Best time to travel
Berlin is at its best in spring, summer and autumn. Avoid winter: Berlin is not particularly attractive during the winter months, unless you visit in the weeks before Christmas, when festive decorations and lights bring some cheer to an otherwise cold and grey city. Christmas markets such as the Weihnachtszauber (Christmas Magic) at the Gendarmenmarkt in Mitte transform pockets of the city into small worlds of enchantment. As soon as spring brings a little warmth and sunshine, Berlin restaurants and cafés seem to spill onto the streets, and it can feel like half the people in the city are sitting outdoors, wrapped in snug blankets and sipping on café lattes.