'That's beautiful. Look at that view, it's the perfect Berlin skyline.' It's 1am Sunday in Ostgut, one of Berlin's newest and trendiest clubs. Above the pulsating house music, Marco, an Italian émigré, sings the praises of the bleak nightscape of warehouses and industrial buildings. Berlin isn't pretty. It would finish way behind Prague, Rome and Paris in an urban beauty contest. But Germany's capital compensates with a nocturnal and cultural life to rival anywhere in the world. It's energetic, unpretentious, risqué and, unlike London, you don't need a second mortgage to splash out. And it's not just next week's Love Parade, the city's techno-music mass event, which secures its reputation as the party capital of Europe.
Berlin initially attracted bohemians after the Wall was erected and its citizens became exempt from military service. Since 1989, central east Berlin has been the place to be. Rents are cheap and controlled (it's galling to discover that London rents are five times higher than Berlin's); the mix of former Easterners, bargain-hunting Westerners and immigrants has made districts such as Mitte, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg the heart of progressive Germany. While Munich and Frankfurt cater to business and financial brains, Berlin, tolerant and laid-back, attracts the hedonists and creative types.
With this in mind, I've arranged a tour of the city's top nightspots. My guide, Markus, turns up in tight black leather trousers and matching jacket and apologises for not being smartly dressed. He takes me on a pub crawl around Hackescher Hof, formerly one of Berlin's bustling marketplaces, but now an upmarket area famed for its courtyard bars, which are packed during the summer with al fresco drinkers. Berliners tend to view the place as a tourist trap, but there's a refreshing atmosphere about these drinking holes; the punters are a heterogeneous crowd in age and appearance. The fashion police, it seems, don't patrol here.
Later, I meet up with Herbie, an American-born dancer who promises to guide me through the city's underground music scene. We go to Tresor, in Mitte, one of Berlin's most famous clubs, inspirational to the first generation of clubbers in the aftermath of the Wall's collapse. From the outside, it looks like a disused bunker. Inside, a young crowd enjoy the small, smoky basement venue, marching to breakneck techno. Berlin clubbers like their music hard and fast but have trouble keeping up with the pounding beat; judging from their boundless energy, alcohol isn't their drug of choice.
The following day, Tsafrir, a freelance journalist acquaintance, recommends a trip to Kreuzberg, the home of punks and anarchists during the Seventies and Eighties, now seemingly divided between the city's significant Turkish minority and the bohemian contingent. The main street, Oranien Strasse, is lined with second-hand shops, funky bars and Turkish cafés. There aren't many traditional German restaurants left, and finding a good one is tricky. (Italian cuisine is the most popular choice, but be warned - most are run by Arab entrepreneurs rather than Italians.) On Sunday afternoon the bars are full of hangover sufferers reading and sipping coffee.
Tsafrir reckons that Kreuzberg is Berlin's equivalent to Brixton. It's lively and cosmopolitan enough. I pass a pro-Palestine march and a busy Turkish religious celebration in the square. Although the Turkish have assimilated slowly into mainstream life, anecdotal evidence suggests race relations in central Berlin are good. But I'm advised on more than one occasion to stay away from the outer eastern suburbs after dark.
Kreuzberg boasts some of Berlin's best-known bars, such as Bierhimmel, a candlelit cocktail lounge. Licensing laws are liberal so they're open till the early hours. On weekends, things are loud and heaving until 5am, and you're likely to see an impromptu demonstration of drag-queen karaoke. (In Berlin, many of the best nights out are at gay or mixed venues.) There are no dress codes and door tariffs are negligible or non- existent.
One of the few Berlin clubs with a dress code is the Kit Kat Club, with its promise of Isherwood-like decadence. To be more precise it has an undress code. Everyone is encouraged to wear as little as possible, unless it's made out of rubber or leather. My Boogie Nights T-shirt isn't a hit with the doorman and I'm politely asked to remove it. Luckily, my blue camouflage trousers pass muster. The Kit Kat is ostensibly a fetish club, but really it's an excuse for exhibitionists to do what they do best. Housed in a black-and-neon Eighties pleasuredome, there are various alcoves and dark corners where a few clubbers get better acquainted.
Kreuzberg is a classic example of the gentrification taking place in swaths of the city. Similarly, Prenzlauer Berg, a formerly working-class district, has reinvented itself as an upscale shopping area. As the developers move into these neighbourhoods, the cutting-edge bars and clubs relocate to cheaper postcodes such as Friedrichshain, a previously moribund industrial area, which is now one of the hippest districts of the city.
For a real taste of new Berlin and new money, head for the the Potsdamer Platz. The gleaming new shopping and cultural centre boasts a collection of striking modernist glass-fronted buildings, including the Sony Centre, Daimler-Benz's HQ, the Filmmuseum Berlin and a theatre. Millions of marks were pumped into this unfashionable spot, adjacent to the eastern side of the Wall.
At the cool, minimalist Astron Hotel, the talk is all boom-boom and catching up with London, Paris and Rome. But Berlin's heart doesn't beat to the rhythm of politics or commerce, and you hope the city doesn't grow up too fast. It has a youthful swagger at the moment that is terribly endearing. Come back in a year's time and things might be different again, but for the moment, Berlin is a beguiling class act.
Fact file
Akin Ojumu travelled with Buzz (0870 240 7070) which flies from Stansted to Schönefeld (the east Berlin airport) from £35 one way including taxes.
The new Hotel Astron in Mitte is a tribute to minimalism (00 49 30 203 760). Double room prices range from £68 to £200.
For more information see the Berlin tourist office website or contact the German tourist office (020 7317 0908).
The Love Parade starts at 2pm on 21 July. Follow 250 DJs on more than 50 floats from Ernst-Reuter-Platz and Brandenburger Tor. German Travel Centre (020 8429 2900) has a Love Parade package with prices from £207 for one night's accommodation including flights.
