It must have all come as a bit of a shock to the Queen last Tuesday. First she had to contend with the blue and purple abstractions breaking out of the neat sandstone facade of the new British Embassy. Then there was the view from inside the space-age glass bubble that crowns the Reichstag building restored by Norman Foster.
And, oh ma'am, what a view. It must have looked to her like some animus horribilis was at work. For Berlin, the self-proclaimed new capital of Europe, is not that easy on the eye just yet. A forest of yellow cranes still towers over the biggest building site in Europe and brave-new-world architecture stands side by side with reclad relics from the collapsed East and scaffolded shells from the war.
Beyond this megalopolis in the making, Berlin is not the sort of place that instantly seduces you anyway. It lacks the intimacy of little squares and riverside cafés. There's no discernible centre, and the distances between locations are too great to walk. It's difficult to get your head around the geography of the city, but that is hardly surprising given that, until the Wall was torn down almost 11 years ago, it was divided into two cities with two centres, two easts, wests, norths and souths.
Which makes what is happening there all the more exciting - the greatest experiment in urban planning in modern times is being matched by an equally uplifting energy in the arts and the nightlife. By day, you can work your way through the Who's Who of architects and trawl through an extraordinary range of galleries. By night, you can hop between designer bars, cocktail lounges and nightclubs - although crawl is probably nearer the mark, as there are no closing times in a city that genuinely doesn't sleep.
All of this combines to make Berlin the fourth most popular city destination in Europe after London, Paris and Rome. God knows it needs the injection of tourism cash, as it has sunk billions into building this city of the future. And we Brits are leading the way in Europe, according to the latest figures from the Berlin tourist board, bolstered largely by our bullish pound. A decent hotel room can be had for as little as £70 a night, a good meal for two with wine for around £40 and the beer goes down nicely at £2 a pint.
What to see
Where to begin? The best way to get your bearings is to sign up for a city tour. The cheapest one is on the top deck of the regular number 100 bus, which passes most of the major sights, all for a DM3.90 ticket. Alternatively, the Insider Tour the Insider Tour is a three-and-a-half-hour guided walk conducted in English (DM20, tel: +49 30 692 3149). Also, lots of boats run up and down the River Spree - the commentary is in German, but the journey is relaxing enough (City Schiffahrt charges DM12 from the back of the Berlin Cathedral).
Walk up Unter den Linden from Friedrichstrasse to Alexanderplatz. Much of Berlin's turbulent history is encapsulated in this stretch. There are grandiose edifices built under Frederick II, destroyed in the second world war and rebuilt by the communist authorities. Across the street from the Humboldt University is Bebelplatz, flanked by the State Opera House and St Hedwigs' cathedral, where the Nazis started burning books on May 10 1933. Behind the Berlin cathedral and the Pergamon Museum on Museumsinsel sits the Communist kitsch of the television tower in Alexanderplatz (for 9DM, you can take the elevator up to the observation deck).
At the other end of Unter den Linden is the Brandenburg Gate, symbol of the city's division in the Cold War, stranded in no man's land behind the eastern side of the Wall; and the nearby Reichstag building, temple of Germany's re-unification. You can take a tour of the Reichstag and go up to the viewing gallery inside the glass dome, but get there early to avoid the two-hour queues (tours run 9am-10pm, and the building closes at midnight).
Potsdamer Platz is the centrepiece of Europe's boom town, a collection of futuristic high-rise office buildings and a pedestrianised forum with shops, cinemas, cafés and restaurants designed by some of the world's most celebrated architects.
Museums
Of the 170 museums, one of the most stunning is the Hamburger Bahnhoff, a converted railway station in Invalidenstrasse, Mitte, that opened in 1997. The interiors are cavernous and light with white glass tiles in the arched roofs, and the exhibits include Andy Warhol drawings from the 1950s and silk-screen prints of Mao and the Mona Lisa.
Just up from one of the few remaining segments of the Wall and next to the location of Hitler's secret bunker is the Martin-Gropius-Bau museum (Niederkirchnerstrasse 7, Mitte). This houses the city's millennium exhibition, Seven Hills - images and signs of the 21st century, which has, as its centrepiece, a futuristic installation by set designer Ken Adams of Bond and Dr Strangelove fame. It is breathtaking in its range, featuring 2,000 exhibits from more than 400 sources throughout the world. On until October 29.
The Jewish Museum (Lindenstrasse 15, Kreuzberg) is a series of zigzag metal buildings with slashes for windows that suggest scars. The layout and the uneven floors are designed to induce a feeling of dislocation and disorientation, reflecting the Jewish experience during the Holocaust.
When the cultural overload starts to kick in - and it will - clear your head with a stroll through the Tiergarten, the sprawling park that had to be replanted after the original trees were chopped down for firewood in 1945.
Where to drink
Unwind over kaffee und kuchen (cake). One of the most famous spots is Café Adler (Friedrichstrasse 206) overlooking the site of Checkpoint Charlie, the one-time gateway between East and West. While you're spoiling yourself with strudel (4DM) and sipping milchkaffee from a bowl (5.50DM) in the salon downstairs, bear in mind that at the height of the Cold War the CIA were installed on the third floor and the Stasi were located just over the street.
Most cafés also serve food and alcohol, but if you want to keep your powder dry for a night on the town, head over to Oranienburger Strasse in the district of Mitte. This strip of designer bars, lounges and restaurants in the former impoverished east has long since stolen the in-crowd away from the once glittering Kufürstendamm in the west. Resident DJs provide a background of chilled-out sounds in most places, and they don't charge an entrance fee. The refreshing thing about Berlin's bars - apart from their cocktails, of course - is that no matter how self-consciously stylish they appear, they welcome all - young and old, hip and square - with none of the snooty attitude of their London counterparts. It's as though, having lived in a divided society for so long, they are no longer willing to tolerate barriers of any sort.
Start at the Friedrichstrasse end, opposite the run-down squats colonised by artists when the Wall came down, and kick off with a cocktail from 808 Bar & Lounge (16DM a go).
Silberstein, up the road, is a more rigidly stylised venue with absurdly high-backed iron chairs. Here the new black is black. The waiters and waitresses are resting between parts, and the DJ is saving up for his return ticket back from the dark side.
Just off Oranienburger is a string of venues in the railway arches in Hackescher Markt. Resist the temptation to go al fresco at Zucca and sit inside under the art-deco chandeliers listening to the latest remixes.
Where to eat
A civilised way to start the day is over a leisurely DM20 breakfast in the garden of the Café im Literaturhaus (Fasanenstrasse 23, Charlottenburg), a turn-of-the-century villa that shares a street in the upmarket side of town with the likes of Gucci, Chanel and Cartier.
Lunch at Café Aedes in Hackesche Höfe (Rosenthaler Strasse, Mitte) - a labyrinth of courtyards housing bookshops, galleries theatres and artists' workshops. A simple bowl of Berlinner Kartofellsuppe und weiner - thick potato soup with slices of sausage - costs DM9.50.
In the evening, take a taxi over to Kreuzberg - known as the "multi-kulti" sector of town because of the number of alternative types who moved here to dodge conscription and the large Turkish population - for a taste of Austria in Jolesch (corner of Muskauer Strasse and Zeughofstrasse). A meal for two with a bottle of wine weighs in at £30.
Or go up to the Dachgarten Restaurant inside the dome at the Reichstag. It's a little pricier, with main dishes from DM45 to DM49, but it's worth it for the view and, if you have a reservation, you automatically jump the queue (tel: +49 30 22 62 99 33).
Where to stay
Hotels are relatively cheap in Berlin - rooms at the normally heavy-hitting Four Seasons, for instance, start at 510DM for a double, a fraction of the cost of those in other cities. "Art hotels", with paintings and installations, have sprung up all over the city, but the original one is Sorat Art'otel in Joachimstaler Strasse, just off the Kufürstendamm in Charlottenburg (+49 30 88 44 70), featuring the work of artist Wolf Vostell. A stylistic snip starting at DM165 a night.
Five of the best clubs
1 WMF Ziegelstrasse 23, Berlin-Mitte Cool arrogant DJs draw trendsetters, artists and celebs.
2 KIT KAT@Metropol Nollendorfplatz 5, Berlin-Schöneberg Dress code demands visitors wear as little as possible.
3 Shark Club Friedrichstrasse, Berlin-Mitte Doorkeepers are tough, but if you have a collection of credit cards and a model in tow, they'll have mercy.
4 Kaffee Burger Torstrasse 60, Berlin-Mitte Psychedelic interior and an eclectic mix of music
5 Tresor Club Leipziger Strasse 126a, Berlin-Mitte Once the cradle of techno, now a party zone for suburban ravers.
The practicals
Virgin Express (0207 772 0004) flies from London Stansted to Berlin-Schönefeld airport from £58 return. Buzz flies from Stansted to Berlin Tegel for £85 return. German Travel Centre (020 8429 2900) offers return flights for £100, overnight stays for £130. A WelcomeCard allows three days travel on all Berlin's public transport systems and costs DM32; it also offers discounts on a number of attractions. For further information, contact the German Tourist Board (020-7317 0908), or visit www.germany-tourism.de.
