Day one
09:00 Start your trip in style with breakfast at Kafer’s restaurant on the top floor of the Reichstag. Situated just behind the famous glass dome, eating here is a great way of bypassing the queues and enjoying views over the city. I tried the fit-for-the-day breakfast, a crepe filled with vegetables and herb cottage cheese. Just make sure clients book well in advance.
11.00 Walk five minutes to the Brandenburg Gate. Just inside the former East Berlin, the gate is a potent symbol of how the city used to be divided.
11:30 From there, it’s a short walk to the Holocaust Memorial, a field of 2,700 concrete slabs. Visitors might be surprised to see locals eating and chatting on the slabs, but US architect Peter Eisenman always intended for it to be part of Berliners’ everyday lives. Don’t miss the visitors’ centre underneath the stones.
12:30 Head down Ebertstrasse to Potsdamer Platz. Built in 1998, this square is a symbol of modern Berlin and home to many shops and restaurants. For a quick lunch, go to Weilands Wellfood for organic stir-fries, salads and curries.
14:00 Head to Prinz Albrecht Strasse where the ruins of the former engine room of Nazi persecution has reopened as the Topography of Terror museum. This two-storey steel and glass building focuses on the Nazi perpetrators rather than their victims.
15:30 Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known crossing point between East and West Berlin. The museum charts the ways people tried to pass from east to west.
17:00 Round off the afternoon with a stroll up Friedrichstrasse, the most stylish shopping street in the city.
20:00 The idea of a James Bond-themed restaurant might raise some eyebrows, but there’s nothing tacky about Bond in Charlottenburg. The stylish surroundings attract Berlin’s in crowd. After dinner, amble over to Savignyplatz, an atmospheric square with plenty of bars.
Day two
09:00 Grab a coffee and some dark German rye bread at Einstein on Unter Den Linden before taking the U-bahn from Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Jump off the train at Ostbahnhof for the East Side Gallery, a one-mile-long section of the Berlin Wall given over to the work of more than 100 artists. Each work of art pays tribute to the idea of freedom in diverse and fascinating ways.
11:00 Next stop is Hackesche Höfe, one of Berlin’s trendiest districts. This bustling web of eight courtyards is lined with vintage and designer boutiques, galleries, bars and theatres. The market dates back to the 18th century and, although the buildings have been rebuilt, they reflect the architecture of the Renaissance.
13:00 Feeling peckish? Stop for lunch at Oranium, which serves classic German dishes with a twist. Try the Flammkuchen, a traditional pastry made in a special flame oven, with bacon and onion.
15:00 One of Berlin’s most memorable sites is the Jewish Museum. Designed by Polish-born architect Daniel Libeskind, this museum traces the history of the Jews in Germany from Roman times through to Jewish life today. The building – with its windows of irregular shards of glass – has been likened to a streak of lightning, but the most eerie feature is the Holocaust Tower, a barely-lit concrete chamber.
16:30 Across the road, the Berlinische Gallery is worth a visit for its unique collection of modern art, photography and architecture.
20:00 Treat yourself to dinner at one of Berlin’s hottest nightspots, Grill Royal. This is the place to see and be seen, so keep your eyes peeled for celebrities and politicians.
New hotel openings
Soho House Berlin opened last month in a listed building in the Mitte district. The hotel’s 40 rooms have five categories, from 118sq metre rooms with free-standing baths, dining tables and seating areas to the smaller 24sq m attic rooms, which have a dormitory feel. sohohouseberlin.com
The three-star Leonardo Hotel Berlin, which opened last year, is located near the International Congress Centre of Berlin. The company is due to open the Leonardo Boutique Hotel, a 10-storey glass and metal building at Bertold Brecht Platz, next year. leonardo-hotels.com
For travellers on a budget, the two-star All Seasons Berlin Mitte Hotel is due to open in October near Alexanderplatz. all-seasons-hotels.com
Sample product
Two nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Maritim proArte Hotel with Dertour costs from £389 per person, based on two sharing, with return flights. Dertour is also offering the Berlin WelcomeCard Museumsinse, which includes unlimited travel on the public transport system and discounts or free entry to more than 150 top sights.
dertour.co.uk, 020 7290 1111
Shearings is offering its Berlin and the Baltic Coast itinerary from £719, a saving of £80 per person. It includes stays in Berlin, Stralsund, the Hanseatic town of Lübeck, Hamburg and the Baltic Coast. shearingsagent.com, 01942 823449
Cox & Kings has a two-night B&B package at the Adlon Kempinski from £675 per person based on two sharing, including flights and transfers. coxandkings.co.uk, 020 7873 5000
