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Borough of Berlin in Germany
Photo: Niels Elgaard Larsen - User: (WT-shared) Elgaard at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
East Central is a trendy, bohemian, artsy area that consists of Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg (sometimes called Prenzlberg), Wedding and Gesundbrunnen. The western district Kreuzberg was merged with the eastern district Friedrichshain in 2001. They skew towards a young and alternative, often politically left-oriented crowd. Both districts feature a very heterogeneous architecture, from whole quarters of 19th century apartment houses to functional and not very pleasant 1960s and 70s residential building blocks. You also notice the differences as the districts were separated by the wall. The remaining part of the wall between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg is the longest part still existing in Berlin. Prenzlauer Berg is to the northeast of Friedrichshain and has changed considerably since reunification. It has gentrified similarly to Brooklyn/Williamsburg from deserted apartment houses into a lively area for students, artists and young people – if they or their parents can afford it. Rents have risen sharply in the last few years, and many empty apartments in this area are no longer rented out but sold, refurbished into luxurious lofts or hostel rooms. Wedding and Gesundbrunnen formed the Bezirk of Wedding prior to 2001 when the boundaries were redrawn. Wedding has a long tradition of being home to the working class and accordingly voted "red" for most of the Kaiserreich and Weimar era. During partition it lay on the west side of the wall and attracted an above average number of immigrants, particularly of Turkish descent. Since reunification it has been gentrifying much like Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg albeit not at the same breakneck pace.
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It was the only border crossing between East and West Berlin that permitted foreigners passage. Residents of East and West Berlin were not allowed to use it. This contributed to Checkpoint Charlie's mythological status as a meeting place for spies and other shady individuals. Checkpoint Charlie gained its name from the phonetic alphabet; checkpoints "Alpha" and "Bravo" were at the autobahn checkpoints Helmstedt and Dreilinden respectively. Checkpoint Charlie's atmosphere was not improved at all on 27 Oct 1961 when the two Cold War superpowers chose to face each other down for a day. Soviet and American tanks stood approximately 200 m apart, making an already tense situation worse. Now the remains of the Berlin Wall have been moved to permit building, including construction of the American Business Center and other institutions.
At the intersection of Zimmerstraße and Friedrichstraße (U-Bahn Kochstraße U6) is the famous "You Are Leaving the American Sector" sign. The actual guardhouse from Checkpoint Charlie is now housed at the Allied Museum on Clayallee. For a more interesting exhibit go to the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. This is a private museum with kitschy memorabilia from the Wall and the devices GDR residents used to escape the East (including a tiny submarine!). There are also people who set up booths here offering to stamp your passport with souvenir stamps in exchange for a small fee. You are highly advised not to put these stamps in your passport, as these are not official stamps and could invalidate it. Instead, bring along an expired passport or a small booklet to put the stamps in.
K36
A street full of shops, cafes and restaurants
K61
Like Oranienstraße a street full of shops, cafes and restaurants, but in the other, more middle-class part of Kreuzberg.
K36
150-200 m along the Wiener Straße (bypassing the fire house and the public swimming pool) from U-Bahn Görlitzer Bahnhof, the park is famous for the Turkish families barbecuing on summer weekends, failed contemporary art and relaxed atmosphere of students. It does have a reputation of being full of pickpockets and drug dealers though and the police makes regular visits to this place to check on the situation.
Take a stroll for a few kilometers along this canal which runs right through the heart of Kreuzberg. It's peaceful and mostly traffic-free, but full of life in summer. Some parts are lined with bars and restaurants with terraces. Sit on a bench or terrace and watch the world go by on a summer evening.
With the Kreuzberg, a hill in Kreuzberg 61, the Prussian National Monument by Schinkel and a waterfall. Superb panoramic views across south Berlin.
Hansa-Studios by the wall
Though the area has changed a lot, the building with the Meistersaal, an old music hall from the 1900s, has persisted. Later converted into sound studios, music history was written here with David Bowie ("Heroes"), Iggy Pop, and U2 amongst the groups who recorded here at the "Studio by the wall". Guided tours available occasionally.
Topographie des Terrors
This outdoor and indoor history museum documents the terror applied by the Nazi regime. It is on the site of buildings which during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 were the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, the principal instruments of repression during the Nazi era.
Jüdisches Museum Berlin
Designed by Daniel Libeskind with an excellent exposition on the Jewish life in Berlin and the impact of the Holocaust. You can easily spend a day here. There is a metal scanner and other security features you'd rather expect at an airport than a museum.
It was a museum of applied arts and a listed historical monument since 1966, and it is now a well-known Berlin exhibition hall.
A museum of modern art, photography and architecture. Its collection focuses on art created in Berlin.
Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin
Huge technical museum, on a former railroad depot, featuring from ancient water and wind mills to computer pioneer Konrad Zuse's inventions, a collection of old to new vehicles of all types -bicycles, boats, trains, etc - and the interactive Spectrum science center with various hands-on experiments. There's an actual C-17 "Candy Bomber" airplane hanging on its façade. The railroad and aeronautical sections are hard to beat.
The longest stretch of the Berlin Wall still in existence, painted by artists in 1991 and restored in 2009, after years of decay. At Mühlenstraße, next to the river Spree. The murals are painted on the east side of the wall after the fall of Communism; so they are not from the Cold War, during which murals could only be painted on the west side. Make sure not to miss the famous mural of a car seemingly crashing through the wall with Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing above it. It is actually on the back side of the gallery (it is facing away from the street.) It is just inside the entrance of the Eastern Comfort Hostel, near the east end of the gallery.
Simon-Dach-Kiez
The heart of Friedrichshain and its nightlife with numerous cafés, bars and restaurants along its entire extent and also in the side streets.
Boxhagener Kiez
The area around Boxhagener Platz is filled with bars, cafes and small shops. Boxhagener Platz itself is a small park with a playground and a cafe, and the nearby Simon Dach Straße is filled with cheap bars and restaurants. At the weekend you can find many places that serve the famous, cheap Berliner brunch. On Sundays there is a small flea market worth strolling around
Exhibition of digital interactive entertainment culture. You can actually play almost all of the exhibits making it a more "hands on" museum than most.
Oberbaumbrücke
Arguably the most beautiful bridge in Berlin and the only connection between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. As signage on the bridge indicates, it was built twice - once in the 1890s and once in the 1990s. Before reunification the border ran where the bridge now is.
The main street of former East Berlin. It is a big avenue, featuring neoclassical East German buildings, fountains and lakes.
Fountain of fairy tales
In 1893 the authorities of Berlin issued the artistic entrance to the National Park Friedrichshain. The fountain of fairy tales was commissioned by the National Park and later designed by Ludwig Hoffmann.
Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk
The RAW Gelände is one of Berlin's best known and wildest culture and party areas. It is on the old railway repair premises of the former (East) German State Railway (Reichsbahn) and includes several clubs (Lokschuppen Berlin, Cassiopeia, Haubentaucher, Der weiße Hase), concert venues (e.g. Astra Kulturhaus), Bars (e.g. Badehaus), the outdoor climbing park Kegel at a former cone-shaped WWII high-rise bunker, the indoor skate park Skatehalle Berlin, art galleries (RAW Art, Urban Spree), flea markets at the weekend and the open-air cinema Inselkino.
Find out how it felt to live in East Germany in this modern and well-presented exhibition. The museum is a good starting point if you only have a few minutes to sneak a quick peek inside an East German family's living room, but you can spend hours diving further into the stories behind each exhibit by flicking through the documents on display or listening to contemporary witnesses' accounts (English translations available). The museum opened in November 2013 and is housed inside a beautifully restored former brewery; make sure to take a stroll through the courtyards!
The Kollwitzplatz, with a small nice park, is one of Berlin's most beautiful Gründerzeit city squares. Together with the Kollwitzstraße which is crossing it, it offers many cafés and restaurants, but is also a well-known symbol in Germany for gentrification since the late 1990s. Its flea market which takes place every Sunday in one of Berlin's best known and focuses on international delicatessen foods.
Kastanienallee is well known for its numerous cafés and fashion stores, as well as its many cultural venues in the backyards such as alternative cinemas, theaters and beergardens.
Oderberger Straße is known for its beautiful and generous Gründerzeit architecture, as well as its cafés and restaurants. Since before Germany's reunification the street has been the desired place for alternative folks and avant-gardists, but the area has seen continual gentrification since the early 2000s.
The first (and one of the biggest) water tower of Berlin (built 1877).
The synagogue in the backyard of an apartment house is one of the biggest in Germany.
Jewish cemetery and lapidarium with old tombstones.
The meeting point of one of the leading oppositions against the GDR regime and is a great Neogothic church. Also the only ecumenical Lord's supper with Protestants and Catholics together took place in the Gethsemanekirche (2003).
Tchoban Foundation
The museum is in an iconic building opened in June 2013, showcases privately owned collection of architectural drawings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries..
Berliner Unterwelten
Go on guided tours below Berlin to the World War II bunkers, flak towers, Cold War defence shelters, etc.
A pleasant park, featuring an anti-aircraft gun emplacement ("Flakturm") which offers sweeping views over Berlin
A space for art exhibitions, events and discussion in the silent green Kulturquartier, a former crematorium.
Theatre that features all plays/music theatre in English.
Cinema showing independent and older movies, some in English. It is the oldest cinema in Germany (1907).
Also non-mainstream movies in this small cinema built in the 1950s.
An old cargo ship hull converted to a fresh-water swimming pool, anchored permanently on the river Spree. Provides a nice opportunity to swim on the Spree, without actually swimming in the river itself, which is far too polluted. A bar with disco DJ music is situated just next to the pool. In winter time, the pool is covered against the weather.
The Wall
The longest stretch of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. It has been painted by street artists and has several famous art pieces. (If you want to see the wall in its original condition, see the Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer in Wedding.)
At this outdoor climbing area which is on the RAW Gelände you can do rope climbing at a cone-shaped high-rise bunker from World War II, called the Kegel (cone). The venue also offers an indoor and outdoor bouldering area. In the Kegel shop you can rent or buy climbing gear and book rope climbing or bouldering courses. In summer, there is also an open-air cinema and a beergarden right next to the Kegel.
Café with over 1200 high-quality board, card, and dice games, both European and American, available to play. Many have rules in English. Perfect for a rainy day. Food and drinks for sale.
Paint your own piece of ceramic and have it glazed and burned. Pick it up after 1-3 days.
known as "Mercedes Benz Arena" from 2015-2024, and "O2 world" before then
A modern indoor sports and concert venue, it is among other things the permanent home of Alba Berlin, Berlin's premier Basketball team and Eisbären Berlin, the professional Ice Hockey club of Berlin.
At the end of the Eberswalder Straße, it was once a piece of the Berlin wall. Today in the summer it is a nice place to be, especially for young people. There's an interesting flea market going on every weekend. In the summer weekend afternoons, you can witness - or participate in - the Bearpit Karaoke.
Karaoke Sundays
Open-air karaoke at the amphitheater in Mauerpark where the bravest can show off to the incidental audience.
Culture Brewery
A complex that was once a brewery. There you can find the Jazz Cafe, the SODA restaurant where you can enjoy a fine meal of insects, and some clubs: Club 23, nbi and frannz. The KulturBrauerei also has several cinemas showing alternative movies, the Kesselhaus concert house, and one of the best shops for instruments in Berlin, the "Sound and Drumland".
Nice streets with lots of little shops and cafes to sit outside in the summer and watch people pass by.
Little park with cafes and restaurants surrounding it.
Get your hair cut for €20.
Named after the 1930s boxing great and home of the Berlin Füchse (originally from Reinickendorf) the premier Handball team of Berlin
A soccer and American Football stadium with track and field facilities which has been host to several important competitions in the past, including German Bowls (finals of the German American Football League) from 2012 to 2018.
A public beach at the small natural lake Plötzensee.
Excellent pork sausage (German: Wurst) with curry ketchup and curry powder.
Serves burgers and weekend buffet breakfast, good cocktails in the evening.
Asian breakfast buffet on weekends (reservation essential!), restaurant and bar every day with good food for mid-range prices.
Regarded as the best Döner Kebab in Berlin. Mustafas is a local institution and draws crowds of tourists and Berliners day and night. Expect to stand in line for 20-40 minutes to get your kebab, which attests to the reputation that this place has. Drink beer from the convenience store while you wait.
Sudanese fast food shop, serves excellent falafel and other Arabic snacks together with peanut sauce.
This authentic Thai restaurant offers great food made from fresh ingredients. The ambiente and staff are nice and friendly, and they know English (and Thai, for that matter). Most meals are available as a small portion.
Innovative and creative Asian, Polynesian and South American breakfast.
Indochinese cuisine. Some consider it the best Asian kitchen in the neighborhood.
Delicious Vietnamese cuisine, a main course for €4.90. They have a daily changing menu and great lassis.
Small cozy Mediterranean mama-style home cooking situated near the Landwehrkanal. The menu is small but changes everyday. Friendly and not too expensive, very nice wines. Fresh pasta is a must.
Pizza, pasta, different steaks etc. It's one of the cheapest restaurants in Kreuzberg and because of this very crowded (which is part of the nice atmosphere).
Spanish and Argentinian food. Food is good and portions are not so small, waiters are able to speak English. Have a look at the water and drink prices and the taxes to avoid surprises.
In a former chocolate factory. Buffet for €12, brunch on Sunday for €14.90.
The flagship of a chain run by Mehmet Aygun, who has a pretty good claim to inventing the döner kebab as we know it.
Institution for generation 68, breakfast till 16:00 and global kitchen highlights every week.
Jamaican-European fusion food.
Michelin-restaurant serving Asian fusion dishes.
Huge selection of gourmet burgers at reasonable prices. Mediterranean, gorgonzola/walnut, vegetarian, etc., with plenty of homemade relishes and dressings. There is a take-away shop in no 22 and a restaurant in no 21, but the benches outside the take-away shop are crowded, especially in summer.
Unique place with ethnic cuisine from Sudan. Wonderful place for anybody who would like to taste something from Africa, like quark cheese with fenugreek and black cumin or peanut soup - different and original.
Restaurant and cocktail bar. Free wireless Internet
Very fresh and good fish. Select your fish and have the chef cook it.
Beautiful waterside restaurant on a wooden quay with European dishes and a relaxing view on the Flutgraben river branch.
Portuguese tapas, bread, wine, beer and coffee. Good place to have a real dinner or just hang our and share a bottle of wine with a couple of tapas
Austrian restaurant. The best schnitzels in the area. The vegetables are great too.
Very white and clean but still cozy restaurant with knodels, schnitzel and other German food. Very popular, so make a reservation. Has a great Sunday brunch with a buffet of dishes in individual glass jars.
The Schoenbrunn Restaurant is in the Volkspark Friedrichshain next to "Großer Teich". There's also a beergarden where you can sit outside in the sun.
This big old gym is turned into a spacious restaurant, lounge and cocktail bar. Free wireless internet.
Thai restaurant. Excellent service. Recommended for value and food quality by many in the tourist scene. Has same prices as in 1996.
Good food, nice salads, reasonable prices.
The best ice-cream in Prenzlauer Berg, expect a long queue, closed in winter.
Known for their Currywurst and their good curry sausage. A local would ask for a "Curry mit 'ner Schrippe" (a Currywurst with a roll). Since 1930.
Modern German kitchen with daily changing menus. Opens at 18:00.
Water (Tafelwasser) is free, a rarity in Germany.
A beer garden with a restaurant under shady chestnut trees. The oldest beer garden in Berlin.
Small bistro inside upscale supermarket. Sit at the small tables or at the bar, where you can watch the chef prepare your meal from scratch with fresh high quality ingredients. The food is simple and fresh, always excellent cuts of meat or fish. The wine by the glass is a good deal, which you know because you can pick up a bottle from the wine-rack behind you when you leave.
Excellent Indian food.
Traditional German dumpling place. Food and service is great
A restaurant making very good pizza with vegetarian or vegan toppings. Their wood-fired oven is right at the entrance of the place, and you sit downstairs in the basement (or outside in summer).
Good German food. Has a nice outside seating area in summer covered by trees.
Bar in the heart of Kreuzberg, DJs on the weekend (rock, pop, funk, soul, disco), entrance is free and international audience. Mondays all cocktails half price.
Small café and bar with a bit tacky but very nice interior. Open daily from 09:00. Hot drinks till 20:00, alcoholic drinks from 18:00. Outside sitting permitted only until 00:00.
Cozy retro-style bar with a lot of vintage furnishings, graffiti and typographic artworks on the wall, a large selection of beverages including bio drinks and regularly live music.
Popular bar-club, offering live music, funk, disco and house music in an old brick building on the RAW compound.
Small and cosy bar with a large choice of cocktails, spirits and wine. For those who are hungry this place serves tapas and for those who want to smoke some cigars.
Bar with sushi and excellent cocktail and whiskey selection.
Sort of a cultural village at the Spree River founded by an alternative cooperative with a restaurant, bar, club, beer garden, an acrobat's hall, music studios and a bakery.
Microbrewery in former butcher shop. They have a good selections on tap, all own production and from other microbreweries.
Gigs 5 days a week (indie-rock, experimental, folk). Crazy decor (everything is upside-down). Open daily from 18:00 till late.
Relaxing lounge with good drinks.
Punkrock Club with live music, great deco.
Synonymous with the expression "economic miracle". The prices are very low and it has a good local Kreuzberg atmosphere.
Great bar for cocktails. Fills up fast even on weekdays and is very crowded on Fridays and Saturdays.
The most adventurous bar in Berlin. You'll be surprised what kind of drinks they have on their beverage list. They say some people entered the Zyankali and never came out again.
Cozy wine bar with a selection of interesting German wines. And some Hungarian. They also serve delicious sausages and cheeses.
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This techno club founded by a leftist collective is in a rundown industrial area. The club is known for its endless niches and corners and has two floors and a garden. Guests should know which DJs are playing this night.
Popular nightclub and concert venue on the RAW compound with beergarden and international bookings.
Szimpla Musiksalon
Nightclub on the RAW compound, offering indie and jazz concerts, hip hop jams and house music in an old industrial building.
Techno club in an old cogeneration plant near the Ostbahnhof. It has a huge dancefloor and room for more than 1500 people. Panorama Bar upstairs is open late until Sunday afternoon. Gay friendly, with hidden darkrooms and leatherboys. Be prepared for tough door policy on popular nights. Not for teenagers, no cameras allowed (mobile phones with a camera are allowed, but holders are expressly warned not to use them).
Eclectic mix of shows on, most nights of the week. good hip hop, reggae, drum’n’bass and electro events across 3 rooms and a terrace in an old factory. €5-10 entry. Opens about 10 but typically quiet until 00:00-01:00. Good strip of small vegetarian cafes in the same alley if you need to kill some time. Beers €2.50.
Atmospheric club at the waterside well-known for minimal techno, house and techno-house and high-grade DJ bookings. Originally only a summer venue, it now also has an indoor winter location at the MS Hoppetosse excursion ship which is docked nearby.
Drum ’n’ Bass, Latin, hip-hop and Afrobeat club within a vaulted former military horse stable.
This is a club for minimal techno and house located on a permanently docked excursion ship on the Spree river, the MS Hoppetosse. It is the winter venue for the Club der Visionäre. It has one dance floor and a Martion Bullfrog sound system.
This techno club began as a cozy, wild and wooden open-air club at the waterside for the summer season, but now also offers two indoor dancefloors. It is behind the Freischwimme restaurant. The warehouse-like mainfloor has a decent Kirsch audio system.
4 floors of goth, industrial, synthpop, post-punk, wave, metal, hardcore and punk, in a backstreet of Friedrichshain. Impressive exterior and outdoor bar. Less snobby than some goth clubs, but the unofficial dress code is all black.
Techno club at the Spree river with an open-air area. DJs from the in-house label Katermukke play here regularly.
Techno club with an indoor dancefloor in a former railway depot, an outdoor dancefloor and a garden. It is 100 meters away from the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station on the former RAW railway compound. Techno, electro and house bookings.
Leiseste Unterhaltung Xberg
This club in a decommissioned industrial building pours on the charm with its old pipes and control panels. DJ are playing electro, funk, nu disco or salsa in this often artfully decorated venue. Inexpensive drinks and bio beer available.
This long-standing dance music club is located within ten claybrick vaults beneath the Warschauer Straße U-Bahn station. Once purely electronic, it nowadays offers a wide range of dance music genres. With its sociable atmosphere it attracts a predominantly younger party crowd which is not fixed on a certain genre.
This techno club in a former harbor generating plant is the successor of the noted Magdalena club and has a huge dance floor and an audio system designed by Gary Stewart.
This is a house and hip-hop club in the facilities of a former indoor swimming pool. It is decorated with light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, a wooden DJ booth and dancefloor and the bar is in the dry swimming pool. It is known for high-grade house bookings and has a Funktion One sound system.
This techno club on three levels with an old commercial building is known for its artful decoration. It has a dance floor called Dampfmaschine.
Nightclub whose roots are punk, nowadays plays different alternative and mainstream concerts. Don't miss the Gayhane, the Turkish "homoriental" gay party.
This techno club behind a wooden fence and with its numerous artfully decorated rooms is one of the most renowned in Berlin.
Large reggae/dancehall, hip-hop and afrobeat club in the factory building which previously housed the clubs Maria am Ostbahnhof and Deli an der Schillingbrücke. A focus on street art and street sports and a beach bar in summer.
Relaxed Mediterranean/Arabic style bar cafe serving good food, with occasional music and movies, has a separate smoking section.
On an August Sunday
Iconic café-bar in a retro living room style right at the entrance of Kastanienalle from where locals overlook the neighborhood from behind large windows. With regular live DJs, readings and Hollywood swings on the street.
Longstanding and often crowded bar with kickers and small dance floor. DJs play indie, latin, disco or electro.
A large bright corner cafe and bar. Direct fair trade coffee, organic teas & ice cream, home-made cakes. Evenings there is bistro food including pastas and salads.
Popular cafe and bar specializing in chocolate, ran by the chocolate shop next door. Has a great view of Helmholtzplatz and good hot chocolate.
This iconic café with its diversified collection of colored retro chairs and its wild, overgrown outdoor terrace which is so typical of the hipster-hedonist Kastanienallee-Oderbergerstraße heighborhood offers crêpes, waffles, housemade ice cream, and an excellent breakfast. On crowded weekends, count in some waiting time.
A former brewery which now houses many bars and restaurant. The Soda Club has an excellent bar.
Alternative cafe serving vegetarian and vegan food, quite a recommended place for people interested in squats and related issues.
Third wave coffee place with a beautiful terrace and homemade sweets & savory food. Its espresso blends include 'the coffee collective' Copenhagen and 'bonanza coffee heroes' Berlin. Pour-over coffee with single origins for a real caffeine high are obtained too.
This is a large former brewery compound which has been reused as a cultural and nightlife center with changing clubs, bars, theaters, restaurants, a large beer garden, a hostel and artist's studios for decades. It is a bit similar to the Kulturbrauerei but has been wilder and more run-down until its renovation.
Very popular bar with a local and international student crowd.
The first 'trendy' bar in this part of Prenzlberg and still very popular. Serves breakfasts and is open late. Separate smoking room
Retro-stlye bar with very relaxed atmosphere, genuine 1970s interior and excellent drinks. The prices are fair and the bartenders are nice. DJs play electro or soul.
Alternative, hard rock, indie.
A relaxed pop/rock club in Kulturbrauerei, also with live music.
A small brewery. In summer, they also have a biergarden (one of the few in Berlin where you can actually bring your own food). Throughout the year you can drink their beer in the bar (no outside food allowed there). They also distill spirits (including whisky).
A micro-brewery. You can drink their beer from tap (and other bottled beers) at their nice bar. Has some outside seating in summer. You can bring or order your own food and consume it in the bar.
Cosy hostel providing room types such as dorms and private accommodations. Bathrooms and rooms are very clean and you´ll be equipped with Wi-Fi, internet, free coffee/tea, washing machine, computers, common kitchen.
Silent back yard, built in 1911, factory loft.
2-bed rooms start at €19 per person, dorm starts at €14. One of this independent hostel's main attractions is its large, green courtyard which hosts a beer garden, BBQ, table tennis and comfortable seating areas. They have free internet access, laundry service and multilingual staff. They offer accommodations from single rooms with showers and WC, to beds in dormitory rooms.
Another cosy backpacker hostel that offers singles, doubles and dorms.
Dorms from €10/person, they also have doubles and apartments. The sunny side of Berlin, nicely decorated rooms.
Dorms from €16/person, they also have singles and doubles.
Kreuzberg's first hostel (est. 2000) is just off the main drag. Facilities are well maintained with very clean bathrooms/showers. Young (twenties) and mixed crowd. Beer for sale at all hours!
The hostel is in an old nunnery in Kreuzberg next to S Anhalter Bhf.
In one of Kreuzberg's "Kiez" a 15-min walk away from checkpoint Charlie. It's a renovated 19th-century building and all the interior is new. The service at the reception is also very nice and helpful.
They have a big common room, a full equipped kitchen and free Internet.
An old factory building turned into a hostel.
Little hostel in the neighborhood of Kreuzberg.
Bed and Breakfast. Staff speaks English.
3-star hotel in a transformed chocolate company. Modernised rooms with good location to Bergmann Kietz. Known for its breakfast/brunch and good service. Popular with mid-aged city tourists in a small and cozy hotel.
Uniquely designed hotel in Berlin's city centre, near Potsdamer Platz in the former Siemens building on Schöneberger Straße.
Private rooms also available.
Quiet location near Alexanderplatz. The guesthouse offers single, double, triple and fully served apartments.
Transit, Hagelberger Str. 53-54 (Kreuzberg) is also part of this hostel chain.
Central location, walking distance to Alexanderplatz and yet in another world. It's in an old brewery complex converted into a cultural center. Dorms, private rooms. Easy access also from Schönhauser Allee 176
Unterkunft in Berlin
Reservations necessary, minimum stay two nights.
In the centre of Berlin, 700 m away from the TV Tower, Alexanderplatz.
The Odyssee is independently run by a young crew - a real rock 'n 'roll place with a nice bar. This is a simple hostel which provides internet access, bicycle rental, and a bar (open until dawn).
Bed and Breakfast. The staff speak English.
Private accommodation for women, from women. Guestrooms and apartments.
U-Bahn Hermannplatz
Built in 1929; large shopping center including clothing, book, and beauty products shops, a post office, and its own high-end supermarket, (probably only second to KaDeWe in the area). The grocery section of Karstadt has fresh meat, seafood, and cheese sections.
A market hall with different vendors (mostly food and drinks) including butchers, bakeries, delicatessen, fruits and vegetables etc.
A market hall.
An atmospheric Christmas market with a charming medieval theme.
The techno record shop in Berlin; huge back catalogue and weekly news from around the world; also reggae 7" and drum&bass.
Big second-hand record store.
A large selection of electronic music, from the latest releases to older vinyl.
Funny, creative selection of rockabilly and punk t-shirts, bar, and band merchandise.
Friedrichshain is full of screenprinted t-shirt stores, but Nüx stands out with their high-quality natural-history-museum designs such as owls, fish, and foxes.
Only 100 m from Checkpoint Charlie you will find a small but very interesting place for extraordinary souvenirs and gifts made by local designers. The gallery shows changing exhibitions of contemporary art, films and more from Berlin artists and the little Café offers the best Espresso – fairly traded and organically grown, refreshing lemonades without artificial additives, »Berliner Weisse with a shot« ... in summer also outside in the deck chair
Berlin's biggest and best art, craft, and design supply store. A must-visit if you are at all artistically inclined.
Berlin's only 'textile butchery' sells pillows shaped like meat, made 'fresh' on the premises by Silvia – a unique and whimsical Berlin souvenir.
Two 'sister' stores next to each other – one is a well-curated papeterie, the other focuses on kitchenwares.
Flohmarkt im Mauerpark
Great Sunday flea market for vintage clothing, furniture, rare vinyl; not many professionals. A typical Berlin experience.
Electronic music.
Club Sound Records
Techno
Second-hand, rock, pop.
Hip hop.
When this record store opened in 2002, it mainly specialized in Latin, Brazil and Italo house, disco and nu-jazz tunes. Today it offers vinyl from a wider range of genres including techno, electro and house.
International children's and youth literature and music.
For a wide variety of cheap secondhand books.
Berlin fans from all over the world can be spotted with the television tower, the city map or Berlin’s area code +49 30 on their tausche bags with exchangeable flaps and insets.
Quality shoes and cosmetics for ladies.
Colourful tops, bags & things.
70s secondhand.
Sneakers.
Sneakers.
Clothing store.
Great selection of old design lamps in a crazy shop.
A small open-air farmers market right on Leopoldplatz.
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Articles and travel topics about East Central and Germany.
Travel tipsUnderstand travel insurance for a Schengen visa in 2026. Learn mandatory €30,000 medical coverage, zero deductible rules, and embassy-approved policies.
7 min read
Travel tipsEstimate your Europe trip cost for 2 weeks in 2026. Compare realistic budgets for lodging, Eurail trains, dining, and sightseeing across three styles.
8 min read
Travel tipsPlan your trip with our Oktoberfest 2027 guide. Learn how to reserve beer tent tables, understand Munich hotel booking windows, and budget daily costs.
8 min read
InspirationExplore the best castle and gothic hotel stays in Europe. Discover historic fortresses, medieval estates, luxury châteaux, and Spanish parador hotels.
6 min read
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