When the wall was still standing, the area around the Kurfürstendamm was the cultural center of West Berlin. After reunification, locals and tourists moved to the exciting east. Nowadays the City West shines with high-rise buildings such as the Upper West and the Zoofenster. With the historical Bikini-Haus (right) it makes for an attractive urban quarter, built up around the memorial church.

At 118 meters and 32 floors, the skyscraper in the center of the City West stands out. In 2011, the first Waldorf-Astoria-Hotel in Germany was opened, offering 182 rooms and 50 suites overlooking the Berlin skyline. The name “Zoofenster” was inspired from the opposite Berlin Zoo.

Visitors can look directly into the monkey enclosure of the Berlin Zoo in the Bikini-Haus. The historically listed building on Budapester Straße was reopened in 2014. Gastronomy options and shops with an exceptional assortment invite you to browse around.

In addition to the 25 hours hotel, a designer hotel with jungle flair, the Bikini-Haus accomodates the trendy Monkey Bar on the tenth floor. Here you will find cocktails and a very large selection of wines. Refined fusion cuisine from the neighboring Neni Restaurant can also be ordered. Regular events make the bar a hotspot - including views of the city and the zoo.

As the most prominent guests of the Berlin Zoo, the pandas Meng Meng and Jiao Qing have been staying in the specially built bear house since June 2017. Visitors are still lining up to see them. In addition to the zoo in Charlottenburg, there is also the extensive animal park in Friedrichsfelde.

During the division of Berlin, the station was Berlin's most important traffic junction in the West. Since the opening of the new main station near the government district in 2006, only regional and suburban trains have stopped here. Modernisation work has been done since February 2015. The name of the place was also given by the book "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo".

Not far from the train station Zoo, the traditional cinema Zoo Palast sparkles. Since 1957 it has been the main venue of the Berlin International Film Festival, until it closed in 2010. For three years, the opulent halls were renovated and extended by five new venues. And since 2014, the red carpet has been rolled out in the Zoo Palast for stars of the Berlinale.

The once splendidly decorated Memorial Church was destroyed in the Second World War. Today, its damaged tower is a monument against war. Over 20,000 panels of stained glass make up the walls of the blue shimmering modern Church, consecrated in 1962. The attack on the Christmas market on December 19, 2016, where 12 people died, took place here at Breitscheidplatz.

Since 2014, the internationally renowned Gallery for Contemporary Photography has been based in the legendary Amerika House on Hardenbergstrasse. Every year, up to 20 individual and group exhibitions of important photographers are held. The architecturally interesting building was built in the 1950s as a center for cultural exchange with the USA.

Luxury has a long tradition in West Berlin, and not only at the Ku'damm. Top brand shops are scattered throughout. The department store Kaufhaus des Westens in Wittenbergplatz has been a Berlin institution since 1907. With more than 60,000 square meters, it is the second largest department store in Europe after Harrods in London. World-famous is the delicatessen department on the 6th floor.

Potsdamer Platz in the center of Berlin offers several attractive ways of escaping snow or rain. Here you can go shopping and there are restaurants, bars, museums and cinemas. Everything nicely packed into the same place. Nothing could be more convenient. The ceiling of the Sony Center in its own special way offers protection from bad weather.

The Berlin Film Museum is also located on Potsdamer Platz. It is one of over 170 museums in the city. In a clever architectural layout it presents film technology and film history. One room is dedicated to a grand lady of Berlin: Marlene Dietrich. In 3 rooms you can view film and show costumes, accessories, photos, jewelry, luggage and even love letters. Very romantic!

There is no better place to escape the grey of winter than a cinema. In no other city are there this many movie houses - or so varied big movie palaces like the Zoo-Palast (pictured), small independent film houses and, of course, the big cinema chains. It's not just the films, but also the cinema architecture that make an impression on visitors.

Those fighting off icy temperatures all day long might fancy a steam bath, some pampering or day spa. In the domed hall of the Liquidrom (pictured) you can dissolve everyday stresses by floating in warm salt water, while enjoying the changing light features accompanied by classical or electronic music. Events with readings, installations or film performances are also regularly held here.

The Aqua Dome is the world's biggest freestanding aquarium. In the center of Berlin a coral reef habitat was recreated, with 1,500 fish. In the middle a glass elevator brings people up. Visitors can watch fish but also divers, who clean the aquarium between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.

Places this crowded must be good. Market Hall Nine in Kreuzberg lives up to this expectation. It is literally busting at the seams on Street Food Thursday. Things here are so tasty! It's good value for money and instead of one restaurant there are dozens of creative food stalls. Every Thursday between 5 pm and 10 pm they offer culinary delights from around the world.

For people who like spend their time shopping, Berlin is one great temptation. The grand traditional KaDeWe, Kaufhaus des Westens, is no longer the only place to go. Numerous shopping centers and malls as well as concept stores have been added to the mix since the 1990s. The most recent development is the Mall of Berlin, which aims to be Germany's biggest shopping center.

For instance you could go and see "Cleopatra's Pearls" at the Komische Oper. Berlin stages are usually sold out weeks or even months in advance. Those wishing to buy tickets last minute for an evening of theater, cabaret, musical, variety or opera need not despair - you can often get hold of surplus tickets at the box-office.

There's a place in Berlin where everybody goes to dance. Couples in their seventies and older, or under 20 as well as eccentrics, hipsters and in among them those normal folks who just want to watch the spectacle. Clärchen's ballroom in the Mitte district has been around since 1913. Dancing is still done here so much so that the walls drip with condensation - making it a hot (literally) tip!

The most cost-effective way to keep warm while sight-seeing in Berlin are the suburban trains. A ticket costs € 2.80 (3 US $). Just take your seat, rub the condensation off the window and watch the world go by. Our tip is to take the route between Westkreuz and Ostkreuz junctions - which leads past Alexanderplatz, the Victory Column, the Hackescher Markt and the Museum Island.