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This is the central area of the city and the most popular to start exploring at the Brandenburg Gate. The surrounding area is dense with Germany's parliament, the Reichstag on one side, the giant Holocaust Memorial on the other, while opposite spreads the giant Tiergarten Park. Stimulating contemporary architecture dot the park's fringes some so eye-catching. Since the fall of the Wall this bustling entertainment quarter has re-established itself as Berlin's Piccadilly or Times Square, as it was in the 1930s. Neighbouring here are several art museums.

Unter den Linden is a tree-lined boulevard lined with stately statues and the impressive homes of many of Berlin's major institutions, including Humboldt University and the Berlin State Library.

In Mitte you can also relax among Berliners in the street-side cafes and rows of independent boutiques and art galleries.

The grid of streets around Unter den Linden includes luxury shopping avenues once interrupted by Checkpoint Charlie. Further east again is the area that formed the GDR's socialist showpiece quarter, centred around the Fernsehturm television tower. Northwest of here is the Spandauer Vorstadt, once the heart of the city's Jewish community, with some fascinating reminders of those days, though today it's best known for the restaurants, bars and nightlife of Oranienburger Strasse.