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Berlin
in figures:
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Country:
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Germany
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Population:
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~
3.400.000 inh.
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Surface:
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~
900 km2
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Density:
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~
3800 inh./km2
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Jet
Leg:
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+1 GMT
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Phone Code:
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(+0049)30
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What
to see:
Berlin is a very active cultural centre, it is particularly rich in
museums: the Museumsinsel,
on the east side of the city and south of Sprea river, represents
the museums’ quarter. You can find here the big Pergamonmuseum,
famous for its Greek, Roman and oriental antiquities, the Altes
Museum, a modern one, dedicated to the art of the 20 th century, the
NationalGalerie based on the art of the 19 th century.
The history of Berlin is then well represented by the Checkpoint
Charlie museum, so-called from the famous “wall”, situated on
the eastern-centre side of the city. The Agyptisches Museum is
particularly suggestive, it is one of the most important Egyptian
museums of the world, it is situated on the northwest side of the
German capital. In the middle of the city you can notice the
Alexanderplatz square dedicated to the tsar Alexander the First.
This square was the former trading hub of East Berlin and it
represents now a sort of mix of ancient and modern architectures.
Berlin is rich in parks and open spaces, such as the Tiergarten, the
huge park of Berlin on the north-centre side where on the south it
is placed one of the greatest European zoo: the Zoologischer Garten.
Prussian architecture is better shown by the beautiful Berliners
castles, such as the Charlottenburg,
situated on the western-centre side of the city.
How
to get there: Berlin
has got 3 airports: the Tegel (TXL) for national and European
flights, the Schönefeld (SXF) for international and
intercontinental flights and the Berlin-Tempelhof (THF) the main
stop for national flights and for central Europe destinations. The
airports are well connected to the centre by buses, so that you can
avoid to use the expensive taxis. If someone would be interested on
using train, it is available in Berlin an efficient and well
connected railway system to the main European capitals.
How
to go round:
Berliner public transport network is very efficient and well
branched in order to reach every corner of the city. The Berliner
underground consists of the one really subterranean (U-Bahn) and the
other one suspended (S-Bahn). The little historic centre can be
travelled easily all over on foot, but you can also rent a bicycle,
a very common mean of transport across the city.
Entertainments:
The intense Berliner nightlife meets every kind of tastes: the Mitte,
Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg quarters represent the hub of
fashionable places, clubs, bars and restaurants. Among the liveliest
quarters, from a commercial point of view, you
can find the Potsdamer Platz, south of Brandebourg Door. Along Kurfürstendamm
streets there are luxury boutiques of the most famous international
stylists. Berliner calendar is also full of fairs, attractions,
exhibitions, local holidays, concerts and society parties. The
Berliner Cinema Festival, the second one in the world, takes place
on February. On the other hand, on October you can find the Berliner
Jazz Fest, whereas starting from November the city is full of
Christmas markets. One of the most common activities in Berlin is
the Sprea river cruise: tourist boats run through the watercourses
of the city stopping nearby parks and castles around.
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