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Berlin once again became the German capital in 1990 and the seat of the federal government in 1999. Mega-sized construction projects such as the Potsdamer Platz and the government quarters eradicated the scars of division but did little to improve the city’s balance sheet or unemployment statistics. Not unlike in the 1920s, Berliners compensated by turning their city into a hotbed of creativity, with unbridled nightlife, an explosive art scene and booming fashion and design industries. They showed off their legendary liberalism at the Love Parade and welcomed the global community to such events as the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, social woes continue to bedraggle Berlin. Poorly performing schools, violent racial attacks by right-wing groups and a spate of ‘honour killings’ of young Muslim women for wishing to live a Western lifestyle have all captured the headlines in recent years.

Two decades after the rejoining of the city halves, Berlin is reaching a watershed moment. Districts such as Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, once pioneers of progressiveness, are now firmly in the grip of gentrification and boho-bourgeois pram-pushers. Global developers are building up the banks of the Spree River, investors from Denmark to Ireland to America are snapping up bargain-priced apartments, and international chains are replacing homespun businesses.

All this begs the question: Can Berlin remain the homeland of social freedom and experimentation while increasingly becoming a more corporate-driven, ‘normal’ metropolis? Governing mayor Klaus Wowereit famously called Berlin ‘poor but sexy’. In 10 years’ time it may no longer be poor. But will it still be sexy?

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ORIENTATION

Berlin is made up of 12 administrative districts of which the central ones hold the most interest to visitors. Mitte, formerly in East Berlin, is the city’s historic core and packs such blockbuster sights as the Brandenburger Tor, the Holocaust Memorial, Unter den Linden boulevard, Museumsinsel and the Fernsehturm (TV Tower). The Scheunenviertel area, anchored by the Hackesche Höfe, is jammed with bars, restaurants, galleries and designer boutiques. To the north, gentrified and family-dominated Prenzlauer Berg beckons with a vibrant cafe culture, a bevy of unique owner-run shops and pockets of nightlife action.

South of Mitte, Kreuzberg counts Checkpoint Charlie and the Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) among its highlights. Eastern Kreuzberg, around Kottbusser Tor, is the hub of Berlin’s large Turkish population and the place to get down and dirty in trashy-chic bars and clubs. Across the Spree River, Friedrichshain is an eccentric mix of Stalinist architecture, gritty squat-style pubs, polished cocktail culture and chilly beach bars. The main sight is the East Side Gallery, the longest surviving section of the Wall.

West of Mitte, Tiergarten boasts most of Berlin’s large-scale post-reunification projects, including the government district, the Hauptbahnhof glass palace and Potsdamer Platz. The vast Tiergarten park links Mitte with Charlottenburg, the hub of western Berlin with lively shopping along Kurfürstendamm and the royal splendour of Schloss Charlottenburg. Much of the district is upmarket residential, as are the adjoining quarters of Wilmersdorf and Schöneberg, although the latter includes a throbbing gay district around Nollendorfplatz.

For details about Berlin’s airports and train stations, Click here and Click here respectively.

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Maps

The maps in this book should suffice in most cases, although the foldout map available for €1 from the Berlin Infostores might be a useful supplement; it also indicates the former course of the Berlin Wall.

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INFORMATION

Bookshops

Another Country (Map; 6940 1160; Riemannstrasse 7, Kreuzberg) Library-store run by an eccentric Brit.

Berlin Story (Map; 2045 3842; Unter den Linden 26, Mitte) Berlin-related books, maps, videos, guides and magazines, many in English.

Dussmann – Das Kulturkaufhaus (Map; 2025 1111; Friedrichstrasse