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Attractions in Berlin - Berlin Hotels .com

Berlin is an eclectic city, rich with culture and contradiction. Perhaps more than any other city in the world, Berlin acknowledges its often dark history, but is still able to take a hard gaze into its future in a spirit of optimism, acceptance, and hope. A haven for all types, Berlin is home to artists and bureaucrats, poets and politicians.

As one of the world's most refined and cultured cities, Berlin offers classical music and opera lovers some of the world's finest classical music and opera. The Theater des Westens, for instance, is where such legends as Enrico Caruso and Maria Callas once graced the stage. Also not to be missed is the world-renowned Berliner Philharmonie in Tiergarten.

If you're more "naughty" than classical in your tastes, check out one of the many cabaret and comedy clubs or exciting nightlife around town.

Perhaps more than any other city in the world, Berlin is a city of museums. Whether the ancient and grandiose collections at the world-famous Pergamon Museum are your style, or the subversive and erotic displays at Beate Uhse Erotik-Museum turn you on, Berlin is certain to satisfy your museum-going appetite.

Perhaps the best place to start your city venture is at the Fernsehturm TV Tower, the largest such tower in Europe. Here you'll get a sense of Berlin from above and can also enjoy a unique dining experience in a revolving restaurant that spins diners at spectacular heights. Then try a boat tour on the Spree River, which lets you hop off at your leisure to take in any one of the city's major landmarks.

Visitors looking for an unforgettable shopping experience should stop by Kaufhaus des Westens, the largest department store in all of continental Europe, with its famous floor of gourmet foods from around the world. More shops, along with 40 cinema screens, museums, and restaurants, are to be found at the Posterdamer Platz - Sony Center, a symbol of the revitalized, modern, and technological Berlin.

Travelers with children should check out the Berlin Zoological Garden, which boasts the world's largest collection of animal species and includes a petting zoo and playground.

But Berlin is also a city that remains sincerely mindful of the horrors in its past. The Memorial to the Berlin Wall, a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and other political and historical attractions memorialize the city's divided past and pay tribute to the six million Jews and others who died in the Holocaust.

There is much to see and do in this complex, evolving city. Perhaps the essence of Berlin and its citizens is best summed up by the French director Luc Besson who said, "It's always the small people who change things. It was the people in the street who pulled down the Berlin Wall, not the politicians."

This is the spirit and energy that the visitor will find in contemporary Berlin.