Berlin: Places to Explore

Shoppers are the life force of the boulevard Kurfürstendamm (Ku'damm), with enough energy and euros to support the local boutiques on the quieter side streets, too. Out-of-towners take it easy at Ku'damm's... Read more

The hip scene of Mitte, the historic core of Berlin, is best experienced in the narrow streets and courtyard mazes of the Scheunenviertel (Barn Quarter), which also encompasses the former Spandauer Vorstadt... Read more

The Mitte (Middle) district is where Berlin first began as two fishing villages separated by the Spree River. Throughout its 772-year-plus history it has served as a seat of government for Prussian kings... Read more

In the city's outlying areas there are palaces, lakes, and museums set in lush greenery. Central to the former West Berlin but now a western district of the united city, Charlottenburg was once an independent... Read more

A trip to Berlin wouldn't be complete without paying a visit to Potsdam and its park, which surrounds the important Prussian palaces Neues Palais and Sanssouci. This separate city, the state capital of... Read more

The once-divided capital is rejoined on Potsdamer Platz, which was Berlin's inner-city center and Europe's busiest plaza before World War II. Bombings and the wall system left this area a sprawling, desolate... Read more

The Tiergarten, a bucolic 630-acre park with lakes, meadows, and wide paths, is the "green heart" of Berlin. In the 17th century it served as the hunting grounds of the Great Elector (its name translates... Read more