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Germany : Berlin - January 2010

Country Code: Dial for Germany

Don’t let the winter cold fool you, Berlin is alive and jumping in January. The clubs are pumping, there’s hot food on every corner, and enough art shows to keep you going for a lifetime – or at least a very long weekend. René Blixer discovers that Germany’s capital never slows down

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).

MITTE

Amidst the high-end shopping and must-see museums, this city centre urban playground still has some original cafés and galleries well worth visiting.

Sleep soundly – The Circus Hostel (1a Weinbergsweg, tel. , circus-berlin.de, bunks from €19, rooms from €40) has a lively bar with daily events for weary travellers.

Culture vultures – Catch any number of international flicks, from the absolutely strange to the mainstream, at Babylon (30 Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, tel. , babylonberlin.de). This historic cinema, built in the 1920s, still houses its silent-movie pipe organ.

Must eat – Shuffle into the warmth and bustling ambiance of La Focacceria (24 Fehrbelliner Strasse, tel. ) and taste the wide variety of Berlin’s best focaccia pizzas.

Must drink – Dive bar meets at-home lounge, with a fruity touch, at the aptly named Erdbeer (56 Max-Beer-Strasse). Serving up a host of yummy drinks next to their trademark, oh-so-good strawberry daiquiris.

Dance the night away – With an impressive list of big-name DJs playing out the night downstairs, and live acts upstairs, WMF (44 Klosterstrasse) makes dancing a weekend priority.

Shop til you drop – Go past the open, white-space gallery to the spiral staircase and head downstairs for a bunker-like fashion haven, with clothing from local and well-known designers, at Apartment (8 Memhardstrasse).

KREUZBERG

The winter cold won’t stop the eclectic mix of artists, partygoers, and students from keeping things going all night in this vibrant, gritty district.

Sleep soundly – Sleep on the River Spree! Eastern Comfort Hostel (73-77 Mühlenstrasse, tel. , eastern-comfort.com, bunks from €16, rooms from €50) has a boat docked on each side of the river. Sleep next to the beautiful Oberbaum Bridge and wake up for a short walk to the East Side Gallery (a 1.3km section of the Berlin Wall).

Culture vultures – A former hospital and now a residence for artists, Künstlerhaus Bethanien (2 Mariannenplatz, bethianen.de) is a huge space alive with original exhibitions and performances.

Must eat – Hit the corner right outside Schlesisches Tor station (Schlesische Strasse/Skalitzer Strasse) for all your party-night snack requirements, including an all-night bakery, Chinese quick boxes, and plenty of authentic Döner. And don’t miss Burgermeister, right under the train tracks, for a cheap but delicious burger.

Dance the night away – With regular Balkan Beat parties and plenty of live bands, Lido (7 Cuvrystrasse) keeps things current for a good night of partying.

Shop til you drop – Dress like a true Kreuzberger and hit Jumbo Second Hand (63 Wiener Strasse), which specialises in vintage shoes.

FRIEDRICHSHAIN

Straddling the line between gentrified Prenzlauer Berg and eclectic Kreuzberg, this district is developed enough to be comfortable, but with a few rough edges to keep it fun.

Sleep soundly – The new Michelberger Hotel (39-40 Warschauer Strasse, tel. , michelbergerhotel. com, rooms from €59) keeps things creative with its innovative space.

Culture vultures – Take in the historic Villa Heimat (31 Thaerstrasse), previously an animal market and then a Soviet detention centre. Now you can view some high art or enjoy a concert.

Must eat – Restaurant Schoenbrunn (Am Schwanteich im Volkspark Friedrichschain, tel. ) offers an affordable continental-style menu with a few German flourishes. The real treat, though, is sitting in the middle of the park in front of the swan lake.

Dance the night away – Housed in a colossal former transformer station, Berghain (Am Wriezener Bahnhof) pumps out techno all night. Many people travel to Berlin just to visit this club, so you can expect to be up well past dawn!

Shop til you drop – At Boxhagener Platz flea market on Sundays (and the farmers’ market on Saturdays), you can sharpen your haggling skills while finding all sorts of treasures.

Compiled by René Blixer