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Germany : Berlin - August 2009

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Berlin is nothing less than a dream destination in August. Huge green spaces, waterside locations, open-air cinemas and a local love of staying up until sunrise make it the place to party, eat and drink alfresco. Nadja Vancauwenberghe takes it outside

Getting around

Tempelhof Airport is located in the southcentral borough of Tempelhof- Schöneberg.

Train: The airport is connected to the city centre by U-Bahn line 6, which can be picked up from Platz der Luftbrücke station. The journey takes 10 to 15 minutes and tickets cost €2,10.
Taxi: The trip into the city centre takes around 15 minutes and costs about €12.
Tourist information: There are offices at the Brandenburg Gate and the main railway station (0025, visitberlin.de).

KREUZBERG

Students, artists and immigrants all mingle among the shabby-chic bars and canal-side cobbled streets in the city’s melting pot.

Sleep soundly – The individually styled rooms at Hotel Sarotti-Höfe (57 Mehringdamm, tel. , hotel-sarottihoefe.de, rooms from €65), housed in an old chocolate factory, won’t break the bank.

Culture vultures – One for the ladies and everyone who loves them: Schwules Museum (61 Mehringdamm) has an exhibition about Berlin’s lesbian scene throughout August

Must eat – If brunching is an art form in Berlin, then Café Morgenland (35 Skalitzer Strasse, tel. ) is a masterpiece. It has outdoor seating, a buffet and great cocktails. Book to avoid disappointment.

Must drink – 153 Reichenberger Strasse is the address and (possibly) the name of an excellent little bar. Come for quality spirits, international beers and table football.

Dance the night away – SO36 (190 Oranienstrasse) is a legendary Berlin club under threat from a noise-averse neighbour. It plays everything from disco to Bollywood and Balkan, with dance classes and bingo in between. Go and dance there while you still can.

Shop til you drop – Pony Hütchen (33 Pücklerstrasse) is a cute vintage treasure trove, selling everything from 1950s furniture to 1980s punk clothes, shoes and accessories. Stuff ranges from the timeless to the trashy.

MITTE

No visit to Berlin is complete without a walk through the historical centre.

Sleep soundly – Rooms at the beautifully designed Hotel Berlin, Berlin (106-108 Straße des 17 Juni, 0350, rooms from €95) are bracingly modern. Book into the Corner Suite, which has amazing views.

Culture vultures – Head through the embassy-lined Pariser Platz and the historic Brandenburg Gate to the Holocaust Memorial (Cora-Berliner- Strasse), a giant maze of concrete slabs with an accompanying museum.

Must eat – Dressler (39 Unter den Linden, tel. ) serves German and Italian dishes alongside classic French wines.

Must drink – Walk through Berlin’s largest park, Tiergarten, towards Café am Neuen See (2 Lichtensteinallee) – Berliners in Mitte love to come here to enjoy an open-air beer next to a lake.

Dance the night away – From the biergarten, head down the road to Musikbar Eldorado (20 Motzstrasse), a historic Berlin nightspot since before the First World War.

Shop til you drop – Galeries Lafayette (76-78 Friedrichstrasse) is the offspring of the Paris department store and sells every designer label under the sun.

FRIEDRICHSHAIN

Constantly competing with Kreuzberg in the coolness stakes, this former East Berlin district has a riverside charm of its own.

Sleep soundly – AGON Frankfurter Allee (21-22 Scharnweberstrasse, tel. , agon-frankfurter-allee. de, rooms from €49) is a perfect place from which to explore Friedrichshain.

Culture vultures – Go to East Side Gallery (1 Mühlenstrasse) to see a 1.3km strip of the Berlin Wall being repainted to look how it did 20 years ago before the fall.

Must eat – Find great Dutch snacks at De Molen (26a Neue Bahnhofstrasse), a good alternative to most takeaways in the city. You can also eat in, but they don’t take reservations.

Must drink – Süss.War Gestern (43 Wühlischestrasse) – ‘yesterday was sweet’ – is the ideal place to kick off a night of bar hopping in the trendy Boxhagener area. Think DJ sets, videos in the windows and great cocktails.

Dance the night away – Cassiopeia (99 Revaler Strasse) has a sound system that can be heard two streets away and a huge outdoor courtyard, perfect on warm summer evenings. Expect to hear anything from techno to soul and hip-hop.

Compiled by Nadja Vancauwenberghe