Super stylish vacations in Berlin — for less

Tourist interest has increased in the last few years as Berlin gained international attention with events like the 2006 soccer World Cup. The same year, UNESCO designated Berlin as the first European "City of Design," recognizing it as an affordable city with an edginess appealing to artists and almost 7,000 design companies, in addition to growing fashion, film, and architecture industries.

Germans are notorious bargain hunters, and budget hotels aren't the only place visitors to the city can save while remaining fabulous. Cash saved on lodging can be spent at hip eateries like the atmospheric Monsieur Voung's Cafe, which serves Vietnamese dishes for around $10 on Alte Schoenhauser Strasse in the Mitte district.

In addition, many of Berlin's main attractions are free or cheap. Instead of paying for a guided bus tour, an $8 city-wide day pass for public transportation will get you on city buses, which run from Alexanderplatz to the Zoologischer Garten (zoo) station, a short walk to Kurfurstendamm shopping district and the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Gedaechtniskirche, or memorial church, left a shattered husk by World War II. With the same ticket, you can ride the S-Bahn to the Ostbahnhof or Warschauer Strasse stops and stroll past the East Side Gallery, the city's longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall, which once divided West Berlin from the communist East.

Spend the early evening on edification at one of the many state-run museums that are free on Thursdays starting four hours before closing.

Or show up one hour before any theatrical or classical music production, such as the Staatsoper opera company or the Berlin Philharmonic, and line up at the Abendkasse, or box office, for deep discounts on the remaining tickets. If you have a student ID, you'll get even better deals.

Berlin nightlife is world-famous, just pick up a $3 copy of the English expat magazine Exberliner for show and club listings.

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Walk off your hangover and find fascinating artifacts at the Mauerpark flea market on Saturday and Sunday. Then get your history fix at Checkpoint Charlie, the point of crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War, or take in the imposing communist architectural statements of Karl Marx Allee.

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Top off your stay with an evening trip to the top of the glass dome of the Reichstag parliament building, which will cost only the time it takes to stand in the security check line. From here you'll have a 360-degree view of the city's lights imparting a sense of the frenetic energy Berliners are employing to make the city a world-class destination.

Tourists are drawn to Berliners' attitudes, says Berlin Tourism Marketing's Taenzler.

"A French friend of mine recently told me that Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, but it's a museum," said Taenzler. "Berlin may not be the most beautiful city in Europe, she said, but it's the most vibrant."

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