Check out Berlin

Although never a conventionally beautiful city, Berlin has much fine architecture, as well as an extraordinary spread of museums which collectively rank among the very richest on the planet. It also has a wide range of bars and restaurants , a vibrant nightlife and strong traditions in the performing arts .

Because it occupies a vast geographical area, one interrupted by a plethora of parks, forests and lakes, Berlin is not a place that is appreciated easily or quickly.

Berlin has two essential listings magazines - Tip (DM4.70/?2.35; www.tip ) and Zitty (DM4/?2; www.zitty.de ) - which come out on alternate weeks. A free magazine, 030 , is another useful source on nightlife, with good club, music and film listings. Berlin's diverse arts scene is well covered by Artery Berlin (DM3.50/?1.75), a monthly English/German publication. Another monthly, the Berlin Programm (DM3/?1.50; www.berlin-programm.de ), has more condensed listings, alongside information on opening times, and national and international train, bus and plane timetables.

You can spend as much or as little as you like on food in Berlin; it's one item, at least, that won't break the bank. The city's compressed, cosmopolitan nature means that it has restaurants offering a whole gamut of cuisines from around the globe. Indeed, ethnic eateries - many of which serve full meals for under DM15/?7.50. - are at least as ubiquitous as traditional German Gaststätten. And nowhere is more than a stone's throw from a bar , at least in the western part of the city. Just about every street corner has a small Kneipe, ranging from lugubrious beer-swilling holes to slick, upscale hangouts for Berlin's night people. Most stay open later than elsewhere in Germany: it's quite feasible to drink around the clock here, the result of a law that requires bars to close only for an hour a day for cleaning. It's worth bearing in mind that many are excellent (and inexpensive) choices for food, especially breakfast, which may be served till afternoon - or later.

The city's most distinctive drink is Berliner Weisse , a top-fermented, very pale-coloured wheat beer with a low alcohol content (usually around 2.5 percent). It has an acidic taste when drunk neat, but it's normally pepped up with a shot of fruity syrup, or Schuss , and served in a large bowl-shaped glass as a summer refresher. Ask for it mit grün and you get a dash of woodruff, creating a greeny brew with a strong herby taste; mit rot is a raspberry-flavoured kiddy drink that works wonders at breakfast time. The city's two large breweries, Kindl and Scultheiss, both make Berliner Weisse , in addition to their own version of Pils . A broader portfolio of beers is available from an ex-GDR brewery, Berliner Bürgerbräu, whose products include a dark Bock and an even darker Schwarzbier .

Since the time of the Weimar Republic, and even through the lean postwar years, Berlin has had a reputation for having some of the best - and steamiest - nightlife in Europe, an image fuelled by the cartoon-like drawings of George Grosz and films like Cabaret . Among the big draws today are the clubs that have grown up out of the city's techno scene. In a remarkably short space of time these places, many housed in abandoned buildings on or around the former no-go area of the East-West border strip, have spawned a scene that ranks among the most exciting in Europe. If manic dance music is not your thing, then check out the city's wide range of more traditional clubs and discos, ranging from slick hangouts for the trendy to raucous punky dives.