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I like to shake my booty at Tape Club, a club in the new emerging industrial area of Berlin. If I’m in the mood for a more thrilling and crazy night out, I head for legendary hot spot Berghain/Panorama Bar. The doorman will tell you if you fit in…

Schlesische Strasse (Map) is another tip for rather new experiences. Different kinds of alternative bars, beer gardens, clubs, shops à la Berliner Style attract a laid-back scene. I’m especially fond of the Club der Visionäre in the summer, because I can chill out on the river pontoons outdoors and soak up the real living culture.

The medieval town of Werder (Map), 45 minutes away from Berlin by train, is my absolute favourite place for relaxing off the beaten track. Situated on an island in the river delta, this place is a true treasure for romantic walks along picturesque streets and for dining on fish in one of the restaurants along the quay.

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The eccentric building with a gravity-defying parabolic roof west of the chancellery is the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures; Map; 397 870; John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10; admission varies; 10am-9pm Tue-Sun). Originally a congress hall, it’s now a cultural space with dance performances, readings, films, exhibits and theatre from Latin America, Asia and Africa. Chime concerts ring out at noon and 6pm daily from the nearby 68-bell carillon.

North of the Spree looms the spaceship-like Hauptbahnhof (main train station; Map), which looks most impressive at night. East of here, a defunct 19th-century train station has been reborn as Berlin’s hotbed of contemporary art. Called the Hamburger Bahnhof (Map; 3978 3439; Invalidenstrasse 50-51; adult/concession/under 16yr €8/4/free, last 4hr Thu free; 10am-6pm Tue-Fri, 11am-8pm Sat, 11am-6pm Sun), it displays career-spanning bodies of work by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Anselm Kiefer, Joseph Beuys and other 20th-century heavyweights. Also check out the galleries in the Halle am Ufer (Map) behind the museum.

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Potsdamer Platz & Tiergarten

Potsdamer Platz is Berlin’s newest quarter, built on terrain once bifurcated by the Berlin Wall. It became a showcase of urban renewal in the late 1990s, drawing some of the world’s finest architects, including Renzo Piano, Richard Rodgers and Helmut Jahn. Today’s Potsdamer Platz is a modern reinterpretation of the historic original, which was the equivalent of New York’s Times Square until WWII sucked all life out of the area.

A visit to Potsdamer Platz is easily combined with the Kulturforum, a cluster of museums and concert halls, including the famous Philharmonie. Black limousines are a common sight further west in the Diplomatenviertel (Diplomatic Quarter) whose streets are studded with some fine contemporary architecture. And if your head is spinning after all that cultural stimulus, the leafy paths of the glorious Tiergarten, one of the world’s largest city parks, will likely prove to be a restorative antidote.

POTSDAMER PLATZ

Although critics complain about Potsdamer Platz’ commercialisation and its relatively unspectacular architecture, Berliners and visitors have by and large embraced the new quarter. Up to 100,000 people barrel through its streets and squares daily, shopping at the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, challenging Lady Luck at the roulette tables or taking in a flick, for instance at the all-English Cinestar Original.

For the best bird’s-eye views in the city, take what is billed as Europe’s fastest lift to the observation deck of the Panoramapunkt (Map; 2529 4372; www.panoramapunkt.de; Potsdamer Platz 1; adult/concession €5/4; 11am-8pm). From this vantage point it’s also easy to see that Potsdamer Platz 2.0 is divided into three slices: DaimlerCity, where you are right now, with the mall and lots of public art, the flashy Sony Center with its canopied central plaza that’s illuminated at night; and the Beisheim Center, which was inspired by classic American skyscraper design.

Every February, glamour comes to town, when Brangelina, Madonna