What is it?
The Potsdamer Platz centres around a central area that is 20+ stories high with a covered roof that is open at the sides so that one has the experience of being in the open air, yet without the dangers of inclement weather! As well as the main ‘dom’, there’s a range of restaurants, visitors' attractions, and the Potsdamer arcade, which features over 100 hundred shops in the immediate area.

Getting there?
The Platz is within walking distance of Checkpoint Charlie and is located 5-10 minutes' walk away from the Tiergarten and Brandenburg Gate. Access the Platz via the u-bahn (subway) exiting at the Potsdamer Platz exit (green line)

What’s there?
The Platz features a wide range of restaurants, including a cool Australian bar and restaurant, Italian, Mexican, and a whole range of dining opportunities ranging from cheap and cheerful pizzas to luxurious dining--lots of things to suit any palate and budget! Be sure to try the coffee and cakes at one of the eateries. If nothing takes your fancy in the main area ,there are lots of hotels in the local vicinity, as well as a great sushi and fish bar. There are also more ‘fast-food’ choices in the shopping arcade.

Check out the huge cinema, which also includes an IMAX 3D screen; if this is busy, head down the road to the Discovery Channel IMAX. Most features are in German, but pick up a programme to find showings in English and other major languages. Have a look at the Sony Center and check out the latest Volkswagen cars in their interactive show room

If you don’t like all the modern architecture, then keep your eyes peeled for original structures from the area that have been restored in the renovation process.

There is a great museum on-site, called the Info Box. It's a big red building. It talks all about the development of the site, how decisions were made regarding what to put there, how was involved, and the high-tech role. It's very interactive, and take it from me - someone who hates museums - this is worth it.

Definitely worth a couple of hours (especially the Details lingerie store - spent several hours there trying everything on - great changing rooms too!)

Probably the busiest building area is the Potsdamer Platz, where famous buildings such as the Sony Center, Deutsche Bahn, and the headquarters of Daimler-Chrysler are constructed. Many more are following. Close by many countries also constructed magnificent new embassies on land that belonged to the respective countries prior to the Second World War. Bus routes 100 or 200 pass by several including the huge joined building used by Nordic countries and the modern Mexican Embassy just outside Tiergarten. The British Embassy is just off Unter den Linden while the French reconstructed on Unter den Linden and the Russians still use the stark building erected by Stalin shortly after the war. The American Embassy is lacking due to disputes over security and aesthetics.

Bearing all this activity in mind, Alexanderplatz is one of the saddest areas of Berlin. The buildings on Unter den Linden were not generally restored by the East German government. The former heart of Berlin, especially the area around Paris Square where the Brandenburg Gate is, was simply too close to the Wall for comfort. As a result the center of activity was moved to the east of Museum Island centering on Alexanderplatz.

Bus 100 terminates just past Alexanderplatz and it is interesting to walk back towards Museum Island – a gentle stroll of about 15 minutes. Some of East Germany’s show-off buildings were on this stretch but currently the area is fairly quiet. On an early Saturday afternoon it was a depressing sight and eerily quiet at times

Here the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) was built in 1969. At 365 meter it is the second tallest structure in Europe and was meant to show off the prowess of the German Democratic Republic. Although the view from the top must still be magnificent the area didn’t seem to attract many visitors nowadays. The base of the tower houses a huge fitness center where souvenir shops and restaurants properly belong (on sunny days the metal sphere of the tower reflexes a cross, the highest in Europe – an irony probably lost on the atheistic former East German authorities!)

Museum Island from this angle is dominated by the copper colored Palace of the Republic, the parliament of the former German Democratic Republic. Although formally the parliament, it was always open to the public and also had theatres, a disco, and sport facilities. It has been closed for the past ten years or so to clean up asbestos pollution inside the facility, but debate still rages on whether the building should be demolished or preserved.