Mitte
The historic heart of the city, Mitte is the symbol of the reunited city since the fall of the Wall. This is where you'll find most of the city's historic buildings, museums and points of interest. This is undoubtedly the part of the city that has undergone the most spectacular transformation since reunification, with new embassies, restored monuments and stores of all kinds. On the other hand, most of the clubs that made the district so popular in the 1990s have closed.
Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichstadt
These two districts, the first to the north and the second to the south of the prestigious Unter den Linden, are the most exclusive in Mitte. This is where you'll find the national library, two of the city's three opera houses, the university, the Konzerthaus, a number of embassies and more. As you can see, this is a very representative part of the city, where historic buildings meet contemporary architecture. In Friedrichstadt, the Gendarmenmarkt square stands out with its elegant symmetry. Friedrichtraße is the district's main shopping street. There is often talk of making it pedestrian-friendly to enhance its appeal. To be continued. And of course, the Pariser Platz with the city's most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, is not to be missed.
Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
This island, nestled between two arms of the Spree, is home to five of the city's most prestigious museums. The Neues Museum, with its bust of Nefertiti, and the Pergamonmuseum, with its Ishtar Gate, attract crowds of visitors, spellbound by these treasures of antiquity. Opposite, Schloßplatz closes the Avenue Unter den Linden: before the war, this was the site of the castle that had been the residence of the prince-electors of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia and, from 1871, of the German emperors. Damaged by bombing and then demolished by the East German authorities, the castle was replaced by a "Palace of the Republic" under the GDR, which was in turn demolished in 2008. Since 2013, the city has been rebuilding the palace as it was in the 19th century, turning it into a major cultural space.
Alexanderplatz
What was once the heart of medieval Berlin is today a somewhat ramshackle district, with a few remains spared by the bombardments (the Marienkirche), major thoroughfares sacrificed to automobile traffic (Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Alexanderstraße), the famous Alexanderplatz and the no less popular Television Tower, which gives the city its unmistakable silhouette. Not far from the square, the Nikolaiviertel is the only district in the whole city to have a medieval layout. Destroyed during the Second World War, it was rebuilt in the 1980s by the East German authorities.
Hackescher Markt, Spandauer Vorstadt and Scheunenviertel
Around the Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station, cafés nestle in the arcades and Hackesche Höfe. Here, bars, hairdressers, cinemas and the boutiques of young Berlin designers stand shoulder to shoulder.
Also not to be missed is the Spandauer Vorstadt (literally "Spandau suburb"), which revolves around the elegant and dynamic Oranienburger Straße, and the Scheunenviertel (literally "barn district"), between the Hackesche Höfe and Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Here, too, you'll find a wealth of boutiques, restaurants, thrift shops and cafés. More bourgeois than bohemian.
Moabit and Wedding
For some years now, these two popular, multicultural districts of West Berlin - which administratively belong to the Mitte Bezirk - have been attracting young Berliners in search of more affordable rents. Wedding, the city's former "red" working-class district, is home to a growing number of friendly bars, even if all the addresses are still scattered throughout the district.
Prenzlauer Berg
After reunification, this district to the east of the Wall was the breeding ground for a new, bohemian artistic life that was unpretentious, spontaneous and full of charm. Today, the facades have been renovated, the streets cleaned up and a new, affluent middle class has settled in. Prenzlauer Berg saw its nightlife decline in the mid-2000s. Here, as the cliché goes, you can walk with your stroller, eat organic ice cream and bake your own bread. Prenzlauer Berg is not lacking in charm, with its beautiful 19th-century buildings, flower-filled squares and enticing terraces. There are still a few nuggets to be found: here a bookshop-café, there a GDR bar, a tiny art-house cinema..
Kastanienallee is an ideal street to take the temperature of the district and stroll around, entering a few designer boutiques, before settling down for a coffee in charming Oderberger Straße. Nearby, the Mauerpark enjoys undiminished popularity.
Helmoltzkiez : Prenzlauer Berg has no shortage of pretty squares. Helmoltzplatz has the charm of a lively square, and there's always a café, restaurant or bar to suit every taste.
The pretty Kollwitzplatz is particularly popular for its market. The surrounding streets boast beautifully restored facades. Don't miss the Wasserturm, a charming brick water tower.
Friedrichshain
A student district in the 2000s, Friedrichshain was a bit punk, a bit anarchist... until the clubbing tourists invaded Berghain and the other legendary clubs of RAW Gelände. In some respects, Friedrichshain retains something of this rebellious, committed attitude. The May1st demonstrations are a case in point. Today, it's undeniably one of the city's most festive districts. Friedrichshain has many faces: there are the main thoroughfares, laid out after the war and notably the very impressive Karl-Marx-Allee, and neighborhoods covered with high-rise blocks (Platz der Vereinten Nationen, for example), as well as districts that have retained their pre-war substance.
Karl-Marx-Allee: this fascinating avenue, with its imposing real-socialist buildings, divides the Friedrichshain district in two. It's an unsettling stroll through a world that no longer exists, reminding frequent travelers of both Moscow and Warsaw. Unfortunately, the street is not very lively.
Boxhagener Platz. It's here, around this square affectionately nicknamed Boxi, that you can best feel the atmosphere of the district that once attracted so many students. Simon-Dach-Straße and Gabriel-Max-Straße, two parallel streets around Boxhagener Platz, form this Kiez, which is brimming with small eateries, alternative boutiques and friendly bars. Boxi is also home to a flea market that is very popular with Berliners. Not far away, the RAW-Gelände continues to attract night owls.
Kreuzberg and Neukölln
These two West Berlin neighborhoods - which were in the immediate vicinity of the Wall - are on everyone's lips when it comes to Berlin on the move. Multicultural, alternative and festive, Kreuzberg and Neukölln are the darling of young Berliners. Kreuzberg, Berlin's legendary district, still lives up to its reputation after years of infatuation: it's colorful, punk, queer, crazy, joyful. But it's Neukölln, the former poor and disreputable district, which is still undergoing a metamorphosis and has become the most fashionable district in the German capital.
Kreuzberg. Unattractive because it was so close to the Wall, it was left behind by the rest of the city for a long time and became a rather decadent place, where squatters, punks and anarchists took up residence. It's also a district favored by Turkish immigrants attracted by some of Berlin's lowest rents. After 1990, the alternative scene began to move into eastern districts such as Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, and Kreuzberg lost some of its radical spirit. While one part of Kreuzberg, around Bergmannstraße and Südstern, has become downright gentrified, the Turkish, punk and bohemian side of Kreuzberg is alive and well around Schlesiches Tor, Kottbusser Tor and Görlitzerpark. Kreuzberg remains a particularly warm meeting place, punctuated by lively, authentic bars and clubs.
Neukölln. To the south of Landwherkanal, this rapidly revitalizing district was once inhabited only by Turkish and Arab workers and immigrants. In the late 2000s, artists and students, frightened by the rising rents in Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg, rushed to take over the streets of Neukölln.
To the north, near the canal, the district nicknamed Kreuzkölln (a contraction of the two districts of Kreuzberg and Neukölln) is very fashionable. At once Turkish and family-oriented, bohemian and bucolic, it's reminiscent of Kreuzberg. Parallel to Sonnenallee, an endless avenue punctuated by restaurants and boutiques run by members of Arab communities, Weserstraße stands out for its trendy bars and designer boutiques. Today, Rixdorf, an adorable 17th-century village at the end of Sonnenallee, is gentrifying at the speed of light. A victim of its own popularity, Neukölln is now one of Berlin's most expensive districts.
Treptow. To the east of Neukölln and south of Kreuzberg lies the small district of Treptow. Still very much a wasteland, it retains an industrial and deserted face, but it's also very green. The Arena, a railway station transformed into a complex of clubs and urban beaches, and Treptower Park, at the mouth of the Landwehrkanal and the Spree, are two of the main attractions.
Schöneberg and Tempelhof
Schöneberg was an independent town until 1920, when it became part of Greater Berlin. The little U4 bears witness to the prosperity of the town, which boasts its own subway line. Marlene Dietrich was born in Schöneberg and asked to be buried in a local cemetery. When the Wall came down, Schöneberg became a buffer district between bourgeois Charlottenburg and working-class Kreuzberg. It was in Schöneberg that David Bowie decided to settle when he moved to Berlin in 1976, Nick Cave gave his concerts there and punk kids in the late 1970s shook the walls of bars and improvised concert halls in galleries and cinemas. Today, most of the beautiful buildings dating from the early 20th century have been renovated. It's a very popular and relatively expensive district.
Nollendorfplatz.
To the north of the district, Nollendorfplatz forms the central link in Berlin's western nightlife. It's also the city's gay district. A memorial to the homosexual victims of the Nazis stands just outside the subway station, and every year a festival is held in Motzstraße (Lesbisch-schwules Stadtfest). Winterfeldplatz is a popular market square. Not far away, the local town hall (see Rathaus Schöneberg) has been a historic landmark since the US President's speech in 1961, when JFK declared in broken German: "Ich bin ein Berliner."
Tempelhof. This district is of no particular interest to visitors, with the exception of one absolutely unheard-of site: the Tempelhofer Feld. What was once an airport has been transformed into a park open to all. It's a popular spot for Berliners, who come to bask in the sun, have a beer on the lawn or rollerblade on the former runways.
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is one of the capital's most central districts, between Mitte and Charlottenburg. The overwhelming majority of the district is taken up by the park. Green by nature, the district also boasts a large number of museums and a few (luxury) hotels, but relatively few restaurants and bars.
Tiergarten Park
The large Tiergarten Park, which gives its name to the district, is a beautiful green recreational area, part of which is devoted to the zoological garden. Created in the 16th century, its first function was as a hunting reserve for the princely family, before becoming today a haven for nature lovers: joggers, children at play, soccer players invading the lawns, sunbathers and drag queens. There's plenty to see in the park: the Siegessäule (Victory Column), the Schloss Bellevue housing the presidential palace, the Soviet memorial, etc. Contemporary embassies line Tiergartenstraße.
Potsdamer Platz
Since its reconstruction, Potsdamer Platz, through which the Wall once passed, has once again provided a link between Tiergarten and Mitte. The square itself is a creative, futuristic work of architecture that attracts and enthuses visitors. Just behind it, the Kulturforum is home to a number of major cultural institutions: the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Gemäldegalerie, the Kupferstichkabinett and Kunstgewerbemuseum, as well as theStaatsbibliothek ( or Stabi for short) and the world-renowned Philharmonie concert hall, which also houses the Musikinstrumenten Museum.
Regierungsviertel
Since Berlin supplanted Bonn as capital of the Federal Republic, this district, nestled in an arm of the Spree, has been home to numerous political institutions, including the Chancellery (Kanzleramt) and, of course, the Reichstag. This imposing building, which burned down in the throes of Hitlerism in 1933, now once again houses the German Parliament under a magnificent glass dome designed by Sir Norman Foster. On the other side of the Spree, you can see the new Hauptbahnhof (main railway station), an extraordinary giant composition of metal and glass inaugurated in 2006.
Charlottenburg
Once an independent city, Charlottenburg became part of Berlin when Greater Berlin was created in 1920. Charlottenburg has the reputation of being a bourgeois district, with quiet, shady streets and small squares. Indeed, passers-by can observe a multitude of ornate Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) and Gründerzeit buildings, with large windows and high ceilings. Before the fall of the Wall, Charlottenburg served as the center of West Berlin, with the Zoological Garden Station as its main station, now relegated to regional status. Charlottenburg lacks the wild, festive charm of the eastern districts, but for some it's the "real" Berlin, spared the wave of trendiness that has transformed Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain. Breitscheidplatz, the neuralgic heart of post-war West Berlin, has undergone a new metamorphosis in the last ten years: the Bikini has opened its doors, the Zoopalast has been refurbished and some of the 1960s bars have given way to new skyscrapers. And the neighborhood's metamorphosis doesn't seem to be over.
Around the château
To the north, Charlottenburg Palace - which gives its name to the district - is well worth a visit. It's a must-see for lovers of Baroque architecture. The park behind the palace invites you to stroll and daydream. Opposite the castle are a number of fine art museums, including the Bergruen Museum's superb collection of modern art (Picasso, Matisse, Klee...).
Kurfürstendamm
A little further on begins the Kurfürstendamm (or Ku'damm to its friends), a three-lane avenue known as one of the capital's most luxurious. By the end of the 19th century, it had become the most exclusive avenue in Charlottenburg. Most of the beautiful residences didn't survive the bombings, but the avenue retains a certain elegance. On Ku'damm, the chicest couturiers coexist with the cheesiest stores, good old Bierstuben with refined restaurants.
Savignyplatz and Kantstraße
The charming Savignyplatz exudes an atmosphere that's at once chic, intellectual and relaxed. As for Kantstraße, you'll find an incredible variety of restaurants, most of them serving Asian cuisine, from Taiwanese boui-boui to trendy Japanese burger joints.
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
This district, between Charlottenburg and Potsdam, is a quiet, clean and green bourgeois residential neighborhood. It's home to the Grunewald, a gigantic forest on the banks of the Havel, and West Berlin's Freie Universität. Although off the beaten track, this district is packed with points of interest. These include the Allied Museum, the Wannsee Conference Villa, the Botanical Garden, etc.
Spandau
This district of Berlin was once an independent city. The center has retained its medieval layout. Here you can see the Zitadelle, a Renaissance fortress reminiscent of Vauban's fortifications.
