Over the last 30 years, Berlin has shot into the premier league of European tourist destinations. The quiet revolution of 1989 in East Germany paved the way for Berlin to emerge as the capital of a newly unified Germany. The city which symbolised the Cold War division of Europe has reinvented itself as an assertive world-class city. It has managed to do that without losing its radical traditions.

The city's edgy cultural scene pulls visitors from far and wide. But Berlin is a place that makes place for high culture too. The traditional Hohenzollern Palace (Stadtschloß or City Palace) in the heart of Berlin has been reconstructed and will open in 2019. Under the banner "Humboldt Forum" it will include museums, restaurants, auditoria and more.

A sluggish economy and Berliners’ disdain for corporate capitalism combine to work to the advantage of visitors. Berlin is extremely good value. Reaching the city is made all the easier by the wonderful range of trains serving Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof. This crystal cathedral devoted to trains opened just in time for the Football World Cup in 2006.

There are direct daytime international services from Berlin to Amsterdam, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, Basel, Berne, Interlaken, Poznan, Gdansk and Warsaw. Additional destinations served by overnight trains include Minsk, Moscow, Paris and Zurich. This excellent range of international links is complemented by hourly departures to principal cities across Germany such as Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Munich. A new high-speed line to Bavaria opened in December 2017, so the very fastest trains to Munich now take just four hours from Berlin.

All this makes Berlin the perfect jumping-off point for rail journeys to cities across central and eastern Europe. But don’t neglect places closer to hand. There are frequent trains from Berlin to Germany’s Baltic coast resorts and a dense web of rural regional routes gives access to the city’s beautiful hinterland – a region of lakes and forests which is cherished by Berliners but overlooked by many visitors to the German capital. If heading out-of-town on regional rail services, bear in mind that not all trains depart from Hauptbahnhof. Direct trains to the nearby Polish city of Szczecin leave from Gesundbrunnen station, while services to Kostrzyn depart from Berlin Lichtenberg.