Berlin open city

Day 1: Arrival at the airport. Transfer and installation at the hotel, walking tour of the Ku'damm, lunch at the Neni restaurant, followed by a panoramic tour of the city's new districts. Dinner at The Grand.

Hotel Amano Berlin

A trendy address in a trendy district, in the heart of Mitte.
The vast lobby is bathed in a subdued light that recalls the shortages of the Communist era, creating a cosy atmosphere. Brushed copper pillars, velvet sofas in mouse grey or fuchsia pink, bouquets of fresh flowers and large black-and-white photos by Oliver Rath - whose gallery is just a few steps away - create a cosy atmosphere.
next door - chic, contemporary and welcoming. The bar is popular with Berliners for its cocktails and musical atmosphere. 163 sober, bright rooms are spread across the floors, offering views over courtyards and streets that have remained popular. There is a rooftop terrace bar and meeting rooms in the building opposite.
Auguststrasse 43
Phone: +49 30 80 94 15 0
Email : amano@amanogroup.de
Internet: www.amanogroup.de

Alternative Ellington Hotel

In West Berlin, this magnificent listed building, built in the 1920s in the New Objectivity style, is a Berlin legend. A nightclub during the Cold War, it played host to Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie and Lou Reed... Now converted into a hotel, the establishment has generous volumes and a retro chic feel. The immaculate walls are lined with photos of jazz musicians from the 1950s, the Duke restaurant is one of the city's top restaurants, and the 285 rooms and suites offer a refined, minimalist setting. There are several meeting areas, including the superb original concert hall, which can seat 800 people.
Nürnberger Strasse 50-55
Phone: +49 30 68 315 0
Email : contact@ellington-hotel.com
Internet: www.ellington-hotel.com

NENI > Table in view... with a view

On the 10th floor of the Bikini Haus, Neni is the popular restaurant of the 25Hours design hotel. With its raw concrete, carefully designed bric-a-brac décor and exotic greenhouses, this all-glass restaurant blurs the boundaries between inside and outside. This first lunch immediately immerses you in the unpretentious atmosphere of the German capital, with delicious dishes blending oriental influences.
Budapester Str. 40
Phone: +49 30 120 221 200
Email : neni.bikini@25hours-hotels.com
Internet: www.neniberlin.de

Around the Ku'damm
New developments in the West

Overshadowed after the fall of the Berlin Wall by the excitement of rediscovering East Berlin, the western part of the city has now emerged from its torpor. For the past three years, the watchword in the German capital has been "Go West"! The city's chic artery, the Kurfustendamm, or Ku'damm, is the embodiment of this trend. International brands vie for its windows, while its adjacent streets are colonised by cutting-edge gallery owners. New skyscrapers such as the Zoofenster and soon the Upper West are changing the outlook. An unchanged landmark, however, is the Church of Remembrance, with its gutted steeple left standing as a reminder of the horror of the Second World War. A stone's throw away, the Zoo Palast, a fifties cinema, is once again rolling out its red carpet for the Biennial, while the Bikini Haus, an emblem of post-war reconstruction, has been completely renovated to house a concept mall. In other words, a concept store on the scale of a mall, where only creative brands have a place, notably in the form of ephemeral boutiques housed in containers. Always a talent for reinvention!

Dinner at The Grand
Vintage chic

In a small street close to Alexander Platz, an imposing, long-disused 19th-century building has been transformed into one of those trendy addresses that Berlin is famous for: generous volumes, walls left untouched and decorated with old paintings, creaky wooden floors, old, mismatched furniture and that je-ne-sais-quoi that makes a place immediately stand out as 'the place to be'. Take a break at the bar before heading to a room on the first floor, reserved for the occasion; it opens onto the main restaurant, allowing incentive groups to be both "among themselves" and in the front row to watch the diners. Later, everyone can meet up in the Club for a nightcap.
Hirtenstraße 4
Phone: +49 30 278 909 9 555
Email : info@the-grand-berlin.com
Internet: www.the-grand-berlin.com

Panoramic tour
Archi tour, archis stars

The Avenue du 17 juin - or Strasse des 17. Juni - crosses the Tiergarten park from west to east. The traffic rushes past the Victory Column, where Wim Wenders' angels took refuge in Wings of Desire, and stops in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Topped by its Quadriga, it successively embodied the power of the Prussian Empire, the division of Europe - the Wall was just a few metres away - and then the reunification of the country. Right next door, the neoclassical Reichstag Palace, crowned by an immense glass dome designed by Norman Forster, has symbolised the new impetus of the city as capital since 1999. This bold restoration marked the start of a formidable urban planning laboratory, with all the leading architects called in to help Berlin after 1990. Potsdamer Platz is the most striking example of this, with the former no-man's-land separating East and West once again at the heart of the reunited capital. This great crossroads, one of the most destroyed by the Second World War and then transformed into a wasteland by the division, has regained all its power of attraction under the leadership of star architects. The Panorama Punkt observation platform offers the best view of this reinvented district, from Renzo Piano's Daimler City to the spider-like tent of the Sony Center, designed by Helmut Jahn.

Day 2: walk along the remains of the Wall, lunch, then a tour of the courtyards and galleries of the old Jewish quarter. Evening at the Ballhaus dance hall.

Trabi safari
On an air of ostalgie

Make your way to Check Point Charlie, the only crossing point between the Soviet and American zones, before boarding a convoy of Trabants, the iconic cars of the former GDR. Some have retained their original colours, while others are painted in rainbow hues. The programme for this urban safari includes the Wall, of course, with the moving memorial on Bernauer Strasse. Then there's the East Side Gallery, where around a hundred artists from all over the world have transformed a long stretch of concrete into a colourful fresco. The return journey takes you past the Stalinist buildings of Karl-Marx Allee, with a stop at the Café Sybille. Its decor, unchanged since the 1960s, is an icon of the ostalgie - a neologism made up from the words Ost/Est and nostalgia - that has taken hold of Berlin.

Scheunenviertel
An arty stroll through the heart of Mitte

Dominated by the golden bulb of the New Synagogue, Scheunenviertel - the barn district - has become the home of art galleries. It all starts on Auguststrasse, where the former New Objectivity-style Jewish school now houses the gallery of Michael Fuchs, precursor of the arty wave that has swept through the district. Enjoy an organic lunch, in a very contemporary spirit, before going to admire
the current exhibition. The tour continues on to the ME - for Moving Energy - and its extraordinary cabinet of curiosities assembled by a wealthy collector. A charming passage leads to Oranienburger Strasse, where you can see the ruins of the Tacheles, once Berlin's most famous art squat before its closure in 2012. The dazzling finale is the Saamlung Boros, an astonishing labyrinth set in a refurbished bunker and dotted with monumental works by some of the biggest names in contemporary art.

Clärchens Ballhaus
Centenary icon

At number 24 Auguststrasse, at the end of a garden planted with lime trees, a dilapidated façade conceals the legendary Clärchens Ballhaus dance hall. Opened in 1913, it has survived two world wars, survived behind the Wall in the Soviet zone and played host to Quentin Tarentino, who filmed scenes from Inglourious Basterds here. It is now undergoing a veritable renaissance. On the first floor, the Hall of Mirrors is available for private events. However, if you want to experience the ambience of this veritable institution, you'll have to go to the ground floor, where you'll find lamé walls, a disco ball and lights from the Communist era. Cheerful tables of all ages and social classes dine and drink with great enthusiasm before taking to the dance floor. As for the music, it's an astonishing alchemy, with hits from the 1970s to the present day, sung in chorus. So much in the good-natured spirit of Berlin!

Day 3: visit some of the masterpieces on Museum Island; street food lunch in Kreutzberg; transfer to the airport and flight to Paris.

The island of museums
A magical encounter with Nefertiti

The Museum Island used to house almost all of Berlin's museums. They were damaged during the war and the partition of the city at the end of the war dispersed some of the works.
Nonetheless, these five buildings, constructed between 1824 and 1930, are, according to Unesco, "one of the largest and most impressive complexes in the world".
the world". Impossible to visit them all, you have to make a choice. Naturally, it will be the Pergamon, for its fabulous display of the splendours of
Mesopotamia, in particular the Ishtar Gate and the Babylonian Processional Way, recreated in life-size from the time of Nebuchadnezzar II. You can also visit the Neues Museum, skilfully restored by architect David Chipperfield, to admire Nefertiti, the undisputed star of the Egyptian galleries. The painted limestone bust is enthroned beneath a well.
of light, beautifully highlighting her sweet face. Surprise, surprise, the beauty is one-eyed!

Kreutzberg
Lunch on the market

Bergmannstrasse, lined with stucco facades, is one of the most charming corners of Kreutzberg, a former working-class suburb turned bohemian district. The Marheinekeplatz is the scene of a flea market, where you can see that in Berlin, everything - absolutely everything - can be recycled! Right next door, the Markthalle Neun is an old covered market where you can enjoy a quick lunch at stalls selling curry wurst, Berlin's favourite snack, as well as Peruvian ceviche, Mexican tacos and Japanese sushi... A world tour of flavours that doesn't forget to make a stop in Germany, with stalls selling cold meats, giant pretzels and draught beers. Everyone can make up their own menu before meeting up with their travelling companions.
at the table. "Guten Appetit", says the sausage vendor. Indeed, his appetite is whetted by the fresh breeze that has been blowing since morning.

The players in the operation

TRANSPORT > Air France operates five daily flights between Paris CDG and Berlin Tegel.
Tel.: 3654 or +33 (0)892 70 26 54
Internet: www.airfrance.com
Comments > Reward trip.
ORGANISATION > Central Europe Meeting, represented in Paris by Carré Destinations.
30, rue Marc Sangnier. 92290 Châtenay-Malabry Tel: 01 42 02 46 03 - Email: contact@carredestinations.com - Internet: www.carredestinations.com
CUSTOMER > Media company.
Group size > 30 people.
Duration of the operation > 3 days/2 nights.
INFORMATION > German National Tourist Office 8, rue de Milan. 75009 Paris - Tel: 01 40 20 01 88 Internet: www.germany.travel/fr
Berlin Tourist Office. Tel: + 49 (0)30 25 00 23 33 - Email :
info@visitBerlin.de - Internet : www.visitberlin.de
GUIDES > Evasion, Petit Fûté, Cartoville, Routard[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]