By Oliver Smith
Berlin has pipped London, Paris and Tokyo to the title of "most fun" city in a poll of travellers.
The German capital was among 1800 cities ranked according to categories such as "bars", "clubs", "shopping", "adult entertainment" and "activities". Factors such as the average price of a beer, and whether or not public drinking is permitted, were also taken into account.
While it did not finish top in any major categories – London's clubs and concerts, Tokyo's bars and shops, and New York's activities were voted the world's best – it did enough across each area to warrant the number one spot. Berlin's beer was also the cheapest of the top 25 cities.
Cheap beer, superclubs and a variety of adult entertainment: Berlin is the most "fun" city in the world.Credit: iStock
The survey was commissioned by GetYourGuide – a travel review website - and GoEuro – a booking agent. It was based on an analysis of data on various websites around the world, such as TripAdvisor and Yelp, and a poll of almost 2000 travellers.
Paris rounded out the top three; eight of the top 10 cities are European, while some of the more surprising cities to feature in the top 25 included Dubai, New Delhi, Macao and Moscow.
Rio reached just 18th on the list, and Bangkok only 22nd. The only Australian city to make the list was Melbourne in the 21st spot. See the rankings in full here.
There may also be accusations of bias – GoEuro is based in Berlin, after all.
The Telegraph Travel's Adrian Bridge, a former foreign correspondent who was in Berlin when the wall fell just over 25 years ago, recently described it as "possibly the coolest place on the planet" following a recent revisit.
"There are many journeys through Berlin," he wrote. "There is the Berlin of great culture, of grand opera houses and masterful orchestral manoeuvres; the Berlin of artistic genius and the treasures of antiquity captured in the bust of a still fresh-faced Queen Nefertiti.
"There is the Berlin of a thousand nightclubs and myriad alcohol and drug-fuelled voyages of self-discovery into the dawn; the Berlin of cutting-edge fashion; of grand monuments and sweeping boulevards and fur-coated (frequently Russian) ladies."
Paul Sullivan, the Telegraph's Berlin expert, said: "Berlin's nightlife is justly world-renowned thanks to unpretentious dress codes, an inherently low-key/low-hype culture (many clubs are hidden away and don't allow photography of any kind) - and a propensity to stay open until the last person is more or less stretchered out.
"From slick spots like Watergate and Weekend to industrial behemoths like Berghain and Stattbad Wedding, the party never seems to end here - and the beers and eventual taxi home won't break your wallet either."
The Telegraph, London
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