Berlin, verdict by verdict

Berlin is a big, scruffy, endlessly layered city: imperial boulevards and Museum Island in Mitte, the Wall's scars and Cold War relics in between, and neighbourhoods like Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg that feel like separate towns. It does not do storybook pretty; what it offers instead is depth, space and a creative energy most capitals lost years ago.

The caveat is scale and season: distances are real, the U-Bahn is essential, and the city's charms take a little effort, while winters run long, grey and properly cold and some districts stay rough around the edges. Travelers wanting a compact, beautiful old town walkable end to end, or a polished, manicured break, should aim elsewhere.

Three to four days minimum, treated as a place to live in briefly rather than a checklist: one day for Mitte and Museum Island, one for the Wall sites, plus neighbourhood time or a Potsdam day trip. May to September brings long evenings and beer gardens, December the Christmas markets. It suits Cold War history, a museum haul most capitals cannot match, nightlife and food markets, and big-city culture priced below London, Paris or Vienna.