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Berlin: a city reinvents itself.
A major city right in the heart of continental Europe, creative and vibrant as never before and attracting millions of visitors. The capital city of an open, international and welcoming country, Berlin today represents a completely new image of Germany to the world. Happy, exuberant, a little bit cheeky at times, tolerant, laid back and easygoing. "Berlin is not so much a city as the world in miniature", as the German writer Jean Paul very aptly observed as long ago as 1800.
The creative capital of Europe: from classical to cool.
Rulers and regimes have come and gone, but Berlin has remained, and today, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is more thrilling and vibrant than ever. It's a creative capital, a mecca for artists from around the world, hip and trendy, a city of fashion, design and music – and much more besides. Although these changes are perhaps most evident in the city's architecture, for example on Potsdamer Platz, a bold, imposing monument to postmodernism, it is the creative climate, the artistic drive, the restless, unceasing desire to shape something new that best characterises the new Berlin. Berlin has always been creative, whether at the time of the Prussian kings or during the Roaring Twenties. From drama, dance and literature to cabaret, music and painting – every art form, and every form of art, has shaped the capital for decades and centuries.
With impressive museums almost too numerous to mention, many in the eastern part of the city close to the famous boulevard Unter den Linden, Berlin can boast a remarkable legacy of art and culture from different periods. But now everything has changed yet again. Art is everywhere, created by more than 20,000 visual artists whose works are on display in public spaces, in innumerable courtyards of hip and trendy districts such as Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg, in über-stylish galleries and at alternative art centres, or simply on the walls of buildings. But Berlin's independent art scene is only one aspect of one of the most exciting and energetic centres for art in the world: leading international conventions and trade fairs are held in Berlin and attract huge audiences. Whatever you are planning, in Berlin you will get your money's worth. Not least because it has remained a very affordable destination, an honest city with honest prices. This extends to the famous currywurst, Berlin's signature dish served at countless food stalls around the city: Berlin and its people are genuine, direct and uncomplicated. You are bound to fall for them – and return time after time.
The other face of Berlin: rivers, lakes, beaches and forests
You may not realise it, but Berlin can also be a peaceful place to relax and unwind. That doesn't just go for the parks in the central districts, such as the Tiergarten and Charlottenburg Palace park. In addition, Germany's largest municipal forest is ideal for leisurely walks with 29,000 hectares of woodland. Thirteen lakes and five rivers within the city boundary offer a total of 360 kilometres of waterside paths that allow visitors to escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life. The natural beauty of the lakes and their surrounding meadows is particularly enchanting – from Krumme Lanke and Lake Wannsee, a particularly wide section of the river Havel, to Berlin's largest lake, Müggelsee, in the south-eastern part of the city.
