Things to do in Berlin
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Albrechts Patisserie
How sweet it is to discover this upbeat temple to tarts and truffles, all loaded with choice ingredients and made fresh daily. The nougat tart is all gooey goodness and the raspberry-yoghurt number is so light and creamy it tastes practically calorie-free. After 5.30pm, all cakes sell for half price. Other branches are in Prenzlauer Berg and Charlottenburg.
reviewed
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Sanatorium 23
This Zen-meets-pop-art-in-hospital lounge is likely to cure whatever ails you. At first, though, risk chemistry class flashbacks when facing the drinks menu set up like a periodic table: ordering an He gets you Hemingway sour, Ps a prosecco and Mi a mojito. From Thursday to Saturday DJs turn the place into an electro party zone after 9pm.
reviewed
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Charlottenburg Palace: Dinner and Concert with River Spree Sightseeing Cruise
8 hours (Departs Berlin, Germany)
by Viator
lt;pgt;Spend a royal day in Berlin with this unique package, combining sightseeing on the River Spree with an elegant evening at Charlottenburg Palace. It’s the…Not LP reviewed
from USD$105.92 -
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Madame Claude
Gravity is literally upended at this David Lynch-ian booze burrow where the furniture dangles from the ceiling and the moulding's on the floor. Don’t worry, there are still comfy sofas for entertaining your posse, plus live shows most nights at 9pm, including eXperimondays, Wednesday's music quiz night and open-mike Sundays. The name honours a famous French prostitute – très apropos given the place’s bordello pedigree.
reviewed
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Weinbar Rutz
Marco Müller’s creations strike just the right balance between adventure and comfort, an approach that won him a Michelin star in 2008. The cellar, meanwhile, is stocked with 1001 bottles of the finest vintages, many available by the glass with dinner or in the downstairs wine bar, which serves a few home-style dishes (€9 to €17).
reviewed
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Le Lamian
Watch the noodle acrobats knead, toss and pull the dough into submission before throwing the thick long results into a soup or frying them with vegetables and meat. Le Lamian serves modern MSG-free Chinese cuisine that makes ample use of fresh ingredients. The dumplings – plump, handmade and bursting with creative fillings – are swoon-worthy.
reviewed
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Weinhaus Huth
This dignified structure, dwarfed by its postmodern neighbours, is the only eyewitness to the pre-WWII Potsdamer Platz. Designed in 1912 by Conrad Heidenreich and Paul Michel, it was one of the first steel-frame buildings in town and miraculously survived both WWII and the Berlin Wall. On the 4th floor are the breezy galleries of the Daimler Contemporary.
reviewed
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Korsett Engelke
This store is a tantalising throwback to a bygone era, even though the items it sells – bras, bodices and other ‘unmentionables’ – are unlikely ever go out of fashion. No matter whether you’re tiny or titanic, staff here can fix you up with the right size. If not, the on-site seamstress will keep stitching until it fits.
reviewed
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Bar Gagarin
Prepare for lift-off with vodka, Moskwa beer and borscht at this retro homage to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. It's one of several cafes along Knaackstrasse. Good breakfast and Sunday brunch. Free toiletries in the loos.
reviewed
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Bundeskanzleramt
Located across the big lawn just west of the Reichstag, Germany’s ‘White House,’ the Federal Chancellery is a sparkling, modern design by Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank. The H-shaped compound consists of two long office blocks flanking a central white cube where current Chancellor Angela Merkel keeps her desk. Eduardo Chillida’s rusted-steel Berlin sculpture graces the eastern forecourt. The best views of the entire building are from the Moltkebrücke (bridge) or the northern river promenade.
reviewed
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Poulette
A former butcher shop has been ingeniously converted into a homey French restaurant where the accent is on light and flavourful cuisine. Start with a Basque fish soup, move on to Barbary duck with pine nut–Grand Marnier jus and let a flambéed crêpe with caramelised fruit be the coda. Lunches are less fancy but a steal at just €9.
reviewed
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Kreuzberg Museum
The ups and downs of one of Berlin’s most colourful districts are chronicled in this converted red-brick factory. The permanent exhibit zeros in on such themes as Kreuzberg’s radical legacy or how immigrants have shaped the area. The 1928 printing press on the mezzanine level can still be cranked into action on occasion.
reviewed
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Molotow
This shop originally opened in 1986 as Molotow boutique to promote fashion made in Berlin by fledgling designers. With time it became obvious that owner Ute Hentschel’s interesting patterns and fabric choices were the main attraction and it’s now her own showroom, where you pick the garment and she’ll alter it so it fits perfectly.
reviewed
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Maoa
The name stands for Modern Art of Asia but you won't find this high-concept spin on the Mongolian grill anywhere east of the Ural Mountains. Put together your meal from a big buffet of vegetables, spices, noodles and meats (including kangaroo and crocodile), then have it all cooked up with your choice of sauce, such as fennel garlic or blackberry sake.
reviewed
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Oxymoron
By day, the opulent baroque salon in front - complete with plump velvet sofas, gold-leaf mirrors and chandeliers - caters to the cafe crowd. After dark, it morphs into an eats-and-lounge act before turning into a chic club hosting a variety of retro and electro nights with occasional 'extras' such as go-go dancers. Dress on the smarter side of casual.
reviewed
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Rosi’s
This derelict house-cum-garden- lounge next to the railway tracks catches the Friedrichshain vibe spot on – dim lighting, dank concrete, mismatched furniture and an alchemy of sounds (surf music to Latin, breakbeat to dancehall) that gets a punky-funky crowd fired up for extended dance-a-thons. Live acts and the relaxed beer garden are bonuses.
reviewed
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Erich Hamann Schokolade
Chocolate lovers in search of a classic Berlin souvenir should visit this chocolate factory, a local stalwart since the Roaring Twenties. The packaging and the store haven’t changed since, and neither has the quality of the product. The bitter varieties and the chocolate bark are specialties, although the handmade truffles also have their fans.
reviewed
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Kaufbar
The name is the concept at this sweet, unhurried cafe where everything is ‘kaufbar’ (for sale) : the sofa you’re sitting on, the cup you’re drinking from, the vases decorating the table. Tousled students, young mums and local artists invade for the mix-and-match breakfast (until 5pm), coffee, cakes, drinks and light snacks. Nice garden, too.
reviewed
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Sameheads
Sameheads – that’s Nathan, Leo and Harry, three Brit brothers whose shop-cafe-bar-club-party-space is a soapbox for budding talent of all stripes. Aside from stocking rare boho fashion labels, the subculture synergy extends to weird-cinema nights, a hilarious pub quiz, all-you-can-eat-buffet dinners and funky parties.
reviewed
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Bellmann
This funky glamour bar is always packed, mostly with low-key, talkative local folks. ‘Glamour’ because of the high ceiling, stucco ornamentation, great cocktails and candlelight. Funky because of the plain tables, DIY ambience, unembellished walls and…candlelight. If you get the munchies, pick from the small but satisfying menu.
reviewed
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Galerie Eigen+Art
This key gallery for all sorts of contemporary art - painting to performance - is led by Gerd Harry Lybke, who has a knack for shepherding tomorrow's red-hot artist to international fame. Neo Rauch, Martin Eder and Carsten Nicolai have all been taken under his wing.
reviewed
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Berlin To Venice
15 days (Berlin)
by Intrepid
See fragments of the Berlin Wall, Soak up royal history on a visit to Krakow's Wawel Castle, Experience bohemian hospitality in Prague, Visit Cesky Krumlov and…Not LP reviewed
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Baltic Experience
15 days (Helsinki)
by Intrepid
Visit Finland and discover the streets and sights of Helsinki, Travel to Estonia and explore Tallinn's quaint Old Town, Discover Latvia's rich diversity at an…Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,595 -
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Altes Museum
Schinkel pulled out all the stops for the grand neoclassical Old Museum, the first exhibition space to open on Museumsinsel in 1830. A curtain of fluted columns gives way to a Pantheon-inspired rotunda that’s the focal point of the prized Antiquities Collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan art and sculpture. The museum has been revamped and reorganised as part of the Museumsinsel master plan, so if you haven’t visited in a while, you’re in for lots of surprises.
The Etruscan collection, for instance, gets airplay for the first time since 1939 in the new upstairs exhibit. Admire a circular shield from the grave of a warrior and amphora, vessels, jewellery, coins and…
reviewed
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Marheineke Markthalle
After substantial renovations, this historic market hall has traded its grungy 19th-century charm for bright and modern digs. Its aisles are crammed with vendors plying everything from organic sausage to handmade cheeses, artisanal honey and other delicious bounty, both local and international. Snack stands feed tummy pangs.
reviewed