You don’t need to be an architectural aficionado to understand the elegance of the Berlin State Opera. This 18th century marvel is a grand building on the city’s grandest boulevard, but the renovations that kept it closed until recent times were certainly needed. Now firmly back in the international opera circle, the Staatsoper and its award-winning Staatskapelle orchestra (founded in 1570, making it one of the oldest on the planet) are a treasure to be savoured.