Leisure pursuits in Berlin

Berlin is one of the world’s great cultural centers, a showcase of traditional German art life and the young European avant-garde. In classical music, Berlin offers one of the world’s finest orchestras (although Berliners are sure to claim it as the very best), the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, with its chief conductor, Sir Simon Rattle. Three world-class opera houses, with the historical State Opera on Unter den Linden run by Maestro Daniel Barenboim being the most magnificent, compete with the various state (drama) theaters and musical stages for their audiences.

Another essential stop in Berlin is the famous Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with several museums housing some of the world’s most precious antique Roman, Greek and Oriental art, as well as life-size original structures, such as the Pergamon altar and the legendary procession road from ancient Babylon. Equally impressive is the palace complex of Sanssouci (modeled after Versailles), the great rococo vision of Prussian king Fredrick the Great, located in Potsdam, just 20 minutes southwest of Berlin.

Once you have absorbed all that culture, you deserve a drink. Thankfully, Berlin is Europe’s only city without a legal closing time: The best nightspots, primarily around Hackescher Markt in the Mitte district, around Kollwitzplatz in Prenzlauer Berg, and (more upscale) around Savignyplatz and the Kurfürstendamm’s side streets in Charlottenburg, include elegant bars, German beer pubs and beer gardens, variety theaters and dancing clubs-all open until the wee hours of the morning.