Berlin keeps you coming back for more
Carnival of Cultures © Land Berlin/Thie
According to many who’ve tried it, Berlin is addictive. The city offers residents and visitors alike an almost inexhaustible variety of possible activities – from a multitude of everyday options to huge events like Christopher Street Day and the Carnival of Cultures. Regular sports highlights include the track and field festival ISTAF and the Berlin Marathon, which draws tens of thousands of runners every year.
Discover the city
Everyone associates something different with the city: the famed Museum Island, Charlottenburg Palace (Schloss Charlottenburg), parks, planetariums, trotting courses, a wealth of cultural events, lectures, and readings, or the sometimes brash alternative scene with its provocative tendencies. The constant lure of discovery and the awareness of being somehow part of a transition are integral to life in this city.
Radio tower © Messe Berlin GmbH
Sightseeing
You can explore Berlin on a traditional sightseeing tour in an open double-decker bus or in smaller buses or taxis. Less common means of transportation are also an option. S-Bahn Berlin GmbH offers special tours in panorama trains with a glass roof, as well as trips in historic S-Bahn trains. Velo-taxis are parked at central locations, ready to take customers on a rickshaw-like ride through Berlin. Visitors can travel by boat along the 197 kilometers of Berlin’s navigable waterways. Guided tours can be taken on bicycles, on mopeds, and on foot – and the next innovative tour idea is no doubt just around the corner. You can also get to know special aspects of Berlin on tours of historic sites, “Jewish Berlin,” the former course of the Wall, architectural highlights, the homes and workplaces of famous people, and much more.
Ju 52 - Berlin-Tempelhof © Lufthansa/Gerd Rebenich
Viewing Berlin from on high has a special charm. If the radio tower, the television tower at Alexanderplatz, the dome of the Reichstag building, or Grunewald Tower are not high enough for you, you can take to the air. There are helicopter tours of Berlin, as well as flights with small aircraft like Lufthansa’s historic Ju 52, an Antonov, or a more modern Cessna.
Chinese Garden © Berlin Partner GmbH
Places and attractions
Berlin’s weekly markets and flea markets invite browsing, as do the Botanical Garden and the grounds of the horticultural exhibition Bundesgartenschau 2001 in nearby Potsdam. Recreation areas and sights in the city and in the surrounding state of Brandenburg are popular destinations for outings, while trade fairs, exhibitions, and congresses attract additional visitors. Berlin’s two zoos are unquestionably among the city’s special attractions: the Zoologischer Garten with the Aquarium and Tierpark Friedrichsfelde. The former is the world’s most diverse zoo, and the latter covers a larger area than any other zoo in Europe.
Café in Friedrichshain © Presse- und Informationsamt des Landes Berlin / G. Schneider
Nightlife and more
Don’t forget the cafés, bars, and restaurants in every price category, featuring international and local specialties. The neighborhood around Hackescher Markt is especially popular in this regard, while an impression of Berlin would be incomplete without a trip to the districts of Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg or Kreuzberg. The city’s night life tempts visitors with countless bars, discos, and clubs – which can stay open all night if they like – and with exhibitions and open-air events. Here, too, in the midst of the latest international trends, you can feel the city’s exceptional vitality and dynamism.
