I’m just back from 4 days in Berlin, the first time I’ve visited this remarkable city. There are few places in the world which are so embedded in your consciousness that you feel like you’ve known about them forever – Jerusalem is one, New York another and Berlin too is on my list. The combination of familiar and surprising, sense of history and radical contemporary feel makes Berlin unique.
Not mentioning 
the war is of course an old joke we Brits have, but wars are entirely present in the experiences that Berlin has to offer. WWII and the Cold War are evident and tangible everywhere you look. There’s the subtle and very moving Stolpersteine or Stumbling Stones (small brass plaques inlaid into pavements outside houses commemorating Jewish inhabitants murdered by the Nazis), an initiative conceived by artist Gunter Demnig. There’s the East Side Gallery – 1.3km of the Berlin wall preserved as a memorial to freedom and covered with amazing street art. And the breathtaking architecture in Potsdamer Platz illustrating the vision of Berlin’s politicians. Or the opportunity to (virtually) drive a Trabant in the DDR Museum (one of the most intelligent and accessible museums I’ve visited managing to appeal to teenagers and adults alike).
It seems to me that what sets Berlin apart is the power of the stories it tells. Its museums, memorials, attractions, architecture, graffiti, bike tours – and its international, 21st century feel – all effortlessly tell the story of the place, its people and its history. The tourism holy grail of authenticity abounds – you feel immersed in Berlin’s dramatic past, present and future.
We talk a lot about how stories make a destination stand out and while most places (fortunately) don’t have the kind of experiences Berlin has on which to draw, it is well worth a visit to be inspired