• potsdamer platz image by Angelika Bentin from Fotolia.com
  
  Potsdamer Platz has an illustrious history. Prior to the Second World War, it served as Berlin's main square. Bombs totally destroyed Potsdamer Platz, leaving an empty field of rubble, which the Berlin Wall would soon divide. After the Wall fell at the end of 1989, real estate developers moved in and re-transformed Potsdamer Platz into the vibrant spot it is today---home of the Sony Center, the annual Berlin Film Festival and numerous bars and restaurants.
  
  

Billy Wilder's

• Named after the famous director who left Berlin to pursue a career in Hollywood, and situated right next to the Film Museum at Potsdamer Platz, Billy Wilder's is a classy cocktail bar with a pronounced cinema theme, featuring scenes from many of Wilder's films on the walls, including "One Two Three"---a film he shot on location in Berlin during the raising of the Berlin Wall. Sit at the bar, or in one of the comfortable low-backed booths facing the windows, where you can watch the Potsdamer Platz crowds pass by. On warm days, bar patrons can sit outside on the sidewalk.
  
  Billy Wilder's
  Potsdamer Straße 2
  10785 Berlin
  Germany
  +49-30-26-55-48-60
  billywilders.de
  
  

Kumpelnest 3000

• Housed in a former brothel, Kumpelnest 3000 is a legendary bar, having opened its doors in 1987 when the Berlin Wall still stood not far away. On any given night, you might meet anyone from local musicians from the famous rock band Einstuerzende Neubauten to transvestite performers stopping in for a nightcap. The music ranges from disco to rock and roll to techno---essentially, whatever the bartender feels like listening to. The later it gets, the crazier it gets, with the energetic crowd boogying on the small dance floor until the wee hours of the morning.
  
  Kumpelnest 3000
  Lützowstraße 23
  10785 Berlin
  Germany
  +49-30-261-69-18
  kumpelnest3000.com
  
  

QIU Lounge

• QIU Lounge is an upscale bar catering to business execs during the day, then scenesters and guests of the nearby four- and five-star hotels at night. Located on the second floor of the Mandala Hotel, the QIU Lounge features impressive views over Potsdamer Platz. Bar patrons can enjoy apertifs, cocktails, long drinks, exotic and tropical drinks, cognac, bourbon, whiskey and spirits, along with a menu of light snacks.
  
  QIU Lounge
  Potsdamer Strasse 3
  10785 Berlin
  Germany
  +49-30-59-00-00-00
  qiu.de