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…
reviewed
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DDR Museum
In East Germany kids were put through collective potty training, engineers earned little more than farmers and everyone, it seems, went on nudist holidays. Such are the fascinating nuggets you’ll learn at the small, interactive DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) Museum dedicated to teaching the rest of us about daily life behind the Iron Curtain. Small and delightfully interactive, this is where you can turn the ignition key of an authentic Trabant car or learn how to dance the Lipsi, the GDR’s answer to rock ‘n’ roll. A must for Good Bye Lenin! fans. Lest you get the impression that life in the GDR was cute and wholesome, though, you might want to follow up a…
reviewed
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Burgermeister
It's green, ornate, a century old and… it used to be a toilet. Now it's a burger joint on a traffic island beneath the elevated U-Bahn tracks. Don’t fret, don’t shudder: the plump all-beef patties are top-notch and best paired with fries and home-made dips such as peanut and mango curry.
reviewed
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Kunsthaus Tacheles
After the fall of the Wall, this graffiti-slathered art squat became a permanent fixture on Oranienburger Strasse, drawing locals and tourists to its galleries, cultural venues, bizarre sculptures and beer garden. Although over time it lost much of its anarchic edge, it was still one of the few bastions of alternative spirit in this heavily gentrified area. Now the Tacheles too has fallen victim to development. Things started going downhill in 1998 when the land was sold to property investors. The group went bankrupt and so the creditor bank decided to recoup its losses by auctioning off the plot. Initial attempts to evict the artists and clear the space in summer 2010…
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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.
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Dada Falafel
'Eating is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art'. This quote by a 17th-century French author François de La Rochefoucauld is the motto of this teensy exotic takeaway with attached gallery. One bite of Dada's freshly prepared felafel doused with a tangy homemade sauce and you too will understand why there's always a queue of local loyalists, despite usually perfunctory service.
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Dolores
Dolores is a bastion of California-style burritos – fresh, authentic and priced to help you stay on budget. Select your preferred combo of marinated meats (the lime cilantro chicken is yummy) or tofu, rice, beans, veggies, cheese and salsa and the cheerful staff will build it on the spot. Great homemade lemonade, too.
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Schwarzwaldstuben
In the mood for a Hansel and Gretel moment? Then join the other 'lost kids' in this send-up of the Black Forest complete with plastic pines and baseball-capped Bambi heads. We can’t get enough of the 'geschmelzte Maultaschen’ (sautéed ravioli-like pasta) and the giant schnitzel. Everything goes down well with a glass of Rothaus Tannenzäpfle beer, straight from the Black Forest.
reviewed
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Cafe Jacques
A favourite with off-duty chefs and local foodies, Jacques infallibly charms with flattering candlelight, warm decor and fantastic wine. It’s the perfect date spot but, quite frankly, you only have to be in love with good food to appreciate the French- and North African-inspired blackboard menu. Charismatic owner Ahmad or his staff will happily recommend the perfect matching wine. Reservations essential.
reviewed
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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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Jules Verne
Jules Verne was a well-travelled man, so it’s only fitting that a cafe bearing his name would feature a globetrotting menu. French oysters, Austrian schnitzel and Moroccan couscous are all perennial bestsellers. It’s also a great ‘greet-the-day’ spot with substantial breakfasts named after Verne’s books served until 3pm and an entire quality buffet at weekends.
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Rosenthaler Grill- und Schlemmerbuffet
One of the best doner kebabs in town. Enough said.
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Curry 36
Day after day, night after night, a motley crowd of tattooed scenesters, office jockeys, noisy school kids and savvy tourists wait their turn at this top-ranked Currywurst purveyor that's been frying 'em up since 1981.
reviewed
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Teufelsberg
It may have a terrifying name, but at 115m high, the Teufelsberg (Devil’s Mountain), just south of the Olympic grounds, ain’t no Matterhorn. It is, however, the tallest of Berlin’s 20 ‘rubble mountains’, built by citizens, initially most of them women, during the clean-up of their bomb-ravaged city after WWII. It took 20 years to pile up 25 million cubic metres of debris. The curious domed structure up on top used to be a listening station operated by the Allies during the Cold War. The hill that was born from destruction is now a fun zone, especially in snowy winters when hordes of squealing kids toboggan or ski down its gentle slopes. At other times you can explore the…
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East Side Gallery
The year was 1989. After 28 years, the Berlin Wall, that grim and grey divider of humanity, had finally met its maker. Most of the Wall was quickly dismantled, but along Mühlenstrasse, paralleling the Spree, a 1.3km stretch was spared. It became the East Side Gallery, the world’s largest open-air gallery, drenched in over 100 murals. 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. Birgit Kinder’s Test the Best, showing a Trabi bursting through the Wall, The Mortal Kiss by Dimitri Vrubel, which has Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev locking lips, and…
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Classic Remise Berlin
Tucked in among factories, industrial buildings and tenements across the Spree and about 1km east of Schloss Charlottenburg, Meilenwerk is a place of pilgrimage for those who worship at the altar of the auto. Lined up for inspection inside the vast, slickly converted 19th-century tram depot are limited-edition beauties by Alfa Romeo, logo-less mystery cars, sleek racing wheels like the Maserati Ghibli, lovable veterans like the old VW Beetle and rarities like a GDR-made EMW 327. There are hundreds of other old-timers, classic and new cars, yet this is no museum: it’s a ‘Forum for Driving Culture’ that also harbours repair shops, car clubs and dealerships. Best of all:…
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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 20 stops around Berlin, and…Not LP reviewed
from USD$28.59 -
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
This engaging museum zeroes in on two millennia of German history in all its gore and glory; not in a nutshell but on two floors of a Prussian-era armoury. Check out the Nazi globe, the pain-wrecked faces of dying warrior sculptures in the courtyard, and the temporary exhibits in the boldly modern annex designed by IM Pei.
reviewed
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Stasimuseum
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. From the U-Bahn station, turn north on Ruschestrasse, then turn right after about 100m and walk another 50m across a parking lot towards the buildings straight in front of you.
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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…Not LP reviewed
from USD$15.60 -
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Neues Museum
Open since October 2009, the New Museum is a shining beacon on Museumsinsel thanks in equal part to its stellar exhibits and to David Chipperfield’s glorious reconstruction. Just like the original museum, a Friedrich August Stüler design of 1859, the building harbours the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection as well as the Museum of Pre- and Early History. This is where you come for an audience with Berlin’s most beautiful woman, the 3330-year-old Queen Nefertiti, she of the long, graceful neck and timeless good looks. The bust was part of the treasure trove unearthed by a Berlin expedition of archaeologists around 1912 while sifting through the sands of Armana. This…
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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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