People

Predominantly Caucasian, with a significant Turkish minority. Germany has also absorbed many refugees from the former Yugoslavia.

Female Travellers

Berlin is generally a safe place for women; simply use the same common sense as you would at home. Getting hassled in the streets happens infrequently and is usually limited to wolf-whistles and unwanted stares. It's perfectly acceptable to go alone to cafes, restaurants and bars and clubs, although how comfortable you feel doing so depends entirely on you. If you don't want company, most men will respect a firm but polite 'no thank you'. If you feel threatened, protesting loudly will often make the offender slink away with embarrassment – or will at least spur other people to come to your defence.

Gay & Lesbian Scene

Berlin's legendary liberalism has spawned one of the world's biggest gay and lesbian scenes. Anything goes in 'Homopolis' – and we mean anything, from the highbrow to the hands-on, the bourgeois to the bizarre, the mainstream to the flamboyant. Berlin's emergence as a gay mecca was kickstarted by sexual scientist Magnus Hirschfeld who, in 1897, founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee in the city, which paved the way for gay liberation. The 1920s were especially wild and wacky, a demimonde that drew and inspired writers like Christopher Isherwood until the Nazis put an end to the it in 1933. Postwar recovery came slowly, but by the 1970s the scene was firmly re-established, at least in the western city. In 2001, Berlin elected an openly gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, who outed himself by saying 'I'm gay, and that's a good thing', which has since become a popular slogan in the community. As befits Berlin's decentralised nature, the city has no dedicated gay ghetto, although established bar and club scenes exist along Motzstrasse and Fuggerstrasse in Schöneberg; Schönhauser Allee and Gleimstrasse in Prenzlauer Berg; Oranienstrasse in Kreuzberg and Mühlenstrasse in Friedrichshain. In early June, huge crowds turn out in Schöneberg for the Schwul-Lesbisches Strassenfest (Gay-Lesbian Street Fair), which basically serves as a warm-up for Christopher Street Day later that month.

Disabled Travellers

There's been a definite improvement in Berlin when it comes to catering for the needs of the disabled (Behinderte), especially the wheelchair-bound. You'll find access ramps and/or lifts in many public buildings, including train stations, museums, theatres and cinemas. For specifics, check Mobidat (www.mobidat.net in German), a databank evaluating 18,000 public places – hotels, restaurants, department stores, museums etc – for accessibility to the mobilityimpaired. If your wheelchair breaks down, call tel 0180-111 4747 for 24-hour assistance. Newer hotels can offer rooms for disabled guests with extra-wide doors and spacious bathrooms. Getting around Berlin on public transport is possible but requires some planning. Four out of five buses and just over half of all trams have special ramps or lifts that enable the wheelchair-bound to get on and off without help. Look for the blue wheelchair symbol on the vehicles. Getting into U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains isn't as difficult as getting onto the platform itself. Only 31% of U-Bahn stations – compared to 70% of S-Bahn stations – have lifts and ramps. To assist blind passengers, stations are being equipped with grooved platform borders for better orientation. Upcoming station names are announced via loudspeakers on nearly all public transport vehicles.