Must-see in Berlin: a first-timer's guide

A brief history Berlin was a modest Brandenburg trading town before Prussia turned it into a royal and then imperial capital in 1871. The Weimar years made it Europe's most experimental city; Nazi rule and the Second World War destroyed much of it. Divided by the Wall from 1961 to 1989 and reunified in 1990, it rebuilt as a capital that puts its own difficult history on public display. 10 must-see attractions 1. Brandenburg Gate — the neoclassical gate that stood in the death strip and now marks reunification. 2. Reichstag — Norman Foster's glass dome over parliament; free with advance registration. 3. East Side Gallery — the longest surviving stretch of the Wall, painted by artists in 1990. 4. Museum Island — five great museums including the Pergamon and the bust of Nefertiti. 5. Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe — 2,711 concrete stelae with an underground information centre. 6. Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse — the Cold War border explained on site. 7. Berlin TV Tower — the tallest structure in Germany, with a revolving view over both former halves. 8. Charlottenburg Palace — baroque royal residence with formal gardens. 9. Tiergarten and the Victory Column — a huge central park with a golden angel at its centre. 10. Kreuzberg and Neukoelln — Turkish markets, canal-side beer gardens and Berlin's club and street-art culture. Tip: distances are big — buy a day travel pass and use the S-Bahn.