BEAUTY: Schloss Charlottenburg

Designed by Johann Arnold Nering, the Charlottenburg Palace was commissioned by Friendrich III, Elector of Brandenburg for his wife Sophie Charlotte. After crowning himself as King Friendrich I of Prussia, he begun to extend the palace, starting by adding two side wings to the one already existing and extending the main building itself. In the following years the Orangery was built and the centre of the palace was extended with a large dome tower. The baroque details and Corinthian pilasters characterise the facade, which's magnolia and ivory grandeur occupies the horizon as you approach it. 

Behind the palace are the stunning baroque gardens of Schloss Charlottenburg. Free for the public to roam, the flat and vast space of lush lawns and well maintained box plants separate the formal gardens from the surrounding parkland, but were not always this way. In 1787 Steiner redesigned Simeon Godeau's baroque garden in an English landscape style, adopting a wilder and more natural looking use of the space. After the Second World War, the decision was made to restore the garden back to it's baroque roots. Grey gravel, soil and wild flowers are all used to fill-in the swirls and lines of the design, like an intricate and opulent colour-by-numbers of the landscape. The duck-egg teahouse Belevdere was added to the gardens in 1788, which was used to view the design from a more arial perspective, and the neoclassical Mausoleum was built as a tomb for Queen Luise in 1812. On a hot summers day the gardens make for a luxurious and peaceful retreat, and with the palace overlooking your frolicking, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in Versailles. 

ART: Hamburger Bahnhof

Invalidenstraße 50 | Mitte 10557 

U Hauptbahnhof

Tue, Wed, Fri 10.00-18.00 | Thu 10.00-20.00 | Sat-Sun 11.00-18.00

14.00€ standard | 7.00€ concession www.hamburgerbahnhof.de

Do not be fooled by the traditional facade of this art gallery. The contrast between the inside and outside of this former railway station is reflective of the re-invention and challenges that modern art presents. This proves it to be the ideal location for one of the best commentaries of contemporary art that the city has to offer.There are few walls, allowing you to meander backwards and forwards through the  building and form a dialogue between both the permanent and temporary exhibits. Be sure to purchase a house ticket that will allow you to see both of these, and allow at least three hours to work your way around the huge amount of exhibits on show.

The impressive private collection of Dr. Erich Marx boasts  works  by Roy Litchtenstein, Anselm Kiefer, Keith Haring, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. Whether you are a fan Pop-Art fan or not, it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by Warhol's narrative painting of the Chairman Mao (1973). The amount of art available to see, hear and watch at the Hamburger Bahnhof makes it an absolute essential part of any art fan's trip to Berlin.

All photos from temporary exhibition "Body Pressures"

CLUBBING: Tresor

Köpenicker Straße 70  |  Mitte 10179  

U Heinrich-Heine-Str. 

Wed: 23:45 - 09:00  |  Fri - Sat: 23:45 - 11:00

11.00€ standard

www.tresorberlin.de

Renowned for being one of Berlin's techno meccas, this club will not disappoint. It is almost hard to believe anything is going on inside the concrete structure whilst you queue to get inside, as the main dance floor is tucked away in the basement of the building. This disguises the pounding techno as a gentle thud from outdoors. A long, bunker-like corridor leads you to the basement, building suspense as the occasional flash of light and smoke implies you're getting closer to the party. Appropriately named "The Dungeon" this floor utilises a red glow, relentless strobe light and plenty of steel bars to make it a suitably sinister setting for the music being played. In true Berlin fashion, everyone dances facing the DJ, although the bar and smaller dance floor upstairs provide a relatively more relaxed approach to some more melodic styles of techno. 

Unlike some of the other clubs in Berlin, Tresor happily welcome tourists, so don't worry about hiding your English as you approach the doors. Arrive between one and two in the morning to avoid queuing for a long time and be there for when "The Dungeon" kicks off . 

FOOD: District Mot

Rosenthalerstrasse 62 | Mitte 10119 

U Rosenthalerplatz 

Mon - Thu: 12:00 - 00:00 |  Fri - Sat: 12:00 - 02:00 |  Sun: 12:00 - 00:00

 www.districtmot.com

District Mot creates an authentic Saigon street food experience. A recommended main course is the "banh trang bun thit nuong" available at a very reasonable price of eight euros. Skewered meet, grilled pineapple, rice noodles and peanuts are all wrapped in rice paper to create the Saigon equivalent of fajitas. This is surprisingly difficult to do, but do not be afraid to request a knife and fork and eat by your own rules. The flavours are delicate and balanced, so resist the temptation to cover everything with the rich hoi-sin sauce on your table. Some of the food should never have left the streets of Saigon however, as the chicken feet prove to be almost totally meatless and literally still have claws. A strawberry mojito served with salty plum powder or a Tiger beer will be the perfect accompaniment to your meal, drawing out the fruity undertones of the dishes on offer. 

Sit inside or out, but be sure to check out the toilets, where displays made from Tiger beer bottles and windmills nod towards to street market aesthetic. A small, strange room with pebbles for flooring and ambient lighting provides the perfect place to meditate after the trauma that is deep-fried chicken foot and hot chilli sauce. 

SHOPPING: Ku'damm

U Kurfurstendamm

www.kurfuerstendamm.de/en/

Repeatedly referred to as Berlin's own Champs-Élysées, Ku'damm's tree-lined avenue of designer boutiques, upmarket restaurants and expensive hotels provides a taste of luxury in the city. During the nineteen-twenties the area of the "New West" was a vital part of leisure and nightlife, but the avenue has suffered between then and now. The shops and businesses owned by the Jewish community became victim of "Reichskristallnacht" in November 1938, and most of the boulevard was destroyed in air raids. Once rebuilt, Ku'damm became the central shopping street of the former West Berlin, and naturally a place of protest and demonstration. German Reunification caused the boulevard to compete with more central areas like Potsdamer Platz and Friedrichstraße, but it has since retained it's status as an upmarket and exclusive area to shop. 

Although the likes of Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Burberry might be out of most people's budgets, window shopping on a sunny day will feel luxurious enough, and grabbing a coffee to people watch with is definitely one of the more suave afternoons you'll spend in Berlin. 

BARS: Mein Haus Am See

Brunnenstraße 197-198 | 10119 Mitte

U Rosenthalerplatz

www.mein-haus-am-see.com

Mon-Sun 12:00-12:00

Choosing to not boast the name of the building on any of the signage, Mein Haus Am See is the physical embodiment of playing it cool. Mentioning only that is a cafe and bar, you can take it as either try hard or modest when realising that it also serves as a live music and performance venue, as well as an occasional art exhibition space. One trademark is the stall seating at the back, where steel stairs have been littered with cushions forming a creative and stylish interior space. These are great for twos and threes to enjoy a Weiss beer (3.60€) rather than sharing any of the tables for eight that dominate the main floor. There's also a smoking room with a glass partition, but finding a seat inside is usually a rarity.

Wallpaper-stripped and paint-peeled walls create a backdrop for the art on show, and despite looking as if the art has been lifted straight from your tumblr dashboard, these emphasise Mein Haus Am See's agenda to integrate the arts into their bar and cafe. Although, seeing as the hipster clientele have manipulated every visible logo to look like genitalia, perhaps the crowd it attracts are not as appreciative of art as the maybe first seem. 

BEAUTY: Alte Nationalgalerei

Both the building and the contents of the Alte Nationalgalerie are beautiful in their own right. The exterior was designed by Friendrich August Stuler and Carl Busse, in a style that mixes late Classicism and early Neorenaissance. The grand staircase is reminiscent of a theatre and the apse of a church, with the design intending to express the unity of art, nation and history. A copper-green statue of Frederick William IV stands central at the top of the stairs, and the inside stairs boast a frieze by Otto Geyer depicting German history from prehistoric times to the 19th century, accumulating to a grand and eclectic mix of style and culture to house the collection. 

Originally the gallery was dedicated to contemporary and Prussian art, but as time passed Impressionist and Expressionist art was added, ending the focus on German art. Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" and works by Edouard Manet and Claude Monet are amongst the pieces, and are particularly impressive on the upper floors. The interior of the building is also stunning, altering between teal and scarlet walls edged in black and much more elaborate white and cream coving. None of this detracts from the art however, and simply highlights the tonal ranges and themes of each room.