21 of the best hotels in Berlin

Berlin excites from the first. If you’re a newbie, the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall and Museum Island are bound to be on your tick list. But this livewire city really enthrals when you go off-piste to hip-and-happening neighbourhoods like canalside Kreuzberg, Spree-side Friedrichshain and boho-flavoured Neukölln, packed with street art, vintage shops, pumping nightlife and globetrotting restaurants. Berlin grips with its historic looks, rebellious spirit and 22nd-century soul. It is worldly, wise, free, forward-thinking, cultured and crazily creative — and its hotel scene reflects its diversity. The wall came down in 1989 but it’s still a tale of two cities…