24 hours in Berlin: what to see

Berlin in a day can be walked along the axis that runs from the Brandenburg Gate to the Museum Island, traversing the places that tell the story of twentieth-century Germany.

It's a city where the marks of division between east and west are still legible in urban space, and the day then leaves the choice between two different ways to continue exploring it.

The Brandenburg Gate, the neoclassical monument of the eighteenth century that became the symbol of German reunification after standing for decades at the edge of the Wall, is the stop from which to depart.

Nearby is the Holocaust Memorial, the field of 2,711 concrete blocks of varying height dedicated to the European Jews killed in the Holocaust, freely traversable among its corridors.

Proceeding east along Unter den Linden, the great tree-lined avenue of the historic center, reaches the Museum Island, UNESCO heritage housing five museums including the Pergamon Museum, with its monumental archaeological reconstructions.

For lunch, the surrounding quarter offers numerous informal options, from currywurst kiosks to restaurants along the Spree.

Checkpoint Charlie and the remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall, including the East Side Gallery, the longest segment still standing and transformed into an open-air art gallery.

The Reichstag dome, seat of the German parliament, is instead reached with a spiral of glass traversable that offers a 360-degree view of the city (free admission with advance booking).

Those seeking Berlin's nightlife find it in Kreuzberg, the neighborhood with the highest concentration of bars, clubs and international cuisine in the city — also convenient just for dinner.

From the Brandenburg Gate to the Holocaust Memorial all the way to the Museum Island, Berlin tells its own historical stratification in a few hours, with the afternoon choice between Wall and Reichstag deepening it further.

The Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, with its residential atmosphere, and the Palace of Charlottenburg remain good reasons to return. Crossing in a few hours places like the Reichstag and the remains of the Wall shows well how quickly Berlin has rewritten its own history.