Things to do in Berlin
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Reichstag
The quarter's historical anchor is the 1894 Reichstag, where the German parliament, the Bundestag, has been hammering out its policies since 1999. This followed a total makeover by Lord Norman Foster who preserved only the building's historical shell while adding the striking glass dome. It's well worth queuing for the lift ride to the top to take in the knock-out panorama and close-ups of the dome and the mirror-clad funnel at its centre. Queues are shortest early morning and at night. You can skip 'em altogether if you're disabled, happen to have a kid in a stroller, are on an organised tour or have reservations for the pricey restaurant on top. In these cases, proceed …
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Ddr Museum
Below the hotel, the DDR Museum teaches the rest of us about daily life behind the Iron Curtain. You'll learn that East German kids were put through collective potty training, engineers earned little more than farmers and everyone, it seems, went on nudist holidays. A must for Good Bye, Lenin! fans. The entrance is on the Spree bank, opposite the Berliner Dom.
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Burgermeister
A burger joint in a century-old public toilet on a traffic island below the elevated U-Bahn tracks? Don't fret, don't shudder, for the patties here are big and delicious.
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Kunsthaus Tacheles
The ‘Sistine Chapel of Graffiti’, the Tacheles may look scary-ass but it is actually a beloved-as-a-puppy-dog collective art and culture space born during the heady post-reunification days. Inside you’ll find a warren of studios, galleries, a cinema and a cafe-bar. In summer quaff a cold one among the surreal installations in the backyard beer garden. Alas, its future is uncertain and it may soon fall victim to development. Stay tuned.
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Brandenburg Gate
A symbol of division during the Cold War, this landmark now epitomises German reunification. The 1791 structure by Carl Gotthard Langhans is the only surviving one of 18 city gates and is crowned by the Quadriga sculpture, a horse-drawn chariot piloted by the winged goddess of victory.
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Zwölf Apostel
A pleasant pit stop between museums, this place beneath the railway arches has over-the-top religious decor and tasty thin-crust pizzas named after the 12 apostles. All cost a mere €6.90 from 11.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
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Berliner Dom
Pompous yet majestic, the 1905 neo-Renaissance Berliner Dom was once the royal court church and now does triple duty as house of worship, museum and concert hall. Take a spin around the sombre crypt where dozens of royals are buried in elaborate tombs, then climb up to the outside viewing gallery for glorious city views. The 7269-pipe Sauer organ and the elaborate sarcophagi made for the Great Elector and King Friedrich I and their wives are top draws in the main church hall.
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Schwarzwaldstuben
The tongue-in-cheek olde-worlde decor is as delicious as the authentic southern German food served in gut-busting portions at this cosy corner joint. We can't get enough of the geschmelzte Maultaschen (sautéed ravioli-like pasta) but all goes down well with a Rothaus Tannenzäpfle beer, straight from the Black Forest.
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Moviemento
Berlin’s oldest cinema, this three-screen independent place (with a maximum capacity of just over 100) shows a good range of nonblockbuster mainstream foreign and German movies.
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Dada Falafel
Famished tourists join local loyalists at this teensy pit stop with jazzy decor for freshly prepared felafel doused with a tangy homemade sauce.
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Jules Verne
Global menu bistro where Flammkuchen (Alsatian pizza), Austrian schnitzel and North African couscous are all perennial bestsellers.
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East Side Gallery
The East Side Gallery is the longest, best-preserved and most interesting stretch of the Berlin Wall and the one to see if you have little time. Running parallel with the Spree between Ostbahnhof and Oberbaumbrücke, the 1300m-section was turned into the world’s largest open-air gallery after the fall of the Wall. Dozens of international artists translated the era’s global euphoria and optimism into a mix of political statements, drug-induced musings and truly artistic visions.
Time, weather, taggers and tourists insisting on signing the thing have not been kind to the murals, which were touched up in 2009. Although a protected monument, a 40m section of the Wall was …
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Berlin City Hop-on Hop-off Tour
2 days (Departs Berlin, Germany)
by Viator
Berlin hop-on hop-off tour allows you to hop-on and off as many times as you like aboard open top double decker buses. There are 16 stops around Berlin, and bus…Not LP reviewed
from USD$27.59 -
Olympic Stadium
Even though it was put through a total modernisation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, it’s hard not to remember the Nazi legacy when visiting the Olympic Stadium. The bombastic bulk of the Colosseum-like structure undoubtedly remains, although it’s now softened by the addition of a spidery oval roof. These days, the more than 74,000 seats are often filled with fans cheering on the local Hertha BSC football (soccer) team, the Pope or Madonna. Call ahead to make sure the stadium is open for touring. Multilingual audioguides are available for an additional €2.50.
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Deutsches Historisches Museum
If you're wondering what the Germans have been up to for the past 2000 years, pop into the excellent Deutsches Historisches Museum. A startling highlight is the big globe that originally stood in the Nazi Foreign Office with bullet holes where Germany should be. In the courtyard, Andreas Schlüter's baroque mask sculptures of dying soldiers make a strong case against war. High-calibre temporary exhibits take up a strikingly geometrical annexe, called IM Pei Bau, named for the architect that designed it.
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Stasi Museum
The former head office of the Ministry of State Security is now the Stasi Museum, where you can marvel at cunningly low-tech surveillance devices (hidden in watering cans, rocks, even neckties), a prisoner transport van with teensy, lightless cells and the obsessively neat offices of Stasi chief Erich Mielke. Panelling is in German only and exhibits are not always self-explanatory, so you may want to invest a few euros in the English-language booklet.
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Discover Berlin Half-Day Walking Tour
4 hours (Departs Berlin, Germany)
by Viator
Travel into Berlin's past, from 1920s Friedrichstrasse to today's Potsdamer Platz, on this enlightening half-day walking tour. While walking, your guide's super…Not LP reviewed
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Neues Museum
After 10 years and €200 million, the reconstructed Neues Museum finally opened in October 2009. David Chipperfield harmoniously incorporated remnants of the war-damaged structure into the new building, which presents the Egyptian Museum (including the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti) and the Papyrus Collection.These are joined by the Museum of Pre- and Early History and works from the Collection of Classical Antiquities.
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Liquidrom
Any time of year is a fine time to feel your daily cares slip away at Liquidrom, a stylishly minimalist day spa that's the perfect mood enhancer on a rainy day. There are a couple of saunas, dipping pools and lounge areas, but the star of the show is the darkened domed hall where you float in a saltwater pool while being showered with soothing sounds and psychedelic light projections. Pure bliss.
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Maultaschen Manufaktur
If ravioli and dumplings had kids, they would look something like Maultaschen, a traditional dish from southern Germany. At this unfussy joint they’re made fresh daily and served fried and smothered in sauce or cheese and paired with potato salad or noodles. The herbivore versions are stuffed either with spinach and mozzarella or tomato and feta.
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Kasbah
Take your tastebuds on a magic carpet ride at this exotic salon where owner Driss welcomes each guest with a big smile. Eating here is a sensory immersion that starts with rinsing your hands in rosewater before digging into such tasty treats as flaky b'stilla (chicken-stuffed filo) or tangy tagine (stew). The Moroccan wine is excellent too.
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Morgenland
This eastern Kreuzberg multiculti café is a breakfast institution, especially on Sunday when everyone from red-eyed night owls to scarf-draped Turkish beauties invade for the table-bending brunch (reservations a must!). At other times it’s a relaxed café with pan-European food – pasta to lamb to fried fish.
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