The Sony Center

The Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz is usually considered one of the must-see sites in Berlin, and it generally caps off my First Evening in Berlin Tour for visitors.

The Sony Center looks like it was pulled straight out of an anime dream of Tokyo. It’s a glistening complex of glass and steel which stands out in a city of four-storey stone. And it looks better at night, so much better at night.

The centre is a collection of seperate buildings around an oval platz and decked with a sail roof shaped like the cannon of an invading space ship. In fact, the roof symbolises Japan’s Mt Fuji – in a city as flat as Berlin the mountain-dwelling kami spirits of the Shinto faith have no where to live. Providing them with this faux-moutain ensures that Sony remains under their protection. At night this roof is lit by ever-changing coloured lights, and is the focal point of the center.

Within the Sony Centre are a number of tourist attractions. The Kaisersaal and Fruehstueksraum of the destroyed Grand Hotel Esplanade are there, preserved in a glass box but open for business. Nearby, hidden slightly in the back of one of the DB tower’s supporting legs is an original sign for the S-bahn Potsdamer Platz. Plus there is the Film Museum, specializing in German movies and the Cinemaxx has all the latest Hollywood blockbusters in English.

The Sony Center also houses a number of bars and restaurants, although I still don’t encourage it as a great place to hang out, it’s a little bit to open for anything but the mildest summer evening. But as a place to grab a drink after a movie or tour it isn’t bad. Prices are reasonable, the usual Berlin rate even, and they’ll always deal well with English speakers. The Lindenbrau offers homemade wheat beer and gigantic schnitzels, while the Australian-themed Corroboree does more finger food and mixed drinks. Josty is slightly more sedate in menu and clientel and if you want cocktails with a bit more cozy bar ambience, try Billy Wilder’s on the Potsdamer Strasse side, next to the entry to the film museum.