Berlin

Why Berlin works

Berlin's skyline is anchored by the Berliner Dom, a Baroque-revival cathedral on Museum Island whose green copper dome has watched over the Spree since 1905, rebuilt after wartime bomb damage nearly gutted it. Museum Island itself, a UNESCO World Heritage cluster of five museums, holds the Pergamon's reconstructed ancient gates and the Neues Museum's Nefertiti bust. A short walk brings you to the Reichstag, its glass dome open to visitors who spiral up for free panoramic views over the government quarter — book weeks ahead, as slots fill fast. The city's divided past is everywhere: fragments of the Wall stand at the East Side Gallery, painted by artists from around the world after 1989, and Checkpoint Charlie's reconstructed guard post marks where East met West. The Fernsehturm, the television tower built by East Germany in 1969 to project Communist modernity, still offers the best 360-degree view of the city from its revolving café. Berlin's neighbourhoods each run at a different register — Kreuzberg's Turkish markets and street art, Prenzlauer Berg's café culture, Mitte's galleries — and the nightlife, from Berghain's techno to riverside beach bars, runs well past sunrise.

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