See the Political & Cultural Capital of Berlin with TourGermany.com

Berlin is the capital city and one of the 16 states (Länder) of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is Germany's largest city in area and population, and the second most populated city in the European Union. With TourGermany.com you can visit this unique city and admire its rich history and culture.

Berlin is well-known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its dynamic nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars as well as for its many museums, palaces, and other monuments of historic interest. Berlin's architecture is quite diverse. Although poorly damaged during the World War II and being halved throughout the Cold War, Berlin has reconstructed itself tremendously, mainly thanks to its reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989. Nowadays it's possible to see representatives of varied historic eras within the city center, from a few medieval structures near Alexanderplatz, to the contemporary glass and steel buildings in Potsdamer Platz. As a result of its tumultuous history, Berlin remained a city with many characteristic neighborhoods.

Berlin offers its visitors magnificent sights though it is not as central or small as other European cities. It is also famous for being one of the greenest cities in Europe: more than 60% of its territory is either a park or a river.

In Berlin has more than one downtown area. Since January 2001, Berlin has been officially divided into 12 new large boroughs (Bezirke), which is a consolidation of the 23 old, smaller districts (Stadtteile, Bezirke). The four areas with the most popular sights are: Mitte, Tiergarten, Charlottenburg, and Kreuzberg.

Mitte

Mitte is the first and most central district of Berlin (Mitte = middle in German). Mitte covers Berlin's historic core. The borough includes some of the most important tourist sites of former East Berlin, such as: the Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate, Berliner Dom, Unter den Linden and the Reichstag.

Tiergarten

Tiergarten is both a district and the name of a large park in the center of Berlin.

The park populate many parliamentary and governmental institutions, such as the Bundestag in the Reichstag building and the new German Chancellery. The residence of the German President and the Carillon are also located in the Tiergarten Park.

The Brandenburg Gate and the Potsdamer Platz are located on the eastern border of the borough.

Charlottenburg

If downtown to you is wide, crowded streets, full of shoppers, five-star hotels and high buildings, then Charlottenburg is the answer. The center of activity is the where KufÜrstendamm, Joachimsthaler Straße, Bahnhof Zoo and Tauentzienstraße intersect.

Kreuzberg

Due to a large Turkish population, hippies, anarchists and alternative individuals, Kreuzberg is neither East nor West. It was the outcast of West Berlin, left aside in its distant space to play noisy music and sketch on walls. In 1987 social and economic aggravation blew up into aggression and destruction during the traditional political demonstrations of May Day. May the first is the Kreuzberg's way of reliving its 15 minutes of glory. The rest of the days are marked by backgammon at the men's clubs, café -sitting on the Landwehrkanal, and wandering around Oranienstraße and Bergmannstraße. A couple of main museums, the House at Checkpoint Charlie and the Jewish Museum, are situated in the calmer parts of the borough.