Welcome to Berlin

With the fall of the Wall in 1989 a new era began for Berlin. Since then Germany's capital has once more taken its rightful place at the heart of Europe and become a magnet for travellers from all around the world. Since German reunification Berlin has once more represented the interface between East and West in Europe. And for business travellers the city now plays a major role within Europe again. International trade fairs such as ITB or the International Consumer Electronics Fair attract visitors from all around the globe. Berlin is one of Germany's greenest cities with an above-average inner-city proportion of woodland, parks and green zones. Above all "Tiergarten", the botanic and zoological garden, Europe's largest zoo with the widest diversity of species, provide Berlin's proverbial fresh air. It's no coincidence that Berlin was Europe's official City of Culture in 1988 – unofficially it continues to be so. Cultural events of international rank are a standard part of everyday life in Berlin, including its International Film Festival as well as more than 100 theatres and stages, three opera houses, a large number of cabarets and musical theatres. The Berlin Philharmonic, the city's global cultural ambassadors, have a real star in the form of principal conductor and new artistic director Sir Simon Rattle. However, the city's musical spectrum also covers folk-music pubs as well as a highly developed rock and jazz scene with a diversity of clubs and major event locations. In "Waldbühne Berlin" you will find one of the most attractive open-air stage in Europe, which on every summer evening attracts up to 22,000 visitors to classical music, rock and movie performances.