Top Reasons to Visit Berlin in 2017

History History History!

Berlin’s history is astounding. We strategically planned our trip to the city around Christmas to bypass reminders of its turbulent past in the midst of festivities. Yet, to our amazement, the history of the German capital had us gripped!

Visit the city and walk the streets where Hitler rose to power, bringing on the inhuman Holocaust. Stand at Brandenburg Gate and imagine his army’s march at the beginning of the Second World War. The shelling marks on the old buildings bespeak the war devastation. Retrace your imagination back to the Cold War between the two superpowers, US and the Soviet, seen in the remnants of the Berlin Wall and at Charlie Checkpoint.

Read More: The 10,000 Uninhabited Rooms of Hitler's Hotel Prora

The Museums

Berliners like to talk through exhibits and it therefore comes as no suprise that the city is home to 138 museums! The Museum Island in north Berlin is a UNESCO site. Visit the Berggruen and Neues Museums to inspire the artist in you. Experience life under communism in the DDR Museum. Get clicked at the guardhouse at Checkpoint Charlie, in the open-air Allied Museum. At the Berlin Wall Memorial, learn about the life of Berliners in a divided city. The city even has a museum dedicated to its Currywurst and S-Bahn, as well as  to computer games, magic, country estate, letters, lipstick, and waterworks! Get entry to 50 museums on a 3-day pass and get exploring!

Berlin’s Relentless Party Spirit

In stark contrast to Berlin’s sombre past, it is today the ultimate party place in Europe. Old warehouses, abandoned bunkers and factories have been converted into clubs giving the city a grunge feel. Weekend nights are abuzz with huge crowds letting their hair down in Berghain, Matrix, Maria am Ostbahnhof and the likes. Some clubs remain open from Fridays until Monday morning, with people partying for straight 3 days and 3 nights! However, hold your horses. Entry to the exclusive clubs is at the sole discretion of the bouncers standing guard outside. Go check out for yourself if you fit the bill!

A Vibrant Art Scene

If street art and graffiti tickles you, be sure to add Berlin to your bucket list! Even as its avant-garde art movement of 1920s was destroyed by Hitler, it bounced back making Berlin the ‘graffiti mecca of the urban art world’ and UNESCO’s ‘City of Design’.

Stranded behind the iron curtain for 28 years, West Berlin became a magnet for non-conformists, and street art became a popular visual language. With the fall of the wall in 1989, this hippie, arty scene swiftly moved east as artists took over the deserted, ravaged parts of East Berlin.

Walk along the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall – the longest open-air gallery in the world, painted over with 101 works (with graffiti and socio-political messages) by 118 artists from 21 countries. See the quirky street art in eastern Kreuzberg, around Boxhagener Platz and the RAW Gelände in Friedrichshain, Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg and  Haus Schwarzenberg in Mitte, and visit  one of its 400 art galleries. For those interested, the city offers guided graffiti tours trailing the most distinct artworks and artists.

Read More: The Fascinating Story Behind the Berlin Wall

The Real German Christmas

Even as many cafes and restaurants shut shop, Berlin around Christmas is a merry place to be in. Over 60 markets, each with their own distinct character, come up in the city. There is lip-smacking food – currywurst, pancakes, hot dogs, lagos and the deliciously-sweet warm glühwein – to keep you warm in the freezing cold. 

While it’ll be tough to choose, make sure to check out the main markets. Potsdamer Platz Christmas market, Winterwelt, is the first of the season, and transports the square into a winter wonderland. The popular Berliner Weihnachtzeit behind Alexander Platz has it all – barrel organ music, an ice rink, a ferris wheel and a petting zoo for kids. Then, there is a market in Späth'sche Baumschule, the oldest nursery in Germany. The Christmas market at the stunning Charlottenburg Palace is as romantic as can be. Don’t miss the chance to visit the palace gardens, as well as the classic and cosy WeihnachtsZauber Market at the picturesque Gendarmenmarkt square!

Every Christmas, a small tent city lit up with 1,000 lights comes up in the shadow of the gorgeous Konzerthaus, framed with  French and German Churches on either side. A variety of eats by Michelin-starred chefs, handmade products and daily Christmas plays are only some of its draws. Also worth checking out is the the Berlin Environmental and Christmas Market in Mitte.

The Ubiquitous Currywurst

Sure enough, no visit to Berlin is complete without trying its most popular fast food, currywurst. A Steamed and fried pork sausage sliced and seasoned with spiced tomato sauce and curry powder, this simple preparation was invented in 1949 by Herta Heuwer as quick snack. Over the years, it came to be sold all across the city in different variations, gaining a cult status. It even has a song and a novel dedicated to it! By tradition, every candidate for the mayorship of Berlin is photographed at a currywurst stand. The unique Deutsches Currywurst Museum opened in August 2009 to commemorate the snack’s 60th anniversary. Try it and judge the fuss for yourself. 

Its Magic Potion: Beer

All the real beer lovers, please stand up. And head to Berlin!

Trying varieties of famed German beer in old-fashioned bars and snazzy breweries, clinking glasses with a prost (‘cheers’ in German) and pounding tables while enjoying beer hall music is reason enough to make a trip to Berlin. And it is serious business, mind you! The production of beer in Germany is regulated by a 15th century, strict purity law, Reinheitsgebot, which is interestingly the oldest consumer protection law. 

Go beer hopping, and chug down mugs of the traditional German lager at microbreweries in the city – Marcus Braü, Lemke, Brauhaus Mitte, Prassnik, Hops & Barley and Pfefferbräu are particularly popular. If visiting in summer, savour the Bavarian golden drinks in beer gardens as you enjoy the sun, themost popular among them being the Tiergarten. Even better, sign up for a beer tour and learn what gives Germany the title of the ‘brewing capital of the world’. Prost!

Read More: Stuttgart Beer Festival: Of Beer, Food and Adventure

What are you waiting for? Head to this enigmatic city and find out what draws you the most!