Jun 23, 2009, 13:32 GMT
Berlin - Visitors to the German capital this summer are faced with a number of choices when it comes to their holiday budget. They can choose between beginning a weekend break with a Champagne breakfast for 377 dollars or ending it with a few glasses of wine for nothing at all.
Another option on offer is a rented limousine service for 637 dollars or going on a salsa dancing course for zero dollars.
They are just two of the activities that Berlin's tourist authorities have come up with to attract more visitors to the city in these economically difficult times.
The campaign is called 'The Berlin Calculator' and it groups together a range of weekend programmes to suit every pocket. They include the 'Berlin for Free' deal, 'Berlin for Party-Goers' for 47 dollars or 'Berlin for Credit-Crunched Millionaires' for 2,231 dollars.
As part of the 'Credit-Crunched' package you can ease into the weekend with a modestly priced visit to a delicatessen where for 35 dollars you can buy the 'finest truffles, truffle hams, truffle pecorino and truffle butter' for a picnic at Berlin's Wansee Lake.
Next on the programme is a Botox to Go session at a clinic on the city's famous shopping avenue, the Kurfuerstendamm, for 489 dollars. The tourist agency's advertising blurb advises you 'to do it like high society and refresh your complexion for the up-coming evening.'
The Botox to Go session also includes a two-for-less offer: 'If you treat two areas of your face, you get a 210 dollar discount.'
More information on all of the weekend programmes on offer can be found at www.visitberlin.de when you click on the English language version of the website.
The website includes a map pinpointing the locations for each step of the programme, allowing you to decide if you will have enough time to cover the visit to a shopping gallery, a fish lunch for 165 dollars, a box at the opera for 165 dollars or a visit to a casino by limousine.
There is no limousine included in the 'Berlin for Under 50 Euros' deal. Instead, it includes a Berlin Welcome Card for 23 dollars that gives you access to a number of discounts.
They include breakfast in Berlin's trendy Prenzlauer Berg district beginning at 3.50 dollars, sightseeing on the number 100 bus route for zero dollars and Happy Hour Sushi in the Kreuzberg district for 10 dollars.
In the evening you can shake your stuff at a nightclub in Berlin's party district of Friedrichshain for seven dollars including a discounted Mojito cocktail.
There are more low-cost tips to be found in the 'Berlin for Free' or the 'Berlin for Party-Goers' weekend deals. They include a free jazz session at a club in Charlottenburg district or a visit to a fashionable bar in Prenzlauer Berg called Weinerei.
There you can enjoy an evening of fine wines and decide for yourself how much you want to pay. If you are on a really tight budget one or more glasses of wine may be for free.
The programme also includes a meal at an Indian restaurant for 3.50 dollars, a make-up session in a department store for free and free entry to a nightclub in Prenzlauer Berg. At 7.30 am the night finally draws to a close and you can go to bed for some priceless sleep.
Internet: www.visitberlin.de
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