Whether it's dressed up like a football or covered in stalker love messages, there's something singularly affecting about Berlin's most recognisable building. This is certainly one of the more fondly regarded hangovers from the GDR, and its 70s-Sputnik splendour give it a certain kudos among the world's great towers (to which it is compared in an exhibition on the ground floor). Berlin is a beautiful spectacle from this lofty spot, and other high places (the casino in the Park Inn next door, for example) don't have the 360 degree perspective or the long opening times.

But there are drawbacks - the prices are unashamedly tourist-milking, and the cocktail bar, restaurant and souvenir shop do little to disguise the sense of unloved, state-run necessities.