NEIGHBOURHOODS

KREUZBERG

As anyone from Kreuzberg will tell you, this district is not just the coolest in Berlin, but the hippest location in the entire universe. Kreuzberg has long been famed for its diverse cultural life, its experimental alternative lifestyles and the powerful spell it exercises on young people from across Germany. In 2001, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain were merged to form one administrative borough. When it comes to club culture, Friedrichshain is now out in front with southern Friedrichshain particularly ranked as home to the highest density of clubs in the city. The urban beat of the future.

Along the Spree’s northern and southern banks, locals and visitors applaud the street musicians on the Oberbaumbrücke bridge ready to rock the world’s concert venues tomorrow. The borough is a stage and home for creativity – and not only when it comes to music. Here, artists create free spaces for their work – on the streets, in backyard flats and ateliers. Berlin’s start-up scene is buzzing around Moritzplatz square, busily designing the ideas that will shape our lives in future. Creative space is shared and used together – for urban gardening, for example, in the Prinzessinnengärten (Princess Gardens). Or in the Markthalle Neun market hall, when the great street food outlets join forces for a Thursday evening your taste buds will just love! Kreuzberg also has more mainstream offerings. Here, you find some of Berlin’s most ambitious museums, including the Berlinische Galerie showing art from 1870 to the present day, the Martin-Gropius-Bau arts venue, the Jewish Museum and the Deutsche Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology). Or you could spend an exciting evening of contemporary dance, theatre and performance at one of the three Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) stages. The borough also boasts the English Theatre Berlin, the city's only English-language theatre, as well the converted substation Umspannwerk Ost, now a restaurant and arts venue housing the Berliner Kriminaltheater with its programme of classic murder mysteries. 

MITTE

Mitte is more than just the centre and heart of the city. It is also the cradle where Berlin was born, growing from a small settlement founded along the River Spree in the thirteenth century. Mitte has always cultivated its own distinctive character. Not only does it embody Berlin as an open world city more than any other borough, but it also impressively reflects the city’s chequered history. In that spirit, a reconstructed city palace, open to all, is being built on a central site in Mitte where once Prussian kings ruled. With its collections and exhibitions, the Humboldt Forum in the city palace will stand for an equal dialogue between cultures. Sights in Mitte include the original Reichstag parliament building from the late nineteenth century, which was designed in a solemn and imposing neo-Renaissance style. In contrast, today’s refurbished building is crowned by an elegant glass dome open to the public – a symbol of a new, politically transparent Germany firmly committed to European ideals. A few steps further on just in front of the parliament building, you can even sit down on some comfortable stone steps in the centre of the government quarter and dangle your feet in the cool water of the River Spree. Or why not ‘boat through the city’? In Berlin, nothing could be easier! Just hop on one of the many boat tours along the river, relax over drinks and snacks on board, glide past government buildings and major sights, and discover Berlin’s riverside landscapes and beaches! In Mitte, you can find art collections and exhibitions housed in fascinating and unusual locations. For instance, the spectacularly restored Neues Museum on the Museum Island presents the legendary bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti in its own richly decorated display room under the north dome. In Reinhardstraße, you can find the private Boros Collection shown in a converted Second World War bunker. For safety reasons, the collection, which includes such names as Ai Wei Wei and Olafur Elaisson, can only be viewed on a tour booked in advance. And at the Gesundbrunnen U-Bahn station, Berlin’s deepest underground station, the Berliner Unterwelten have transformed an old air raid shelter in a dark seven-metre-high intermediate floor into the city’s most unusual exhibition. A visit to Mitte is unthinkable without hitting the shops! The diverse array of goods on offer is almost infinite, from cosmopolitan flair in large modern malls to elegance and innovation in numerous flagship stores. It is also well worth treating yourself to some retail therapy in the many side streets and courtyards – discovering Berlin fashion labels, trendy accessories and quirky design statements. Here, you can find something to suit every taste – and every pocket.