Twenty years ago, the restaurant Oderquelle lay in East Berlin, in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Today, Oderbergerstrasse is a pretty and trendy street chock full of great restaurants, cool cafes, and absorbing shops with vintage GDR clothes and knick-knacks or modern designs.

A former power station perched on the River Spree has become a new hot spot in Berlin for exciting contemporary dance, classical music and experimental theatre.

The Berlin Film Festival is back, lighting up February with glitz, glamour and 10 days of exciting new films.

One ticket gets you into over 70 museums, concerts and special exhibits during Berlin’s 24th Long Night of Museums on January 31.

On the surface, Nord Sud does not look especially appealing, with its interior reminiscent of a Kindergarten and slow service. But forget these trifles!

Famous within the medical profession, this museum is not for the squeamish. But for fans of the grotesque and the bizarre, it’s a must-see!

Admiralspalast is all gold and red velvet, and puts on correspondingly glitzy shows. If you’re yearning for some Berlin-style cabaret spectacle, look to Max Raabe and his Palastorchester, who put on a proper show in tuxedo and tails like in the good old days, belting out evergreens from the 1920s and 1930s that never go out of style.

This Institute for Contemporary Art, housed in a former East German margarine factory, was one of the first to reclaim space in the derelict area of Mitte (not far from the Minilofts) after the Wall came down in 1990, and is now the cornerstone of the brisk contemporary art scene around Auguststrasse.

After a walk on the canal or a bout of shopping at the Turkish Market, dine in comfort at cozy Cafe Jacques, a bistro with great wine and delicious French-Mediterranean classics such as couscous, fresh pasta and meats, as well as or original creations like duck in pistachio sauce or turbot in wild-leek sauce.

After sampling the wares of the Turkish Market, warm up with a drink at Ankerklause, a quirky, hip nautical-themed bar perched on the bridge over the canal.