Berlin

Berlino

Everyone dreams of going to Berlin at least once in their life, everyone loves it, but nobody can explain what really attracts them to the German capital. The flourishing local market and a society in continuous cultural ferment, are certainly incentives, though, it is not enough to explain the irreducible interest that revolves around the city, which has become a bridge between Western tradition and Soviet heritage. Below you can find a brief guide to the most admired and researched places by tourists from all over the world.

The city of museums

Events like the one that will take place at the end of May in the Berlin museums, "The long night of museums", http://www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de/ which provides free entry into more than eighty museums with a single ticket, are quite common in Berlin. In fact, there are about 170 museums that can be visited, distributed between the capital and the surrounding area, each of great historical-artistic importance. Here is one of the reasons why it is not advisable to visit the metropolis of Brandenburg for a single weekend: It would take at least a week to calmly savour the history that transpires from every corner and to catch the legacy left by the Cold War and two world conflicts. Having a residence on-site whether owned or rented, as well as being an excellent opportunity to gain money, is certainly a good compromise for those wishing to stay a few days longer in the city.

Museums & neighbourhoods

Berlin has rather a vast extension: 891.85 square kilometre of territory, for about 3.5 million inhabitants, according to estimates made in 2012. After London, therefore, it is the second most populous municipality in Europe. The city is situated in the state of Brandenburg, one of the sixteen federations in which the nation is currently divided, and consists of nine neighbourhoods:

1. The Mitte
2. Tiergarten
3. Berlino Est
4. Dahlem
5. Charlottenburg
6. Schoneberg
7. Prenzlauer Berg
8. Kreuzberg
9. Zoologischer Garten Berlin

The Mitte museum

In Mitte, the central and historical district of the capital, a vast number of museums are present. The majority belong to the Museuminsel museum complex, including:

• The Egyptian museum
• The Pergamon museum
• The National Art Gallery
• Il Museo della Marca di Brandeburgo

In addition to these, we can identify other historical sites worthy of such consideration as:

• The Deutsche Historic Museum
• The Deutsche Guggenheim

Among these the most prestigious is not the Guggenheim, http://www.guggenheim.org/guggenheim-foundation/history/deutsche-guggenheim, as one could easily deduce, which is considerably smaller if compared to its other homonyms present in the world, but the German History Museum, http://www.dhm.de/zeughauskino/, in which it is possible to retrace the historical past of Germany, from the Middle Ages to today.

The museums in Tiergarten

It is one of the greenest neighbourhoods of the city, dedicated to the visual arts and further. The dominant museum genre inside this area is in fact the one of contemporary art:

• The Berlin art gallery
• The modern art museum
• The museum of decorative arts
• The museum of musical instruments
• The museum of cinema

Particular attention deserves the National Gallery, a sort of temple of modern art, enclosed in an architectural structure made of glass and steel, typical of the Bauhaus school. http://www.bauhaus.de/.