The Fernsehturm (TV tower), the tallest building in the city at 368m (with a viewing platform 203m above the ground; a seven-story, stainless-steel sphere; and top with a 118m television antenna), was something that peaked our curiosity as we toured about the city. This structure was in the background, but we didn't know what this structure was until we were closer and inquired about it.

When we arrived to wait for the elevator at the bottom, the elevator operator abruptly left her position after just a very brief, quick greeting and left us for around 5 minutes. Another person from another elevator appeared and found that the operator left her position. When she reappeared, she had a brief discussion with the person from the other elevator and then took us up the elevator. The elevator is fully automatic, but a security pin number is required for access.

It is best to go before dark, preferably twilight, as it was late in the evening and we could hardly see anything except the city lights.

Open March to October 9am to 12am and November to February 10am to 12am.
Admission: Adult 7€, Children 3,50€

Alexanderplatz:
S-Bahn S5, S7, S75, and S9; U-Bahn U2, U5, and U8; Bus 100, 148, and 200

The TV Tower is a wonderful piece of pop space-age engineering, with most of its original fixtures and fittings intact. Built in 1969, it was refurbished in the mid-90s, but still retains an atmosphere of slightly shabby 60s techiness -- it's totally charming and oddly exciting, with that faint institutional smell you get in modern university annexes. I had lunch -- schweineschnitzel with dumplings and Coke -- in the Telecafe, the revolving restaurant on the top (revolves twice an hour). When I got there (around 3pm), it was fairly easy to get a table, but by the time I left, there was a queue of 40-plus people waiting to go up and eat, so if you want to eat, pick your time carefully. Service was very slow, but the waitress was very nice, and I didn't care anyway because the views were wonderful. There's a souvenir shop too, but the souvenirs were too tacky to tempt me to part with my Euros.

Its so fab it even has its own website at http://www.berlinerfernsehturm.de/ - a must-see in Berlin.

This is the city's tallest structure at 353 meters, or 1,197 feet. It is the second-tallest structure in Europe, after the Warsaw Palace of Culture. There is a viewing platform and a tele-cafe that rotates every half hour to give a bird's-eye view of the city. There are small elevators and therefore also long waits. On clear days, visibility can reach 25 miles.