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First-time visitors coming for a short break will spend most of their days within a mile or so of the Brandenburg Gate. A walk along Unter den Linden and then a visit to Museumsinsel would make a good first day. If the weather is good, make a small detour en route to the Gendarmenmarkt for the first coffee of the day and then take a short break in the Lustgarten before visiting the museums. They all have spacious restaurants for lunch and for a second break take a short boat trip from the pier beside the Pergamon Museum. The second day can be spent in the Kulturforum and the Potsdamer Platz. If absorbing the whole of German painting, not to mention the French, Spanish and British as well, takes up most of the day, leave the Potsdamer Platz until the evening and enjoy it illuminated. An alternative would be to go to the Berlin Philharmonic and catch up on Sir Simon Rattle’s latest programme. In the evening, perhaps stay in central Berlin; whether you return to the Gendarmenmarkt, amble along the Kurfürsten- damm or stick to Unter den Linden, you will get a meal of enormous proportions with unhurried, professional service. The same applies in hotels. Alternatively, make straight for Prenzlauerberg. Have a casual, early, Turkish meal and then allow plenty of time for the clubs. The area around Charlottenburg Palace deserves a full day but a lot can be done in less. (If you are leaving from Tegel in the late afternoon, take your case with you, leave it at the cloakroom in the palace whilst you sightsee and then jump on the airport bus which stops in the Tegeler Weg and will reach the airport in only 10 minutes.) The palace and its gardens represent the best in 18th- and 19th-century German architecture. The neighbouring museums and houses continue the story until the end of the 20th, and throw in Picasso’s entire career as well. See how much Germany owes to individual philanthropists at the Bröhan Museum. Remember that Monday is out for culture vultures as the large state and municipal museums are all closed together with the Charlottenburg and Potsdam palaces. The Monday “Ruhetag” (day of rest) is as sacrosanct to museums Sunday is to German shopkeepers on Sunday. However, politicos and gays need not worry since the Secret Police, Checkpoint Charlie, Story of Berlin, and Homosexual Museums are all open that day.
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