Berlin is Germany‘s capital and Europe‘s 2nd largest city: 3.5 million people – add to that another 12 million tourists every year. Beyond being a popular tourist destination, Berlin is a major research and education hub which helped it become Europe‘s number one location for IT startups. Young immigrants from all over the world as well as thousands of students enrolled at one of the many universities have shaped Berlin as a city with a plethora of cultural offerings as well as an active nightlife.

Berlin also has a rich history since the 13th century – even though heavily destroyed during WW2, there is a large number of sights to explore throughout the city. The character of Berlin is that of a city of villages – today‘s city borders were not formed until 1920. The Berlin Wall, which separated East and West from shortly after WW2 up to 1989, further increased this tendency of having several city cores, e.g., Alexanderplatz for the East or Zoologischer Garten for the West.

For further information, check out the Wikipedia and Wikitravel pages for Berlin which give a short overview or visit the official tourist information web site.