Berlin is at the cutting edge of music, art and lifestyle trends. At the same time outstanding museums, orchestras and theatres continue to cultivate the city's great traditions. Drawn to the capital by its wealth of creativity, more and more artists from across the globe are transforming Berlin into one of Europe's most innovative metropolises. If you visit Berlin for the first time and don't have much time to spend on the countless sightseeing's, museums and tourist attractions, you will have to concentrate on the city's main impressions. The following guide you through the most important ways to discover Berlin.
City East
In Mitte, the eastern centre, touring around the well-known boulevard Unter den Linden is worth the pain of claimed feet. Here one finds some of the most interesting historic buildings of Berlin, like the Zeughaus, the National Opera, the Humboldt University and, of course, the Brandenburg Gate. Do not miss Friedrichstraße avenue with its mixture of modern buildings and historic facades. The Gendarmenmarkt with the two cathedrals and the concert building is one of the most picturesque places of the city.
We also recommend to visit Oranienburger Straße. Here you will find the New Synagogue with its golden dome. This street also offers a huge number of scenic stores, bars and restaurants.
Potsdamer Platz with its futuristic architecture forms an interesting contrast to the historic buildings in the city centre of Mitte.
City West
Another alternative forms a strolling tour along the Kurfürstendamm boulevard in the western part of the city. Here plenty of shops and cafés are inviting you to rest. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church)is well-worth seeing. It was destroyed during the second world war and only partly reconstructed afterwards. Around this church there is a typical example of modern commercial buildings of the 50th and 60th with Berlin's first shopping mall (Europa-Center), cinemas, restaurants and department stores. You should also visit the KaDeWe at the lovely underground station Wittenbergplatz, further on the Ludwig-Erhard-Haus and the Savigny-Platz.
Our Tip
The well-known bus number 100 is an attractive alternative to a sightseeing tour. This bus line passes along Berlin's most important sights from the Zoological Garden through the park Tiergarten and the boulevard Unter den Linden.
Berlin is a major center of culture, politics, media, and science in Europe. Its economy is primarily based on the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, media corporations, congress and convention venues. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail transport, and is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the EU. Other industries include optoelectronics, traffic engineering, IT, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, and biotechnology.
