at 4pm; Admission: €8; children under 16 free. Concessions available. Free admission Thursdays 2pm to 4pm

Potsdamer Platz

This vibrant square is the heart and soul of the 'New Berlin', which has emerged since the fall of the wall in 1989. The original square was once one of the busiest junctions in Europe with a major train station sited on it. However after damage during the Second World War and being cut through by the divisive wall, it became a decayed wasteland. Since the fall of the wall, however, a building boom has been taking place around the Potsdamer Platz, which now boasts an exciting mix of restaurants, shopping centres, hotels, a casino, theatres and cinemas that draws both Berliners and tourists seeking good food and recreation. Focus of the square is the 22-storey Debis Haus, designed by Renzo Piano, featuring an atrium with cathedral-like dimensions, and its neighbouring Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, a shopping mall with an Imax cinema. The Sony Centre is the most recent addition, consisting of seven buildings around a light-flooded arena, which also houses Berlin’s popular Film Museum. The Kollhoff building features a panorama platform, reached by Europe’s fastest express elevator, which offers views of the city.

Website: www.potsdamerplatz.de; Opening time: The panorama platform is open daily 11am to 8pm; Admission: Panorama platform: €3.50

LEGOLAND

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre

The newly opened LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is the first indoor LEGOLAND in the world and provides an interactive journey through a land of colour, creativity, learning and play. There is a fun factory, where real LEGO bricks are made, a 4-D cinema show, opportunities for visitors to make their own creations, Miniland Berlin, a themed ride and much more all under one roof.

Address: Sony Centre, 4 Potsdamer Platz; Website: www.legolanddiscoverycentre.com; Telephone: (0)30 30 1040-10; Transport: Bus M41 to Potsdamer Platz, or M48, 200, 357 to Varian-Fry-Str. U-Bahn U2, S1, S2, S25, RE3, RE4, RE5 to Potsdamer Platz station; Opening time: Daily 10am to 5pm; closed 25 December; Admission: €14.75 (adults), €11.75 (children 3-11); other concessions available

The Story of Berlin

The Story of Berlin

One of Berlin's most popular attractions, the unusual exhibition recounts the history of the German capital city from its foundation until the fall of the Wall. The Story of Berlin is divided into 25 themed rooms and pays attention to the feelings, thoughts and living conditions of common Berliners. One of its main attractions is the nuclear bunker that was built during the Cold War in the 1970s. Guided tours are available every hour.

Address: Kurfürstendamm 207-208; Website: www.story-of-berlin.de; Telephone: (0)30 887 20 100; Transport: Subway to Uhlandstrasse or Kurfürstendamm, S-Bahn to Savignyplatz or Zoologischer Garten, or bus to Uhlandstrasse; Opening time: Daily 10am to 8pm. Last guided tour at 6pm; Admission: €9.80 (adults), €3.50 (children aged 6-13). Other concessions available

Gendarmenmarkt

Said to be one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, the Gendarmenmarkt is certainly one of Berlin's most impressive squares that was created as a market place in the 17th century. During World War II most of the buildings were destroyed, but have since been returned to their former glory. The square is dominated by the beautiful Konzerthaus (concert house), which is home to the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, as well as the twin churches of Deutscher Dom and Franzosischer Dom, the identical German and French Cathedrals. Gendarmenmarkt is also host to Berlin's best Christmas market and various concerts. Surrounding the plaza are a number of cafes and restaurants.

Transport: Bus N6 or U-bahn U2 and U6

Schloss Charlottenburg

Charlottenburg Palace

Schloss Charlottenburg is the largest palace in Berlin, an 18th-century baroque structure that was originally constructed as the summer home for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Elector Frederick III who became the first Prussian king. The splendid interiors are festooned with art masterpieces, while the surrounding gardens contain a mausoleum, pavilion and the Belvedere, which houses the porcelain museum.

Address: Spandauer Damm 10-22; Website: www.spsg.de; Telephone: (0)30 320 911; Transport: U2 or bus 309 to Sophie-Charlotte-Platz; Opening time: Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 5pm. The new wing is open 10am to 5pm (April to October) and 11am to 5pm (November to March); closed Mondays; Admission: Old palace: €10; new wing: €6 including audio guide

Berliner Dom

Berliner Dom

The Berlin Cathedral was built between 1895 and 1905 and is a magnificent basilica that stands on the site of several earlier structures. Inside, the crypt contains over 80 sarcophagi of Prussian royals, while other areas of interest are the pulpit, the organ, and the stained glass windows. Visitors can climb the dome, which is decorated with intricate mosaics.

Address: Am Lustgarten, Museum Island; Website: www.berlinerdom.de; Telephone: (0)30 20269 119 (guided tours); Transport: S-bahn and U-bahn to Alexanderplatz; bus 100, 157 or 348; tram 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15 or 53; Opening time: Guided tours: Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm, Sunday 12pm to 8pm; Admission: €5, or €8 with audio guide; concessions available

Ishtar Gate © www.flickr.com/photos/rictor-and-david/151247206

Pergamon Museum

This huge museum has three main departments, the Antiquity Collection, Islamic Art Museum and the Middle East Museum that house parts of reconstructed monumental buildings transported from original excavation sites from ancient lands. The Antiquity Collection contains the Pergamon Altar from the second century BC, as well as the Market Gate of Miletus from Roman antiquity. The main attraction in the Islamic Art Museum is the Mshatta façade originating from a Jordanian desert palace, while the Middle East Museum boasts the Ishtar Gare and the Procession Way of Babylon, as well as the throne room façade of Nebuchadnezzar II.

Address: Am Kupfergraben 5, Museum Island; Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de; Telephone: (0)30 2090 5577; Transport: U-Bahn and S-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse; tram M1, M4, M5, M6, or 12; bus 100, 200 or 147; Opening time: Daily 9am to 6pm, until 10pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday; Admission: €8 (adults), free for children under 16