Berlin is the capital of Germany and at the same time it is also a federal state with a population of 3.3 million people. Due to its active role in economics, culture, politics and the media, Berlin is the third most visited city in Europe after London and Paris. Berlin is known for its festivals, its nightlife and the diversity of its pulsating streets and quarters.

Officially a federal state since the reunification of Germany, Berlin was reinstituted as the capital of Germany in 1991.

As a tourism destination Berlin has doubled the number of visitors between 2001 and 2011. While 4.9 millions of persons visited Berlin in 2001, this number increased to 9.9 million in 2011. These visitors generated 22.4 millions of paid hotel nights. Most of the visitors using some of the overall 125,000 hotel beds of Berlin are coming from Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands.

Along with its fascinating nightlife and the various cultural events, trade fairs and congresses taking place in Berlin, the palace Sanssouci in Potsdam, but also Charlottenburg Palace, the Pergamon Museum, the German Technic Museum Berlin and many more are places worth visiting. The best known monument is the Brandenburger Tor.

One of Berlin´s major assets is its close connection to water: With the Spree and the Havel rivers Berlin can boast of two rivers flowing through it, and a multitude of lakes of different proportions help to diversify the city landscape.

More information: http://www.berlin.de/en/

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