Car Hire: Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk on arrival or call +49 (0)30 634 9160. Open from 7am-11.30pm Monday-Friday and 8am-11pm at the weekend.

Airport Transfer: Pre-book your door-to-door transfer with easyJet’s transfer partner, Holiday Taxis—from home to the airport and the airport to city or resort (easyjet.holidaytaxis.com).

Train: The efficient S-Bahn train leaves roughly every 10 minutes from Berlin-Schönefeld airport. Tickets: €2.80.

Taxi: The fare to the centre is about €35.

Bus: Bus 171 goes to Rudow (U-Bahn 7), 163 to Altglienicke via Grünau (S-Bahn 8/46) and 160 to Schöneweide.

Massai
( 12 Lychener Strasse, Prenzlauer Berg. Tel. 030 4862 5595 )
Friendly waiters serve delicious traditional dishes from across Africa, with exotic meats like zebra, crocodile and ostrich.

Osteria No. 1
( 71 Kreuzbergstrasse, Kreuzberg. Tel. 030 786 9162 )
Real Italian cooking. The menu features a small selection of expertly prepared fish, meat and pasta dishes. Start with a generous antipasti plate.

Entrecôte
( 5 Schützenstrasse, Mitte. Tel. 030 2016 5496 )
This spacious brasserie offers professional service, crisp white tablecloths and great food—with a focus on French-style grillade. Just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie.

Midtown Grill
( Mariott Hotel, 3 Ebertstrasse, Tiergarten. Tel. 030 2200 06410 )
Unrivalled American-style steaks and seafood are served in the Mariott Hotel at the heart of Berlin's Potsdamer Platz.

Brel
( 1 Savignyplatz, Charlottenburg. Tel. 030 3180 0020 )
Cosy yet classy Cafe Brel—dedicated to the late Belgian singer—is always humming with life. Perfect for a drink, it also serves light meals.

Badenscher Hof
( 29 Badensche Strasse, Wilmersdorf . Tel. 030 861 0080 )
This intimate jazz venue has hosted many greats of the genre and local talents alike.

Felix Clubrestaurant
( 72 Behrenstrasse, Mitte. )
Every weekend smart young things queue to get into one of the city's poshest, most glamorous clubs. Located behind the Adlon Hotel, Felix is also an up-market, late-night restaurant.

Herrlich Männergeschenke carries original gifts for men—from vintage-style shaving kits to retro model aeroplanes to exquisite writing sets (2 Bergmannstrasse. Kreuzberg. www.herrlich-online.de, German only).

Do You Read Me? is a new type of magazine shop. This boutique-style deluxe newsagent right in the gallery district stocks hundreds of quality international magazines on every topic imaginable (28 Augustrasse, Mitte. www.doyoureadme.de, German only).

Savignyplatz, in Charlottenburg, is one of the most cosmopolitan squares in the western half of the city. It brims with fine eateries and classy bars, while the side streets offer great shopping.

The Cult of the Artist exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for Contemporary Art features works by heavyweights Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol, as well as highlights from the renowned Flick Collection (until 25 January. 50-51 Invalidenstrasse, Mitte).

Bad Saarow – The lakeside spa town of Bad Saarow is well worth an outing. After a walk on the shores of the Scharmützelsee, head for the public spa complex: saunas, salt-water baths, massages and much more (www.bad-saarow.de). It's an hour away by RE1 train.

In the 1950s, the CIA built a spy tunnel from West to East Berlin but Operation Gold was discovered by the East Germans, causing major embarrassment for the Western Allies. Find out more at Berlin's Allied Museum (www.alliiertenmuseum.de).

Compiled by www.exberliner.com