Art Hotel Luise

Activities

You couldn't be better placed for Berlin’s main attractions, almost all of which are within a 10-15 minute walk – or you can catch a boat to Museum Island if you prefer, and walk back. Alternatively you can hire a "call-a-bike" (there's usually one parked nearby; ask reception staff to explain how it works), hail a cycle rickshaw, or jump on a passing octocycle (which it exactly what it sounds). Highlights include:

• The Reichstag Dome (5 mins' walk), a stunning glass-and-mirror construction by Norman Foster, with a double helix walkway taking you to one of the best viewpoints over the city (beware long queues on summer mornings)
  
• The Brandenburg Gate (10 mins), the ceremonial and history-steeped archway which marks the start of the broad thoroughfare of Unter den Linden (Berlin's epicentre)
  
• Museum Island (15 mins), now a Unesco World Heritage Site, which brings together such a wealth of historical art and artefacts that it would take a week to do justice to all the newly-opened collections: the Pergamon (Near and Middle East art and architecture), Bode (sculptures, Byzantine art, coins), Alte Nationalgalerie (Classical-Romantic paintings) and the Altes and Neues Museum (respectively antiques and, once re-opened, pre-history)
  
• The Gendarmenmarkt (20 mins), a lovely open square with the tall twin domes of the French and German churches, as well as a concert hall and one of the city's many Christmas markets
  
• The Berlin Philharmonic Hall (20 mins / bus ride) where you can hear world-class classical music, sometimes conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
  
• Checkpoint Charlie (3 U-bahn stops), the famous crossing between east and west sides of the city pre-1990, now the site of a small private museum
  
• The Jewish Museum (3 U-bahn stops), which aims to shock visitors both with its off-kilter Daniel-Libeskind architecture (zigzagging lines and leaning verticals) and with its exhibits (including a dark shaft in which visitors are temporarily 'imprisoned')
  
• Prenzlauer Berg (a short bus or train ride), a bohemian neighbourhood with funky cafés and Bierhallen in the evening