Berlin, five reasons to go

 
:: New: Backpacker Express Berlin

Backpacker Backpacker Express BerlinThe Express Berlin in bookstores on April 2. The perfect companion for your next weekend in the German capital.

Ultra convenient and form a plan commented, all folds and fits easily in your pocket: the Backpacker Express Berlin you in all your desires, time for a city break both trendy and cultural!

On the front, a comprehensive plan detailed on the back, zoom unavoidable neighborhoods so you can easily find the best selection of our Address: afford a bicycle Berlin by night and discover its monuments from another ... day to finish in one of the taverns of the Tiergarten ... Attend performances by artists, exhibitions and concerts in the Friedrichshain district ..

The Backpacker Express, it's all in your pocket Berlin for € 4.90!


Tremendous :: walks in History

Berlin was beautiful to have metamorphosed over the past twenty years, the winds of history continues to blow hard. Meet at the foot of the legendary Brandenburg Gate, which was at the time of the Wall, the symbol of the division of the city.

Steps away, the Reichstag (now Bundestag, photo), since 1999 topped by the magnificent glass dome by Norman Foster, will recall the fire of 1933 by the Nazis or the red flag when floating on his roof the capitulation of 1945 the Holocaust Memorial, erected in the center of the capital, shows that Germany is not afraid to face his past.

The door, a ride on Unter den Linden, Berlin's Champs Elysees, takes us through two centuries of history. It was at the Humboldt University taught by Hegel and the old library qu'étudiait Lenin. The Staatsoper on Bebelplatz is a fine example of classical architecture, while in the Berliner Dom (cathedral), based Hohenzollern.

Also on Unter den Linden, Neue Wache the building of the eighteenth century, houses a memorial to the victims of war and tyranny, symbolized by a moving statue of Käthe Kollwitz. Next, a baroque building serves as a backdrop to the Deutsches Museum Historiches which traces German history since the Middle Ages.

After Unter den Linden, the statues of Marx and Engels always enthroned throw from the TV tower at Alexanderplatz, archetypal Stalinist architecture.


A broth Kultur ::

City History, Berlin is full of places of culture. The Museum Island, between Unter den Linden and Alexanderplatz, takes the place of Treasure Island: the famous Pergamon Museum, you can see the Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate, Friedrich's paintings are in the Alte Nationalgalerie, while the bust of Nefertiti is housed at the Neues Museum.

The side of Potsdamer Platz, the Culture Forum has three major museums: the Neue Nationalgalerie houses a remarkable collection of German Expressionists (Kirchner, Nolde, Schmidt-Rotluff ...) and contemporary artists presented in the form of rotating exhibits.

To see the Gemälde Gallery with its approximately 2,700 works of thirteenth to seventeenth centuries (Dürer, Botticelli, Memling, Rembrandt ...) and Kunstgewerbemuseum devoted to the decorative arts (reopening current 2014).

Architectural masterpiece signed by Daniel Libeskind, the Jewish Museum explores the relationship between the Jewish and German communities since 2000 years. A highlight of your trip to Berlin.

In the district of Charlottenburg, do not miss, after visiting the castle, the museum dedicated to the sculptor Käthe Kollwitz and Berggruen Museum with its collection of paintings by Picasso.

Also of great contemporary art museum located in the former Hamburger Bahnhof station, the Cinema Museum Potsdamer Platz or the Bauhaus Archive to learn more about this revolutionary movement.


Bohemian lifestyle ::

Culture in Berlin is an everyday. Nothing like a city museum. With its cheap rents, Berlin attracts creative Germany and elsewhere, attracted by the excitement of the city. There are some 20 000 independent artists. It moves in all areas: music, fashion, architecture and design (nearly 7,000 agencies!).

Trendy neighborhood are mostly in the East, with the exception of Kreuzberg around Bergmannstrasse. If the developers had the skin of the former alternative squat Tacheles pioneer destroy Berlin in the 90s, the neighboring district of Prenzlauer Berg remains one of the coolest corners of Berlin.

Former haunt of artists and marginalized, he became the district bobos Berlin. Restored, the beautiful buildings in Prenzlauer Berg took pretty pastel colors. Mauerpark and Kollwitzplatz welcome cool markets. Kastanienallee is Mecca with trendy cafes and cozy terraces.

Still further east, Friedrichshain can claim the title of alternative district of Berlin. Take a ride on the side of the East Side Gallery, a portion of the Berlin Wall covered with frescoes by 120 artists. Behind the wall, you can lie on sunny days on the beach sand Spree.

Finally, Neukölln, Kreuzberg east, is the up and coming area, especially between Hermann Platz and the Landwehr Canal. With its art galleries, restaurants and bars galleries, Neukölln is compared to Brooklyn. And for many, it is now here it goes.


:: Party-Stadt, party capital

Berlin has always been nocturnal. The musical Cabaret reflects the excitement of the city in the 20s after the Berlin Wall fell, raves and techno parties flourished in squats and abandoned factories in the city, the center of which was a veritable no man's land. Clubbers 90s have not forgotten the crazy evenings mythical boxes as E-Werk or the Love Parade, which attracted more than a million revelers.

Today, Berlin is still moving at night. Alternatively, urban and extreme. One of the best clubs in the world, Berghain is Friedrichshain is a temple of techno to bad reputation, housed in a former power station. Featuring the best DJ, Berghain drains until 2400 revelers each night. Long waiting and drastic selection at the entrance queue. The other two major techno clubs Watergate Berlin Friedrichshain and history Tresor in Berlin's Tiergarten.

Berlin night is not limited to techno. To be aware of the parties, see Tipp Zitty and magazines. There are all kinds of places to party. Among the more unusual, the banks of the Spree in summer - or in Friedrichshain Mitte - and Roter Salon, a box on the first floor of the Volksbühne.

Learn more about the night in Berlin.


:: The countryside to the city

Nine times larger than Paris, Berlin abundant green space. Green lung of the capital, the Tiergarten park is spread over 200 acres in the heart of the city.

Former hunting ground, the Tiergarten has kept its wild look, with woods, meadows and ponds. The perfect place for outdoor activities, walks, football games, bike rides and even grilling Sunday or sunbathing (naturist section).

To reach underground and S-Bahn, Wannsee place its beautiful beaches for swimming in a beautiful natural setting. Not far away, Potsdam, the German Versailles, is worth a look for those who have time. It is here, in the castle of Sans Souci, small rococo jewel that Voltaire stayed as adviser of Frederick II of Prussia.