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A city that defies simple definition, Berlin is many things to many people. For some it is Europe's political powerhouse, for others a hedonistic party paradise. Epitome of Cold War division yet epicentre of unification, capital of Germany yet the least 'German' of all German cities, Berlin is sophisticated yet down-to-earth, a city of colourful courtyards and grey high-rises, of Teutonic efficiency and wacky haphazardness, of rigidity and tolerance, home to artists, bohemians and tens of thousands of gays and lesbians, but also to politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.

Berlin is a city of contrasts and contradictions, full of excitement and forever evolving. Perhaps the latter point is the most poignant. The old and new German capital is in a constant state of flux, always becoming something without having ever been. This phenomenon has accelerated since the fall of the Wall and efforts are now concentrated upon turning Berlin into an international metropolis, the new 'capital of Europe'. For the past decade, Berlin has been undergoing a major rebuilding process which is visible in the new cityscape around Potsdamer Platz and the eastern city centre. But there is also a rebuilding process taking place less visibly - in the hearts and minds of Berliners.

The city is made up of 23 different districts, each with its own unique character. The following summary will help to give you an overview of this fascinating city and provide you with a guide to what you can do in each particular district and what you can expect to find there.

Let's begin in Mitte, Berlin's most central district which literally means 'the centre'. The site of the first settlement in the Middle Ages, Mitte contains some of the city's oldest buildings such as Marienkirche and Nikolaikirche in the Nikolaiviertel, as well as many of Berlin's grandest buildings, strung out like pearls along the magnificent boulevard Unter den Linden. Stretching from Museum Island (with the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Pergamon Museum) past the imposing Berliner Dom and the lovely fountains and evergreens of the Lustgarten, past the splendid Crown Prince's Palace, Humboldt University and the State Opera House, the historic boulevard is crowned by the emblem of the old and new capital - the Brandenburg Gate.

Although it contains many of Berlin's architectural showpieces, Mitte is also an urban mishmash full of holes, imperfections and blemishes. The site of the former Royal Palace (pulled down in the 1950s) is now a rather bleak open space, dominated by one of Germany's most controversial buildings, the Palast der Republik. Along with the TV Tower on Alexanderplatz, the former East German parliament is one of the city centre's few remaining symbols of the GDR era. Just a decade ago, Mitte was scattered with drab socialist high-rises. Many of these have now been replaced by capitalist temples of consumerism, such as the postmodern Volkswagen Showroom on Unter den Linden or the futuristic glass department store Galeries Lafayette on Friedrichstraße. Other buildings, such as Hotel Adlon on Pariser Platz, have been rebuilt in the classic style of the early 1900s.

A stone's throw north of the River Spree, the face of Mitte changes once again. This is the Mitte of bars, restaurants, cafés and clubs - the heart of Berlin's buzzing nightlife scene. It is also the district of alternative galleries and artistic experimentation. In the years after the fall of the Wall, a unique subculture sprang up in the area around Hackescher Markt and Oranienburger Straße. Art collectives and squatters moved into the empty, run-down buildings and brought new, alternative impulses to the area, symbolised today by Tacheles cultural centre or the Acud theatre. A decade later, this spontaneous, makeshift charm is gradually disappearing, but that's another story.

Let's stay east of the former border, although nowadays it's almost impossible to see where the Wall used to be, due to the major construction work taking place on both sides. The district to the north-east of Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, used to be the centre of alternative culture and political resistance in the GDR. But it has since been flooded by wealthy West Germans, keen to settle in the charming turn-of-the-century houses around Kollwitzplatz. As in Mitte, alternative culture is now becoming more and more 'establishment' - in the Kulturbrauerei for example - which is now home to a multi-screen cinema complex. Prenzlauer Berg is no longer an insider tip, but still has some of Berlin's best bars, restaurants and clubs and is a great place to go out in the evening.

Friedrichshain, the district to the south of Prenzlauer Berg, has now taken over the mantle as the last outpost of indigenous, alternative Berlin culture. A bit run down in places, this was the last area to be cleared of squatters and is still the focal point for Berlin's left-wing anarchist scene. Architecturally speaking, Friedrichshain is an intriguing mixture of concrete socialist high-rises, monumental Stalin-era mammoths (along Karl-Marx-Allee) and stylish, late-nineteenth century town houses. The area around Simon-Dach-Straße is heaving with alternative bars, cafés and clubs and is a popular spot with students.

Crossing the River Spree at Oberbaumbrücke bridge, we reach the legendary Kreuzberg district. Situated next to the Wall in former West Berlin, Kreuzberg became infamous during the 1960s and 1970s as the centre of West Germany's anarchist scene - a haven for squatters, hippies, punks and left-wing intellectuals. Although any remaining anarchists have long since fled to neighbouring Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg is still the venue for violent demonstrations every 1st May - inevitably accompanied by pitched battles with the police. A safer bet is to visit the annual Carnival of Cultures, Germany's biggest multicultural street festival which takes place here every summer. Kreuzberg is home to many immigrants, including some 200,000 Turks. Some of this oriental flair can be tasted in the area around Kottbusser Tor and Oranienstraße, which also has numerous alternative bars and cafés.

Heading up Friedrichstraße, past the ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof station and the Martin Gropius Building, we leave Kreuzberg and enter the Tiergarten district at Potsdamer Platz. For many years a huge construction site, Potsdamer Platz is now almost complete. Boasting an enormous shopping centre - the Arkaden - and entertainment complexes such as the Cinemaxx and Imax cinemas, a casino and musical theatre, Potsdamer Platz is a magnet for tourists and locals alike. The real highlight of the district, however, is the sublime Tiergarten park, a refuge for nature-lovers, joggers and sunbathers. Full of ponds, grottos and dotted with sculptures, Tiergarten park is crowned in the middle by the golden Siegessäule victory monument. Once a year the peace is broken, as millions of young people descend on Tiergarten for the Love Parade, a hedonistic feast of music and dance for techno fans from all over the world.

The north side of the park is the nerve centre of political power. Lined up one after the other are the newly-constructed ministries, the monumental Reichstag parliamentary building and the equally monumental Chancellor's Office. Only the palatial Schloss Bellevue, seat of the German President, exudes some of the calm of the surrounding park.

Schöneberg, a scenic nineteenth century bourgeois quarter, is a popular place to go for an afternoon coffee, an evening cocktail or a bit of night-time partying. The cafés and bars around Winterfeldtplatz are always full, particularly after the market on Saturday afternoons. On the other hand, the streets around Nollendorfplatz and Motzstraße - home to Berlin's gay scene - are at their busiest (and most colourful) in the early morning hours.

It's now high time to discover Berlin's 'second' city centre, the triangle between Ernst-Reuter-Platz, Wittenbergplatz and Adenauerplatz which makes up the centre of western Berlin. Most of this area, which celebrated its heyday back in the Golden Twenties, lies in the Charlottenburg district. It's main artery is Kurfürstendamm, affectionately known by Berliners as 'Ku'damm'. This used to be one of Europe's finest and most elegant boulevards until it was reduced to rubble during the Second World War. It regained some of its flair in the seventies and eighties and is still a good place to see and be seen, but it seems to be losing out in the popularity stakes to Unter den Linden and Friedrichstraße in eastern Berlin, which now attract more attention and more investment.

The Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz, however, is still brimming with camera-wielding tourists. Ku'damm's side-streets still bristle with theatres and hotels - such as the Kempinski, Savoy or Steigenberger - and with boutiques, sushi bars and art galleries. The area around Savignyplatz is a great place to go for a bite to eat or for a late-night cocktail and the food hall on the top floor of KaDeWe department store is a feast for the senses.

Charlottenburg's crowning glory is the palatial Schloss Charlottenburg, home to dozens of opulently decorated rooms and chambers, as well as the lush Royal Gardens, the perfect place for a relaxing Sunday afternoon stroll. Several world-class museums - the Egyptian Museum, Bröhan Museum and the Berggruen Collection - are located close to the palace. Further south, the Funkturm, a smaller copy of the Eiffel Tower, towers over the Exhibition Centre and the International Congress Centre, offering great views over western Berlin.

Well, we've now covered the inner city - so what do the remaining districts have to offer?

The south-west of the city is the place where wealthy Berliners live. Largely spared during the War, there are hundreds of beautiful villas in Grunewald, part of the Wilmersdorf district and around Dahlem in Zehlendorf, which is also home to Berlin's Free University. The area around Lake Wannsee is a particularly popular spot with Berlin's high-society - perfect for mooring the yacht at the bottom of the garden!

Steglitz is friendly, green and clean and has two major attractions: the spectacular Botanical Gardens and some wonderful shopping facilities around Schloßstraße.

More down-to-earth are the working-class districts of Wedding in the north and Neukölln in the south, which is sometimes referred to as the "Berlin Bronx". Although they both have a reputation as being ghettos for the poor, unemployed and other down-and-outs, they are not as bad as they are made out to be. In fact, they are lively places with an earthy proletarian flair, a place to meet 'real' Berliners.

The eastern districts, on the other hand, can't escape from the shadow of Communist East Germany, even though much has changed here since the fall of the Wall. Most of the grey concrete towers in places like Lichtenberg, Weißensee, Treptow, Hohenschönhausen or Marzahn have been repainted in friendly pastel colours and now boast the largest entertainment complexes and the most modern shopping malls in the region. There's plenty to discover here, such as the world's second biggest Jewish Cemetery in Weißensee or the monumental Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park.

Talking of parks, Berlin is a city full of green oases, like Volkspark Friedrichshain and Volkspark Humboldthain, Hasenheide and Jungfernheide, Rehberge and Britzer Gardens. Many parks were built for West Berliners, who couldn't leave the city during the era of the wall and needed lakes and parks within city limits. Berlin's many rivers and canals - such as the beautiful Landwehrkanal - are flanked on both sides by broad, leafy parks and meander through the city like ribbons of green and blue.

The icing on the cake is the wonderful variety of lakes and forests in the suburbs. Joggers and horse-riders share places like Grunewald Forest, Lake Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke, Tegeler Forest, Lake Tegeler See and Lake Müggelsee with wild boar, foxes and deer. Indeed, you hardly ever need leave the city limits - if it weren't for even more idyllic lakes and forests in the surrounding region of Brandenburg ...

Voilà! That's Berlin - although of course just a brief overview of all the districts there are to see. Naturally, you can take a virtual tour of the website. Willkommen in Berlin!

D. Allen

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