The Holocasust Memorial, or more fully the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, is Berlin’s latest major attraction; if you can use such a flippant term for something so grave. And grave’s the right word since the monument was inspired by the Jewish graveyard in Prague, though at the size of three football fields and containing thousands of car-sized concrete blocks it’s really a far cry.

Some say it’s ugly, meaningless or surreal and irrelevant, yet the wander through its odd desolated and regimented spaces to the underground centre is certainly unsettling and thought-provoking. The centre relates unpleasant facts and figures relating to the holocaust and then a host of personal stories are tragically related. Even going around the absorbing exhibition is a creepy solemn affair – no-one says a word in there. It’s impossible not to be disgusted and appalled at inhumanity that humankind is capable of and deeply touched by all the personal tragedies. For more info see www.holocaustmahnmal.de.

And if after all that you’re in need of more morbid vibes take the two-minute walk south of the memorial to the ground above Hitler’s bunker and site of his suicide – marked by a interpretative sign.