The Tower of TV Power

Who said size isn't everything? (I mean, besides Tattoo on Fantasy Island.)

There are just a few places to get a spectacular view of Berlin from on high, but none is more famous than the 1,207-foot-tall TV Tower (called the Fernsehturm Berlin in German) at Alexanderplatz. Built during the '60s Soviet era, the tower is Europe's fourth tallest freestanding structure, and it's lightning-fast elevator zips passengers up nearly 700 feet to the observation deck.

I was smart enough to go on a Saturday when all the tourist are ... oh wait ... I mistakenly went on Saturday and had to wait about 90 minutes before my "group" was allowed up. Fortunately, you don't wait in line — but rather you check the displays for your group's time slot (they can also send text message alerts if you have a European cell phone). Once on the observation deck, you have 360-degree views of the entire city through giant windows.

The best option, though, is to climb a flight of stairs to the rotating restaurant above. It took about 20 minutes to be seated (which was more about the lack of servers than lack of tables), but the wait wasn't bad. The menu features descriptions in several languages, and while the food is neither cheap nor good, the set-up and view were spectacular. The fast-moving restaurant does a complete spin every 30 minutes, and with the wait staff rivaling the speed of the DMV, I got to enjoy nearly three full rotations while drinking beer from a comfortable seat without having to fight for window space. (If you stick to observation deck, just keep those elbows sharp.)

The tower is clearly a tourist trap, but if you're going to caught, this is the place to do it. High in the sky over Berlin, you'll have a stunning bird's eye view of the entire German capitol.