Berlin/Mitte

Administrative division

Before the reunification of Germany, Mitte was a district of East Berlin and the place where the Berlin Wall was most prominent, running right through the historic fabric of the city. Following reunification, the old administrative division was kept for a decade, and the Mitte's borders were unchanged, but it merged with neighbouring districts of former West Berlin, Tiergarten and Wedding.
In 2001, Mitte, Tiergarten and Wedding were merged into a new district, called Bezirk Mitte. The former districts became localities (Ortsteile) of the Bezirk Mitte. This may lead to confusion, as both the Ortsteil and Bezirk are referred to as "Mitte" in the common parlance and many written texts. It is generally safer to assume that most Berliners would refer to "Mitte" as the Ortsteil and former district, which is smaller and more cohesive.
As the administrative divisions serve other functions than just helping travellers, this guide oversteps the boundaries of the Ortsteil Mitte and includes Ortsteil Tiergarten as well.

Areas of Mitte

The old district Mitte as covered in this guide can be divided into several neighborhoods:

• Unter den Linden — the main boulevard, from Museum Island to Brandenburg Gate, crossing the main shopping street, Friedrichstraße, half-way along.
• Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and Lustgarten (the square in front of the Altes Museum and adjacent to the Berlin Cathedral).
• Nikolaiviertel — a quarter near Alexanderplatz which comes close to old town style, but built by the East German government.
• Spandauer Vorstadt with Scheunenviertel — The Spandauer Vorstadt is located north of the River Spree and the Hackescher Markt. It is bordered on the north by the east-west course of the Torstraße, on the east by Karl-Liebknecht-Straße and by the northern part of Friedrichstraße to the west. The eastern part of the area takes its name Scheunenviertel (the "Barn Quarter") from the move in 1672 by the Great Elector of all the hay barns out of the fire-prone city center. In the late 19th century, the area became a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution and pogrom in Russia and Poland. By then it was the center of Jewish life in Berlin.
• Potsdamer Platz — the area around the completely razed Potsdamer Platz became no man's land between East and West Berlin and remained an empty strip of land until the 1990s, when it was rebuilt as a large project including striking highrises of concrete and steel, mixing offices and commercial space.
• Spreebogen/Regierungsviertel — "Spreebogen" means "the bow of the river Spree" and in Berlin generally refers to a particular one, where Spree meets the Berlin-Spandau Canal. The area around it houses the German federal government's institutions on the south (or left) bank, called Regierungsviertel ("government district"), while directly opposite it you will find Berlin's all-new central train station Hauptbahnhof.

Mitte regained its position as the main point of entry to Berlin in June 2006 with the opening of the new central station (), a giant palace of glass and steel, which is at the border of Mitte and Moabit. Almost all short- and long-haul trains arrive and depart from this station. Hauptbahnhof is also served by a Straßenbahn (tram) line and by the S-Bahn as well as U55, a rather pointless line of the U-Bahn (going only 1.8 km to Brandenburger Tor) until it is connected to the rest of U5 some time before 2020. Other main public transport stations are Friedrichstraße and Alexanderplatz.

By S- and U-Bahn

Mitte is served by many S- and U-Bahn lines. The , and go from north (Oranienburg and Gesundbrunnen) to south (Potsdamer Platz and Schöneberg), the Stadtbahn (city S-Bahn, line 5, 7, and 75) goes from west (Charlottenburg) to east (Friedrichshain). They cross at Friedrichstraße. U-Bahn line connects Mitte with Charlottenburg (west) and Prenzlauer Berg (northeast), the U-Bahn lines and go north to Wedding and south to Kreuzberg and Neukölln. The short U-Bahn line (see infobox) goes from Hauptbahnhof to Brandenburger Tor. An extension linking to the main , making it a lot more useful is expected to open in 2020 (updated Apr 2019).
The most important stations are:

• The main connecting station; old centre of East Berlin, now about to experience a major revival.

• For Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden and as a connecting station.

• For Unter den Linden, Brandenburger Tor and Reichstag. U55 is the only U-Bahn line serving it, but an extension of U5 is expected to open in 2020.

• For the lively area at the end of Oranienburgerstraße. Do not miss the Hackesche Höfe which is about 20 connected backyards

• This station is a main gateway for accessing the trendy northern Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg nightlife districts.

• /
  — For Gendarmenmarkt and Friedrichstraße.

• KlosterstraßeServed by For Nikolaiviertel and Klosterviertel.

• For Potsdamer Platz and Kulturforum (the philharmonic, some museums).

• For the Tiergarten park, the flea market on the Straße des 17th Juni and the Siegessäule (Victory column).

• The main station of Wedding, one of several long distance stations in Berlin and the missing "Nordkreuz" in the Ostkreuz, Westkreuz, Südkreuz naming scheme.

By tram (Straßenbahn)

The Berlin Tram used to be limited to East Berlin from the 1960s until shortly after reunification, but these days a "Tram Reconquista" is slowly but surely connecting parts of the old west to the network. Hauptbahnhof is now served by several tram lines and the red-red-green (leftist/center-left) coalition in power as of 2018 has made a public commitment to more tram construction in West Berlin.

By bus

One of the best, and most cost-effective, ways of exploring Berlin is riding one of Berlin's over 400 double-decker buses. You can enjoy great views, especially if you get to sit in the front, at just the cost of a bus ticket. There are two lines especially developed with tourists in mind - the 100 and 200 - as well as some MetroBus lines (replacing the tram system dismantled in West Berlin), both of which are generally operated using double-decker buses.

• line 100 (see route map) goes from Alexanderplatz through Unter den Linden, through the Regierungsviertel and then further through the Tiergartenpark to the Zoologischer Garten train station in the former West Berlin
• line 200 (see route map) starts in Prenzlauer Berg in East Berlin, then goes via Alexanderplatz and Unter den Linden following line 100, but then turns south and drives through Leipziger Platz, Potsdamer Platz and the Kulturforum ultimately taking you to Zoologischer Garten train station over a slightly different route
• line M48 also starts at Alexanderplatz, but goes along Leipziger Straße (convenient for Checkpoint Charlie), Potsdamer Platz, Kulturforum and the into Schöneberg in West Berlin
• line M85 takes you from the Hauptbahnhof through the Regierungsviertel, along the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial into Potsdamer Platz, Kulturforum and ends up in Schöneberg as well.

The buses generally operate every 10 minutes and you may rely on their punctuality except for extreme rush hours, but there are diversions due to the frequent construction works in Berlin. Check the current Fahrplan at bvg.de, the bus stops and on the bus. There is a good chance all important notices will be posted in English just as well. These buses do not operate in the night (a separate, different night buses network does) and that there is no guarantee, just a very high chance, that you will get to ride a double-decker bus.
The cost of a day pass on all forms of Berlin transit within zones A and B (including the Tegel airport) is €7 (full tariff as of October 2019), which is less than most "hop-on" bus tours on offer and gives you much more flexibility and better access due to the multitude of lines and stops. The downside is that some lines get pretty crowded in rush hours, and no buses are open-top.

Dorotheenstadt/Unter den Linden

• Brandenburg Gate

  address: Pariser Platz
  The only surviving Berlin city gate and a potent symbol of the city. This is the point where Straße des 17. Juni becomes Unter den Linden. The gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791 and was intended to resemble the Acropolis in Athens. The Brandenburg Gate now symbolizes reunification, after dividing East and West Berlin for decades. This is the site of Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev open this gate, Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall" speech.

• Pariser PlatzThe large square in front of the Brandenburg Gate contains the French and American embassies, the rebuilt Hotel Adlon, and the new building of the Academy of Arts.

• Russische Botschaft

  address: Unter den Linden 55-65
  A vast wedding cake of a building, built between 1949-1951 in the best Stalinist style and meant to symbolize the dominance of the Soviet Union in East German affairs before 1989.

• KunstHalle

  phone: +49 30 20 20 930
  address: Unter den Linden 13-15
  This former German Guggenheim branch is run entirely by Deutsche Bank since 2013. Compared to the Guggenheims in New York, Bilbao and Venice, it is a relatively small exhibition place. It usually hosts a temporary exhibition and is free on Monday, with a free guided tour starting at 16:00. Since the place is small and the name "Guggenheim" a very famous one, the place is often very crowded.

• Neue Wache

  address: Unter den Linden 4
  Erected in 1818 to a classically-inspired design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the imperial palace, since 1993 this compact building has housed a small, but extremely powerful war cenotaph, the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany, continuing its use under East German rule as the primary "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism". The interior of the Doric column-fronted building is intentionally empty, but for a small but moving sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz depicting a mother cradling a dead child. The statue is positioned beneath a round hole in the ceiling, exposing the figures to the rain and snow.

• The BebelplatzNazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels made Bebelplatz (then called Opernplatz) infamous on 10 May 1933, when he used the square across from Humboldt University to burn 20,000 books by "immoral" authors of whom the Nazis did not approve. Their list included Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Arnold Zweig, Kurt Tucholsky and Sigmund Freud. Today a monument is the reminder, though it blames Nazi students for the episode. When entering the square it's easy to miss the monument. Look dead centre: the monument is underground. A piece of plexiglass allows the viewer to look underground into a large, white room, filled with entirely empty, blank white bookcases. The room is large enough to hold the 20,000 books that were burnt. The absence of books reminds the viewer just what was lost here: ideas. But the event did reveal things to come, as ethnically Jewish author and philosopher Heinrich Heine, whose books were burned, let one of his characters say in an 1821 play: "This was only the foreplay. Where they burn books, they will also burn people." He was correct.

• Deutsches Historisches Museum

  phone: +49 30 203040
  address: Unter den Linden 2
  German historical museum covering everything from pre-history up to the present day. One can spend many, many hours here! The building from 1695/1730 was the Zeughaus (Arsenal) until 1876.

• Friedrichswerdersche Kirche

  address: Werderscher Markt 1
  Nice church located near Unter den Linden/Museum Island, finished in 1830 by Schinkel in English Neogothic style. Nice exhibition inside (neoclassical statues and an exhibition about Schinkel's life and work upstairs). Still closed as of Aug 2018

• St.-Hedwigs-KathedraleDomed Church located at Bebelplatz/Unter den Linden, the oldest (mid-18th century) and one of the biggest Catholic churches in Berlin. Interior was redesigned in a modern style in the 1950s – but still many treasure chambers in the basement. Closed from 1 Sept 2018 for renovations

• Tränenpalast

  phone: +49 30 4677 779 11
  address: Reichstagsufer 17 (just north of Friedrichstraße station)
  Millions of visitors leaving East Berlin by train said tearful goodbyes to their friends and relatives from the East at this former border checkpoint. Hardly a year after the wall came down, the building was turned into a nightclub until it was forced to close in 2006. It re-opened as a museum in September 2011 and now houses a permanent exhibition that brings the absurd normality of everyday life in the divided city back to life.

Friedrichstadt

• GendarmenmarktThe Gendarmenmarkt is a square in the Friedrichstadt with the Konzerthaus (concert hall) and in front of the statue of Germany's poet Friedrich Schiller, the Neue Kirche (New church) and the Französischer Dom (French cathedrals).

• Neue Kirche

  phone: +49 30 229 1760
  Berlin’s Deutscher Dom on the magnificent Gendarmenmarkt square is not to be confused with the Berliner Dom. It was built in 1708. Since 1992 a German Parliament exhibition can be seen here entitled “Paths, Loosing Track and Detours” or the development of parliamentary democracy in Germany – ways and roundabouts. No religious services are held here.

• Französischer Dom

  address: Gendarmenmarkt 5
  The French cathedral houses the Hugenottenmuseum. It represents the ongoing influence on Berlin by the Huguenots who emigrated from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Crown Prince Friedrich William encouraged them to settle here because most of them were skilled workers or otherwise useful to the kingdom. One memorable artwork, in room nine of the museum, pictures Crown Princess Dorothea exclaiming "But he's a refugee!" upon being presented a very valuable set of jewels by Pierre Fromery. The generally agreed-upon view of refugees as poor, without resources let alone diamonds, was blown apart by the talented French Protestants forced to leave their country due to religion. One of the most notable effects of having such a large French population was their influence on the infamous Berlin dialect. Berlinerisch words such as Kinkerlitzchen (from French "quincaillerie" - kitchen equipment) and Muckefuck (from French "mocca faux" - artificial coffee, though that etymology is not universally accepted) are unique to the area. The Französischen Dom (cathedral) itself was built to resemble the main church of the Huguenots in Charenton, France, destroyed in 1688. It has housed the museum since 1929. Closed till 2019

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

phone: +49 20 26 39 43 36

address: Ebertstraße 20

A vast Holocaust memorial designed by the American architect Peter Eisenman. Opened in the spring of 2005, this gigantic abstract artwork covering an entire block near the Brandenburg Gate, including an underground information centre with extensive details on the Holocaust and the people who died during it. The blocks start out at ground level on the outer edges of the memorial, and then grow taller towards the middle, where the ground also slopes downwards. Entry to the information centre is free although priority is given to prebooked groups so there may be a short queue.

Museum für Kommunikation

phone: +49 30 202 94 0

address: Leipziger Straße 16, corner of Mauerstraße

The former Imperial General Post Office, now Museum for telecommunication and post with many interesting historical objects.

Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism

address: Off Ebertstraße in the Tiergarten, across from the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe

A cuboid made of concrete. On the front side of the cuboid is a window, through which visitors can see a short film of two kissing men. The video will be changed every two years and will also show kissing lesbians.

Museumsinsel

• Pergamon MuseumThere are three huge collections housed within this grand building: the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of Near Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of Islamic Art. The Pergamon Museum was the last museum built on Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and was intended to house the great acquisitions brought to Germany by archaeologists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The museum's best-known attraction is the Pergamonsaal. The Pergamon Altar (165 BC), from the eponymous Asia Minor city-state, is three stories high and served as the entrance gate to an entire complex. It is astounding both because of its size and extremely precise detail, especially in a frieze which shows the gods battling giants. The entire room is the same colour as the building's stone, making the details on the frieze section stand out even more. Facing the stairs, on the left hand side of the room there is a small-scale model of the altar which allows the viewer to see where the frieze segments would have been mounted. A 1:300 scale model of Pergamon city is on the right side of the room. The monumental market door of Milet has just been restored.

• Part of the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities) — The most spectacular part of which is the reconstructed façade of the great altar of Pergamon. There is also the perhaps even greater Ish-Tar gate of Babylon, from centuries BC, which is reconstructed together with a stretch of the procession way.
• Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East)
• Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum of Islamic Art) with the façade from Mshatta and the Aleppo Room.

Neues Museum

address: Museumsinsel

• Egyptian Museum and Papyrus CollectionExhibits include the Egyptian and Prehistory and Early History collections. It houses the famous bust of Nefertiti (the legality of its acquisition is still contested by the Egyptian state which is trying to get it back, so you might want to hurry to see it there).

• Museum für Vor- und FrühgeschichteMuseum for Pre- And Early History with objects from the Collection of Classical Antiquities in the Neues Museum.

• Altes Museum

  address: Museumsinsel, Am Lustgarten
  The main floor houses the antiquities collection in an ongoing exhibit called "Neue Antike im Alten Museum" (New Antiquities in the Old Museum). Directly through the front door, entering from the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden, now under reconstruction), there is a domed rotunda with red and white cameos, Greek-style, with statues of the gods. To reach the Hildesheim silver collection, go to the back of the rotunda, turn left, walk through the long gallery and turn left into a small room at the end.

• Alte Nationalgalerie

  phone: +49 30 2090 5801
  address: Museumsinsel, Bodestraße 1-3
  Specializes in 19th-century painting and sculpture; Monet, Manet, Cézanne, C. David Friedrich and other important 18th- and 19th-century artists are well-represented.

• Bode-Museum

  address: Museumsinsel, Monbijoustr. 3
  The museum’s treasures include the sculpture collection with works of art from the middle ages to the 18th century. The Bode museum is best known for its Byzantine art collection and the coin cabinet.

• Berliner Dom

  phone: +49 20 2026-9136
  address: Am Lustgarten
  The city's Protestant cathedral and the burial place of the Prussian kings. You can climb to the top and get a view of the city.

• Stadtschloss – Humboldt-ForumStarted in the 15th century and finished in the mid-18th century, the baroque palace was the residence of electors, kings and emperors until 1918, when it became a museum. The palace was badly damaged during World War II and later razed in 1950, replaced by the GDR with a modernist Palast der Republik. The Palast was in turn gradually dismantled at the turn of the century, as it was discovered to contain asbestos and its former function of housing the GDR parliament became obsolete. Berlin has started in June 2013 construction on a new version of its historic Stadtschloss. Now the building is scheduled to open in 2019.

Alexanderplatz and Alt-Berlin

The square used to host a cattle market (Ochsenplatz). It was named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I when he visited in 1805. It rose to prominence in the 19th century following the construction of railway and gradually became the eastern focal point of Berlin. The bustling area around the square was immortalized by Alfred Döblin in a monumental novel Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929).
The Alexanderplatz area was largely destroyed during the Second World War and redeveloped by socialist city planners as the new centre of East Berlin. The vast expanses of open spaces and large, imposing examples of modern architecture provide for a very different feel than the part of Mitte located across the Spree. Incidentally, the areas directly southwest of modern-day Alexanderplatz were the places where the city of Berlin originates from (Alt-Berlin), and many remains of that can be found interspersed between the modern architecture of the quarter.
Two of the highest buildings in Berlin, the Fernsehturm and the Park Inn hotel, dominate today's Alexanderplatz, while historic buildings such as the Rotes Rathaus, Marienkirche and the Nikolaiviertel flank its sides.

• Fernsehturm

  phone: +49 30 24 75 75 37
  address: Panoramastraße 1A
  At 368 metres, the Fernsehturm is Berlin's tallest and indeed EU's second-tallest building, complected between 1965 and 1969. The main function of the building is television broadcasting, but the shiny sphere atop the tower houses a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Berlin Tourist Information point. The viewing platform sits 203 metres above ground, affording views of as much as 42 km away and featuring a bar. The Sphere restaurant at 207 metres rotates at a speed of one full spin per 30 minutes. There are two lifts from the base to the platform and cafe, taking 40 seconds to reach the top, as well as a 986-step staircase. The Fernsehturm is not accessible to wheelchair users. Not all of the Berliners liked the tower and the overall composition of the Alexanderplatz afforded by the socialist city planners, and they nicknamed the building "Telespargel" ("television asparagus"). During certain times of day, sunlight reflecting from the top caused a large cross-shaped light to shine down on the city. Called the Rache des Papstes (Pope's revenge) by nominally atheist East Berliners, the light-cross was an ironic result of socialist architecture. Rumour has it the architect was deprived of more than his next commission after that fiasco. At night, the Fernsehturm sometimes appears to be shooting light beams from the tower section, giving the impression it's a Death Star à la Star Wars.

• Weltzeituhr

  address: Alexanderplatz
  Built in 1969, this 16-ton, communist-era clock is one of Berlin's main meeting points. Each of its 24 sides corresponds to one of Earth's 24 time zones and it has the names of some of the world's most important cities written on it.

• NeptunbrunnenA bronze fountain by Reinhold Begas. It was erected in 1891 as a present from the city of Berlin to the Kaiser. Neptune, trident in hand, presides over the square supported by sea-nymphs with webbed feet carrying him on a seashell. Denizens of the deep (a seal, an alligator, snakes and turtles, among others) spray water at him in homage while languishing mermaids pour water into the fountain, clutching sea-nets overflowing with marine bounty.

• Rotes RathausThe town hall of Berlin is called so because it is made of red brick, not due to its former political persuasion. There are nice Prussian rooms inside, which are worth a look.

• Marienkirche

  address: Karl-Liebknecht-Straße
  Gothic church, the second oldest (built in late 13th century) of the historical centre of Berlin. It's the highest church tower of Berlin (about 90 m), but seems rather small beneath the gigantic TV tower. The church tower was built in the late 18th century by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the architect of the Brandenburg Gate.

• DomAquarée

  address: Karl-Liebknecht Straße
  The twin buildings of the complex house the Radisson Hotel and the Sea Life Centre. In the Radisson lobby you can have a quick glance at the famous Aquadom, the world's biggest cylindrical aquarium with a built-in elevator. There is no entrance fee for watching, but for taking a trip with the elevator you have to pay the entrance fee for the whole Sea Life Centre.

• Nikolaikirche

  phone: +49 30 24 002-162
  address: Nikolaikirchplatz
  Berlin's oldest church (1230) is a 3-nave hall church. It is in the center of an area destroyed by bombs in the war which was then turned into a faux "old town" by the East German authorities called Nikolaiviertel. The area is more a hodge-podge of relocated buildings than an authentic reproduction, and the newly-built 1988 apartments that attempt to "harmonize" with the older buildings are embarrassing. The church is one of the only structures that was renovated rather than rebuilt. It is best known for a sandstone sculpture called the Spandauer Madonna (1290), but there are other interesting pieces here. When the church was destroyed in 1938 and rebuilt in the 1970s, the communist officials intended to use it as a museum, which did not open until 1987. The museum includes sacred textiles and religious sculpture from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The Nikolaikirche is the showplace of the Nikolaiviertel, which isn't saying much.

• Zille Museum

  phone: +49 30 246 32 502
  address: Propststraße 11
  A museum in Nikolaiviertel dedicated to the Berliner artist Heinrich Zille.

• Hanfmuseum

  phone: +49 30 242 48 27
  address: Mühlendamm 5
  It is the only hemp museum in Germany; you can see the history of hemp, the culture and use of it. You can see hemp grow. There is a cafe downstairs, with an open WiFi access.

• DDR Museum

  phone: +49 30 847 123 73-1
  address: Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 1
  A museum dedicated to everyday life in communist East Germany. The museum has very relaxed rules and you are allowed to touch and examine almost every object, which adds greatly to the experience.

• Volkspark am WeinbergThis sloping public park is very popular among locals for sunbathing, relaxing, having a picnic or playing the guitar.

• Park InnSmall terrace on the top of the Park Inn, publicly accessible. Take the elevator to the 40th floor, and follow the signs up the stairs. Pay the attendant who also serves beer and coffee. Great views of the Fernsehturm. In the summer, consider base jumping off the roof with Jochen Schweizer. It is often closed in bad/windy weather, so look for a notice posted near the elevator that the terrace is closed.

Spreebogen and Regierungsviertel

• Regierungsviertel/SpreebogenThe area to the north of Tiergarten, along the bow of the river Spree (Spreebogen), is home to the German federal institutions such as the parliament (Bundestag, in the historic Reichstag building) and the federal government, as well as the new central train station (Hauptbahnhof) across the river.

• Reichstagsgebäude

  phone: +49 30 227 0
  address: Platz der Republik 1
  This imposing building houses the Federal German Parliament or "Bundestag" and was completed in 1894 to meet the need of the newly-unified German Empire of the Kaisers for a larger parliamentary building. The Reichstag was intended to resemble a Renaissance palace, and its architect, Paul Wallot, dedicated the building to the German people. The massive inscription in front still reads: "Dem Deutschen Volke" - 'For the German people'. The Nazi leader Adolf Hitler exploited the fire which gutted the Reichstag building in 1933 by blaming the Communists for the arson and for attempted revolution. There is good evidence to suggest, however, that his followers were actually responsible and that this was a manufactured crisis. When German reunification became a reality, the new republic was proclaimed here at midnight on 2 October 1990. The Reichstag has undergone considerable restoration and alteration, including the addition of a spectacular glass dome designed by the British architect Norman Foster. The Reichstag building is well-known in the art world thanks to Paris-based Bulgarian artist Christo's mammoth 'Wrapped Reichstag' project in 1995. The entire building was swathed in silver cloth for two weeks that summer. You can visit the glass dome or a parliamentary debate on your own or follow along on a guided tour through the building.

• Bundeskanzleramt

  phone: +49 30 182722720
  address: Willy-Brandt-Straße 1
  The building houses the personal offices of the Chancellor and the Chancellery staff. The Berlin Chancellery is one of the largest government headquarters buildings in the world. By comparison, the new Chancellery building is ten times the size of the White House. A semi official Chancellor apartment is located on the top floor of the building. The 200 square meter two-room flat has thus far only been occupied by Gerhard Schröder; current Chancellor Angela Merkel prefers to live in her private apartment in Berlin. It is not possible to visit the building.

• Kongresshalle – Haus der Kulturen der Welt

  address: John-Foster-Dulles-Allee
  Germany's national centre for contemporary non-European art. The house is a leading centre for the contemporary arts and a venue for projects breaking through artistic boundaries. This architectural landmark was an American contribution to the international building exhibition INTERBAU 1957 as an embodiment of the free exchange of ideas. Colloquially called Schwangere Auster (Pregnant Oyster).

• phone: +49 30 450536156
  address: Charitéplatz 1
  Interesting exhibition charting the development of European hospitals from the 14th century to the present day.

Tiergarten

• Aquarium

  phone: +49 30 254010
  address: Budapester Straße 32
  The largest aquarium in Germany with over 9000 animals that are presented on three storeys in an historic building. Aquarium Berlin is found on the premises of the Zoo, but can also be visited separately. One of the best places on a rainy day with children.

• Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung

  phone: +49 30 2540020
  address: Klingelhöferstraße 14
  Closed for renovations; the temporary Bauhaus-Archiv is at Knesebeckstraße 1-2 in Charlottenburg. Building designed by Walter Gropius. Inside a museum, library, cafe and shop.

• Bendlerblock

  phone: +49 30 26 99 50 00
  address: Stauffenbergstraße 13 - 14
  The Bendlerblock building complex has long held ties to the German military, first serving as the offices of the Imperial German Navy and today housing the Berlin offices of the Ministry of Defense. It was here where, on 20 July 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and other officers led a coup that sought to remove Hitler and the Nazis from power. They failed and were summarily executed in the courtyard, where a memorial stands for these men who are considered German heroes by many. Inside the building you'll find the German Resistance Memorial Center, a permanent exhibit dedicated to the July 20 plot and other individuals in the German resistance.

• Siegessäule

  address: Großer Stern 1 / Straße des 17. Juni
  Want to feel like one of the angels in Wim Wenders' classic film Der Himmel über Berlin (a.k.a. Wings of Desire)? Climb to the top of Gold-Else, as the statue of Victory on the top of the Victory Column is known. Just don't jump off if you're not actually an angel. Unfortunately there is no elevator, so be prepared for 285 steps to the platform at 50.7 m. Else was built to commemorate Prussian military prowess in the wars against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870-71), and moved to her present location by the Nazis. Five roads run into a traffic circle called Grosser Stern, in the center of which is the Siegessäule. Else is visible from much of the city district known as Tiergarten. At the base of the statue are reliefs of war scenes representing the conflicts which this monument memorializes. The Allies forced Germany to take those panels down in 1945, but they were remounted in 1984 and 1987. It also served as a backdrop for a speech by then senator Obama in 2008, after his request to speak in front of Brandenburger Tor caused a political debate in Germany.

• Schloss Bellevue

  address: Spreeweg 1
  Official residence of the President of Germany since 1994.

• Soviet War Memorial

  address: Straße des 17. Juni 4
  One of 3 war memorials in Berlin erected by the Soviet Union to commemorate its war dead, particularly the 80,000 soldiers of the Soviet Armed Forces who died during the Battle of Berlin in April and May 1945.

• Zoological Garden

  phone: +49 30 25401 0
  address: Hardenbergplatz 8 or Budapester Str.
  The largest zoo in the world, both in terms of number of species (1500) and animal population (14,000). It is especially famous for its pandas. The Elephant Gate (Budapester Straße), one of the two entrances and next to the Aquarium, is a traditional photo stop for most visitors because of the architecture.

Spandauer Vorstadt

• Hackesche Höfe

  address: Rosenthaler Straße 40
  The complex consists of eight interconnected courtyards. Plenty of designer boutiques can be found here.

• Neue Synagoge

  phone: +49 30 8802-8300
  address: Oranienburger Straße 28/30
  Built 1859-1866 this is one of the most architecturally stunning synagogues in Germany to survive both the Nazi era and the war.

• Old Jewish Cemetery

  address: Große Hamburger Straße
  Considered the oldest Jewish cemetery in Berlin

• Ramones Museum Berlin

  phone: +49 30 75528890
  address: Krausnickstraße 23
  Pays tribute to the Punk band The Ramones. It displays more than 300 unique and original Ramones memorabilia. You can get a drink at cafe Mania inside the museum.

Potsdamer Platz and Kulturforum

The Potsdamer Platz and the neighbouring Leipziger Platz were important squares in pre-war Berlin, but were almost entirely razed during the Second World War, and in the aftermath they became a strip of no man's land separating East and West Berlin. To bring together the disjointed city, a large-scale project was initiated after the German reunification to fill in the empty space with large, impressive and modern buildings, housing corporate headquarters, commercial and entertainment venues and upscale apartments. Today, the Potsdamer Platz is a major draw for tourists and a lively hub of Berlin.

• Kollhoff Tower

  phone: +49 30 25937080
  address: Potsdamer Platz 1
  Includes the Panoramapunkt, the viewing terrace located 101 metres above ground, accessible by Europe's fastest elevator.

• Sony Center

  address: Potsdamer Platz 1
  With an impressive, circus-tent-like roof over its courtyard and remains of the pre-war Hotel Esplanade incorporated into the modern structure.

• Leipziger PlatzThe octagonal square right east of Potsdamer Platz was recreated to resemble its pre-war layout, but the buildings are modern rather than historic replicas and much taller than their counterparts from before the war. There is a diverse mix of uses among the buildings, which include the Embassy of Canada.

Immediately west of Potsdamer Platz begins the Kulturforum, an ensemble of buildings housing cultural institutions built on the outskirts of the former West Berlin, as most of the seats of former cultural institutions of Berlin remained in the East. The buildings of the Kulturforum represent the various bold styles of architecture of the 1950s and 1960s.

• Kulturforum

  phone: +49 171 6267864
  address: Matthäikirchplatz
  A collection of most important and architecturally impressive cultural institutions, including many museums and galleries, that was built in West Berlin next to the wall separating it from the Berlin historic centre, which remained in the East along with the original cultural institutions of Berlin.

• Neue Staatsbibliothek - Haus Potsdamer Straße

  phone: +49 30 266433888
  address: Potsdamer Straße 33
  Designed by Hans Scharoun.

• Gemäldegalerie

  phone: +49 30-2662101
  address: Matthäikirchplatz (Stauffenbergstraße 40)
  The Gemäldegalerie contains an astounding array of paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Goya, Velasquez and Watteau. The collection contains works from the old Bodemuseum on Museumsinsel in the East, now closed, and the former Gemäldegalerie in Dahlem. Its strong points are German paintings of the 13-16th centuries, Netherlandish painting of the 15th and 16th centuries, Flemish paintings of the 17th century, and miniature paintings of the 16th-19th centuries. In the newer section of the museum, designed by architects Heinz Hilmer and Christoph Sattler, there is enough space to display 1,150 masterpieces in the main gallery and 350 in the studio gallery - of the almost 2,900 pieces in the European painting collections. Established in 1830, the newly built gallery from 1998 has about 7,000 sq m of exhibition space (a complete tour of the 72 rooms covers almost 2 km).

• Kunstgewerbemuseum

  phone: +49 20 266 2902
  address: Tiergartenstraße 6
  The oldest museum of its kind in Germany which, despite great losses during the World War II, still possesses one of the world's primary collections of European applied art. There are two sections to the collection: one located at the Kulturforum in Tiergarten, the other at Köpenick Palace.

• Kupferstichkabinettt

  address: Matthäikirchplatz
  The largest collection of graphic art in Germany.

• Neue Nationalgalerie

  address: Potsdamer Straße 50
  Spectacular building by Mies van der Rohe contains its own collection and temporary exhibitions.

Oranienburger Vorstadt

• Berlin Wall Memorial

  phone: +49 30 464-1030
  address: Bernauer Straße 119 (visitor center) and 111 (documentation center)
  The memorial site stretches along the full 1.5km length of Bernauer Straße. The listing marker points to the visitor center. Various monuments can be found along the entire length of the street, documenting nearby escape attempts and tunnels; captions are in German and English. The documentation centre across the street on Bernauer Straße/Ackerstraße is excellent (although most of the documentation is in German). The viewing platform next to the documentation centre gives you a tiny hint of the true scale of the Wall and how terrifying the "no man's land" between the two sections of walls must have been. The monument (that you can see from the platform) is a complete section of 4th generation wall - both inside and outside sections, and you can peer through from the east side to see the remains of the electric fence and anti-tank devices in the death strip. It really helps you understand what an incredible feat it was to get from one side to the other and why so many died doing it. The memorial site is often missed by tourists but an absolute must for anyone interested in this part of the city's history. It's a memorial to those who died crossing, so you won't, fortunately, get the tackiness of the Checkpoint Charlie area; instead you will be left with a haunting feeling of what life with the wall may have been really like.
  Bernauer Straße is a street with a great deal of Wall history: it came to tragic prominence on August 13, 1961 when East German authorities closed the border and the street (with houses in the East but the street in the West). Border guards walled the doors and windows shut to keep Easterners from escaping by jumping out the window while Westerners (including police and fire brigades who brought life nets to help catch refugees) looked on in horror. The first recorded Wall-related death - the notorious Peter Fechter case (he bled to death in the "no-man's-land" with both sides unwilling or unable to help him) - was here, as was one of the famous tunnels and the famous photograph of the GDR border guard leaping over the barbed wire.

• Kapelle der VersöhnungThis chapel was built on the site of a church built in 1894 which sat on the "death strip" and was thus blown up by the GDR authorities in 1985. The chapel is the site of occasional memorial services for victims of the wall.

• Museum für Naturkunde

  phone: +49 30 2093-8591
  address: Invalidenstraße 43
  More than 30 million objects in the scientific collection and a fascinating exhibition in one of the most significant institutions of its kind in the world. Some parts still under construction.

Private art galleries

As Berlin is a city of art, it is quite easy to find an art gallery on your way. They provide a nice opportunity to have a look at modern artists' work in a not so crowded environment for free. Some gallery streets in Mitte with more than about a dozen galleries are Auguststraße, Linienstraße, Torstraße, Brunnenstraße (all north of S-Bahn station Oranienburger Straße) and Zimmerstraße (U-Bahn station Kochstraße). A directory listing of all Mitte's art galleries can be found on Berolin Art.

• Art Center Berlin Friedrichstraße

  phone: +49 30 27879020
  address: Friedrichstraße 134
  Four floors of exhibitions with a relatively good variety of genres and artists. A very nice oasis of calm from the busy Friedrichstraße.

• Galerie Eigen & Art

  phone: +49 30 280 6605
  address: Auguststraße 26
  One of the most famous German art galleries, home to the Neue Leipziger Schule (Neo Rauch et al.)

• loop—raum fur aktuelle kunst

  address: Jägerstraße 5
  Known for being the "incubator" of future famous Berlin artists. Primarily featuring sculpture video, and painting.

Theater

• Admiralspalast

  phone: +49 30-2250 7000,+49 30 4799 7499
  address: Friedrichstraße 101

• Berliner Ensemble

  phone: +49 30 284-08-155
  address: Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1
  Contemporary theatre.

• Chamäleon Theater Berlin

  phone: +49 30 4000 5930
  address: Rosenthaler Straße 40
  Located in the trendy quarter Berlin-Mitte in the stunning Hackesche Höfe, Chamaeleon Theatre offers exciting cross genre variety and music shows.

• Deutsches Theater

  phone: +49 30 28441-221, +49 30 28441-225
  address: Schumannstraße 13a
  Classical theater with impressive line up of actors and directors. Some events have English subtitles.

• Kabarett Theater Distel

  phone: +49 30 20 44 704
  address: Friedrichstraße 101
  Cabaret and comedy, political satire in German. Their home venue is in the Admiralspalast.

• Kunsthaus ACUD

  address: Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin
  The ACUD arts centre houses a theater, a gallery, two cinemas, a club, a concert venue, a bar and several artist's studios.

• Maxim Gorki Theater

  phone: +49 30 20221-115 (box office), +49 30 20221-129 (visitor service)
  address: Am Festungsgraben 2
  The smallest municipal theatre in Berlin. It was an important venue for contemporary theatre in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Nowadays its program continues with its political critique. Next to productions of classics, it has a big focus on new and contemporary writing and productions. It aims at being open to anyone regardless of their background. Sometimes plays the 3 Pennys Opera by Brecht.

• Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

  phone: +49 30 24065-5 (switchboard ), +49 30 24065-777 (customer service)
  address: Linienstraße 227 / Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
  Sometimes controversial, modern theater.

Opera and musicals

• Friedrichstadt-Palast

  phone: +49 30 2326 2326
  address: Friedrichstraße 107
  Berlin's biggest show with over 100 artists on the biggest theater stage in the world.

• Komische Oper Berlin

  phone: +49 30 47997400
  address: Behrenstraße 55-57
  Founded in 1947 and at the forefront of modern opera. Their orchestra also performs regular concerts. Guided tours behind the scenes are offered. Each seat has subtitles where you can choose your language.

• Staatsoper Unter den Linden

  phone: +49 30 20354 555 (tickets), +49 30 20354 0 (general enquiries)
  address: Unter den Linden 7
  The impressive building and royal history make the building alone worth a visit. The building reopened in December 2017 after extensive refurbishments and acoustic improvements. The general music director of the Staatsoper and its resident orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, is the conductor Daniel Barenboim.

• Theater am Potsdamer Platz

  address: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1
  Musicaltheater and Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival).

Concerts

• Berliner Philharmonie

  phone: +49 30 254 88 999
  address: Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1
  The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall with 2,440 seats in Berlin-Tiergarten (constructed 1960–1963 and designed by Hans Scharoun) and the home of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Famous building and outstanding musicians. Reservations are recommended, but cheaper tickets are usually available 2–4 hr before the concert if not sold out. Every Tuesday (September to June) 1pm-2pm free lunch concert; come early. In the winter, late-night concerts (10:30 or 11pm) are a bargain and often have more avant-garde or unconventional formats. The Kammermusiksaal (Chamber Music Hall) was added later in 1984–1987 as venue for smaller concerts with 1,180 seats. It is linked to the foyer of the Philharmonie. Both buildings are located in the Kulturforum area.

• Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler (HfM)

  phone: +49 30 688305700
  address: Neuer Marstall, Schloßplatz 7, 10178 Berlin
  The HfM offers many concerts by their students and other professional musicians. The concerts are held at various venues of the HfM, such as at Charlottenstr. 55, 10117 Berlin or at the address from this listing.

• Konzerthaus Berlin

  phone: +49 30 203092 101 (tickets ), +49 30 203092 333 (general enquiries)
  address: Gendarmenmarkt

Cinema

• During summertime you can enjoy an open-air cinema in front of the Altes Museum, showing alternative movies (most of them in original language). It's very wise to buy tickets for the "Sommerkino" in the afternoon if you don't want to join a long queue at night with the chance of not getting a ticket.

• Babylon

  phone: +49 30 2425969 (from 17:00)
  address: Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30
  Great cinema with a large program of non-mainstream movies. They have a working cinema organ, which is also played every Saturday for free midnight screenings of silent movies.

• CineStar IMAX im Sony Center

  phone: +49 30 260 66 400
  address: Potsdamer Straße 4
  The worldwide recognised theatre at Potsdamer Straße

• CineStar OriginalThe "CineStar Original" cinema located inside the Sony Center at the Potsdamer-Platz shows only movies in original version (e.g. in English, without subtitles).

• Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe

  phone: +49 30 2834603
  address: Rosenthaler Straße 40/41
  Very broad range of movies.

• Kino Central

  phone: +49 30 28599973
  address: Rosenthalerstraße 39
  Repertory cinema located in an ex-squat.

Spa

• Adlon Day SpaOne of the best spas in town, next to the Brandenburg Gate in the Adlon Hotel.

• Club Olympus Spa & Fitness

  phone: +49 30 2553 1234
  address: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2
  At the Grand Hyatt Berlin Hotel.

• Day SpaIn Riverside Hotel next to the Friedrichstadtpalast.

Other

• BlueMax Theater

  address: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 4
  Home of the Blue Man Group. Used to house a IMAX cinema.

• Großer TiergartenBerlin's largest park. In the summer and on weekends you will see loads of families with their barbecues.

• Legoland Discovery Centre

  phone: +49 30 30 10 400
  address: Potsdamer Straße 4
  An educational attraction for children, featuring a LEGO replica of Berlin

Department stores and shopping centres

• Alexa CentreA large shopping centre complex right off Alexanderplatz.

• Galeries LafayetteThe German dependance of the Paris-based French department store chain is a testament to Berlin's newfound role as a fashion hub, and with its unique modern architecture, a landmark of its own. It is all about fashion - the best labels and the latest trends.

• LP12 - Mall Of BerlinThe newest and the largest mall in Berlin with the well known fashion brands and a decent food court.

• Potsdamer Platz ArkadenA medium sized shopping mall with the usual variety of department stores and boutiques.

• Quartier 206Next door to Galeries Lafayette is this upscale department store focusing on high-end fashion, with some cosmetics and personal care products to boot.

Flea markets

• Flea Market at Arkonaplatz

  address: Arkonaplatz 1

• Flea Market at Bode-Museum

  address: Am Kupfergraben

Gifts and souvenirs

• ausberlin

  phone: +49 30 97005640
  address: Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 9
  Alternative souvenirs (design, fashion and small stuff from Berlin designers and artists).

• Fassbender & Rausch – Chocolatiers am Gendarmenmarkt

  phone: +49 30-20 45 84 43
  address: Charlottenstraße 60
  The world's largest chocolaterie.

Record shops

• Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann

  phone: +49 30-2025 1111
  address: Friedrichstraße 90
  The greatest books and musicshop in Berlin with English Bookshop

• Leila M

  address: Rosa Luxemburg Str. 30 (Mitte), inside Kino Babylon
  A large selection of music on CD & vinyl: romantic songwriters, inspiring pop-music, minimal techno, contemporary electronica and so on.

• RotationWeinbergsweg 3 (Mitte). Offers a vast range of techno, house and electronica. Weekly news. Open M-Sa 12:00-20:00.

Postdamer Platz and Friedrichstraße

Budget

• Splendid Delikatessen

  address: Dorotheenstraße 37
  Offers very good (mostly) southern German food such as Leberkäse, Maultaschen and typical salads (beetroot, potato, etc.)

• Weilands

  phone: +49 30-258 99 717
  address: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, 10785 Berlin
  Salads, soups and other healthy food next to the Casino at Potsdamer Platz. Big outdoor terrace in summer.

• Witty's Currywurst

  phone: +49 30 20649767
  address: Friedrichstraße 141
  Organic currywurst and fries.

Mid-range

• Bombay

  phone: +49 30 28 48 49 53
  address: Friedrichstraße 106c, 10117 Berlin
  Excellent Indian restaurant

• Die Berliner Republik

  phone: +49 30 30872293
  German restaurant

• Ishin Japanese Deli

  phone: +49 30 20674829
  address: Mittelstraße 24, 10117 Berlin
  The restaurant has the atmosphere of a busy waiting hall, but the facts that it is often crowded, that there are many Japanese customers and that they are the caterer of the Japanese Embassy speak for themselves. Sushi, salads, Don, and Cey-Ro. Free green tea. Happy hour until 16:00 and Wed and Sat all day long. They also have a branch near Checkpoint Charlie at Charlottenstraße.

• Midtown Grill

  phone: +49 30-22000 6415
  address: Ebertstraße 3, 10785 Berlin
  Following the tradition of the old American steakhouses, at Midtown Grill you will find the best steaks in town.

• Nola's

  phone: +49 30 44040766
  address: Veteranenstraße 9, 10119 Berlin
  Swiss restaurant in an historic 1950s pavillion with a fantastic view over the lively Weinbergspark from its outdoor terrace.

• Ständige Vertretung

  phone: +49 30 2823965
  address: Schiffbauerdamm 8
  Ständige Vertretung stands for Permanent Mission. In times of the cold war the West-German Federal Republic and the East German Democratic Republic didn’t have regular embassies, but Permanent Missions in Bonn and East-Berlin. Nowadays Ständige Vertretung represents Rhenish food specialities and beer. Excellent tarte flambee (Flammekuchen).

Splurge

• Brasserie Desbrosses

  phone: +49 30-33777 6340
  address: Potsdamer Platz 3
  The liaison of old and new in the ambiance of an authentic French Brasserie works perfectly with the Brasserie Desbrosses. Here guests may enjoy French cuisine in a carefully restored and leger ambiance.

• Brasserie Ganymed

  phone: +49 30-28599046
  address: Schiffbauerdamm 5
  Good French cuisine direct at the terrace of the river and close to the theaters.

• Brecht Keller

  phone: +49 30-2823843
  address: Chausseestr. 125
  Famous basement restaurant in former house of Brecht with Austrian inspired kitchen (receipts from Helene Weigel), reservations essential!

• Chi Sing Restaurant

  phone: +49 30 4200 892 84
  address: Rosenthaler Str. 62
  Reservation are welcome!

• Grill Royal

  phone: +49 30 288 79 288
  address: Friedrichstr. 105b
  Best grill restaurant in town with divine steaks and fresh oysters. Reservation for every night is essential.

• Ma

  phone: +49 30 3011 17 333
  address: Behrenstr. 72
  One Michelin star and 18 points from Gault Millau make this asian inspired restaurant one of the best in Berlin.

Around Oranienburger Straße and Rosenthaler Platz

Budget

• Chay Viet

  phone: +49 30 48494554
  address: Brunnenstraße 164, 10119 Berlin
  Vegetarian Vietnamese family restaurant, many dishes are Vegan.

• Cô Cô bánh mì deli

  phone: +49 30 24630595
  address: Rosenthalerstr. 2, 10119 Berlin
  Baguette, the Vietnamese style. Fresh and very tasty.

• Dada Falafel

  phone: +49 30 27596927
  address: Linienstraße 132, 10115 Berlin
  Tasty falafel and other mideastern food. Prepare for long queues.

• Kasbah

  phone: +49 30-2759 4361
  address: Gipsstraße 2, 10119 Berlin
  Gipsstraße 2. Moroccan restaurant, cafe and bar.

• Lucky StarAs authentic as you can get in Berlin Chinese food wise. They also have "all you can eat hot pot" deal for €12.80/person (minimum 2 people), which even though it lacks some ingredients you would normally get in a hot pot in Beijing (more variety of mushrooms - here you just get champignons - tofu skin, etc), still tastes as it should taste. For the hot pot you can choose between clear pot, spicy pot, or split pot (clear/spicy) and they even provide majiang (peanut sauce) for dipping!

• Taeb's Bistro

  phone: +49 30 54713420
  address: Veteranenstraße 27, 10119 Berlin
  This authentic Lebanese bistro which opened in the mid 2000s serves one of the best shish taouk, schawarma, falafel, halloumi and kofta sandwiches and dishes in town. Ingredients are self-made and prepared freshly. Angela Merkel once dined here, too.

Mid-range

• Amrit

  phone: +49 30 28884840
  address: Oranienburger Str. 45
  Reasonable Indian restaurant

• Kopps

  phone: +49 30 432 097 75
  address: Linienstraße 94, 10115 Berlin
  Vegan restaurant with upmarket touch that specialises in rather typical German dishes like Roulade or Cordon Bleu that Vegans would normally not eat. Weekend brunch from 09:30 - 16:00.

• Papa Pane di Sorrento

  phone: +49 30 28092701
  address: Ackerstraße 23, 10115 Berlin
  Italian family restaurant where supposedly stars like Brad Pitt and Katie Holmes have been sighted. It has the decor of a waiting hall and is often crowded and slightly hectic, but the pizzas and the tiramisu are still worth it.

• Susuru

  phone: +49 30-211 1182
  address: Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 17, Berlin 10178
  Rosa-Luxemburg Str. 17. Stylish new Japanese restaurant specialises in Udon dishes - Japanese noodles in a tasty soup. Be prepared to get a bit slurpy with your soup - it adds to the flavour!

Splurge

• Kuchi

  phone: +49 30 28 38 66
  address: Gipsstr. 3
  Excellent sushi restaurant with a nice garden right in the centre of Mitte.

Around Gendarmenmarkt

Budget

• Little Green Rabbit

  phone: +49 30 91464481
  address: Jägerstraße 27, 10117 Berlin
  Tasty Soups and salads in a quiet side street of Gendarmenmarkt, mostly frequented by the office workers around. They don't accept cash.

• Pasta Deli

  phone: +49 30 49201504
  address: Kronenstraße 55-58, 10117 Berlin
  Fresh pasta and salads.

Mid-range

• Good Time

  phone: +49 30 20074870
  address: Hausvogteiplatz 11
  Asian fusion food in a tasteful decor, also suitable for a business lunch.

Splurge

• AignerHaute cuisine mixed with influences from Berlin and Vienna (reservations essential).

• Borchardt

  phone: +49 30 81886262
  address: Französische Str. 47, 10117 Berlin
  Where the rich and famous go since 1895 - reservations and decent clothing recommended. Fin de siècle decor, attentive service. Famous for their Schnitzel. Their lunch offers start at 13 €.

• Fischers Fritz

  phone: +49 30-2 33 63 63
  address: Charlottenstraße 49
  Offers a Japanese breakfast in the Regent hotel.

• Lutter & Wegner

  phone: +49 30-20 29 540
  address: Charlottenstraße 56
  Berlin cuisine in top style, since 1811. They offer their own sparkling, red and white wine selections.

Cafés

• Barcomi's Deli

  address: Sophie-Gips-Höfe, 2. Hof, Sophienstr. 21, 10178 Berlin
  A deli with superb American cakes and cookies run by the American Cynthia Barcomi. Apple walnut caramel cake, Devil's Food cake, Lemon Meringue Pie, Triple Chocolate Cookies, they have it all. There are also bagels, salads and lasagna on the menu for the non sweet-tooths. You can try to repeat the wonder at home with her four recipe books. The also roast their own coffee which is excellent as well. Not so easy to find though - it is in a courtyard of a building situated roughly in the middle of the quiet Sophienstraße and there is only a small sign outside. Maybe look it up on Google Maps before visiting. The smaller original branch is situated at Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg.

• The Barn

  address: Augusstraße 58
  A small cafe that takes coffee very seriously. Or, to say it in their words: "Please be aware that we have certain preferences when serving a coffee the way we believe it tastes best." Children are not really welcome, there is only a restricted area for laptops. Good sandwiches.

• Café am Neuen SeeA must-do during the day if the weather is nice. This cafe is more like an outdoor beergarden. Even though it's right in the middle of West Berlin, the "Café am Neuen See" is located in the middle of the Tiergarten next to a small lake. If you are a (romantic) couple, make sure to rent one of the rowboats and enjoy the silent and romantic scenery. The nicer the weather, the more packed this place gets. Don't even dream of a place to sit if it's one of the rare, warm Sundays.

• Café Fleury

  address: Weinbergsweg 20, 10119 Berlin
  Cute little French cafe near Weinbergspark. Excellent breakfast and tasty baguettes. Tends to be very crowded on weekends, be there when it opens if you want to have breakfast. If it is full, try the small sister Petit Fleury on the opposite side of the road.

• Cafe Solvey

  phone: +49 30-67961222
  address: Elisabethkirchstraße 1, 10115 Berlin
  Lovely little vintage cafe. While drinks and cakes are decent, but not extraordinary for Mitte, the decor is really cute and it is very quiet. A good place to relax and read a magazine or book.

• Dachgartenrestaurant Käfer

  phone: +49 30 22 62 99 0
  address: Platz der Republik 1
  Breakfast from 09:00-10:30 at the top of the Germany's parliament. You have to contact them in advance and need to show your ID, since the entrance is through the parliament building.

• Ebe Ano

  phone: +49 3047384590
  address: Pohl Straße 52.
  An ethical cafe/restaurant with international flair.

• Gorki Park

  phone: +49 30 4487286
  address: Weinbergsweg 25, 10119 Berlin
  The famous Russian retro-sytle bar and café with its 1950s lamps and wallpapers offers vodka and borscht.

• Kauf Dich Glücklich

  phone: +49 30 48623348
  address: Kastanienallee 54, 10119 Berlin
  The café with its iconic colored chairs on the terrace which at the same time is a shop for fashion and design. The venue which is so typical of the hipster-hedonist Kastanienallee neighborhood offers coffee, crêpes, waffles and housemade ice cream.

• Sankt Oberholz

  address: Rosenthaler Straße 72a, 10119 Berlin
  A very Mitte place directly at Rosenthaler Platz where the new digital boheme is at home and supposably new business ideas and startups are developed. Almost everybody has a laptop, conversations are rare. Goes by the nicknames "hipster hell" or "unofficial Apple store". They also offer coworking spaces.

• Strandbad Mitte

  phone: +49 30 24 62 89 63
  address: Kleine Hamburger Straße 16 (access through Augusstraße)
  Good breakfast and playground next to the restaurant.

• Telecafé

  phone: +49 30 242 33 33
  address: Panoramastraße 1a
  Enjoy breakfast in front of a city view right at the top of the Fernsehturm.

• Zimt und Zucker

  phone: +49 30 81010858
  address: Schiffbauerdamm 12, 10117 Berlin
  A small and lively cafe in the style of the 20s. There is a terrace on the river in summer. Their German cheesecake (with Quark and therefore lighter than the American version) comes especially recommended.

Bars

• 103 Bar

  address: 49 Kastanienallee
  Nice place to have a drink, don't miss the White Russian.

• Belushi's

  phone: +49 30 8145 3960
  address: Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 39-41
  A popular English speaking Europe-wide chain bar with one of largest range of live sports events. A very relaxed atmosphere with a 5-hour happy hour each night. Belongs to the large Beds and Bars company.

• FC Magnet Bar

  phone: +49 30 24352455
  address: Veteranenstraße 26, 10119 Berlin
  This retro-style bar with its orange waiting room seats is a popular and often crowded venue for watching all important football games on multiple large projection screens, for dancing and for playing kicker.

• Kumpelnest 3000

  phone: +49 30 2616918
  address: Lützowstraße 23, 10785 Berlin
  This tiny dive bar was founded in 1987 by an arts student and originally a venue where gay-lesbian, punk and postpunk guest mingled. While located in a otherwise emptied residential area with no further nightlife, alone the visual overexposure by its crazy decoration makes it worth a visit.

• Newton Bar

  phone: +49 30-20 61 29 90
  address: Charlottenstr. 57
  Impressive bar that is the must hang-out place for the beautiful, the famous and the rich. Excellent cigar and whiskey selection.

• Reingold

  phone: +49 30 217 516 45
  address: Novalisstraße 11
  Lounge in a former locomotive construction hall (1930s style), mix of after work crowd and normal scene.

• Riva

  phone: +49 30 24 72 2688
  address: Dircksenstraße 142
  This stylish bar, named after Italian football star Luigi Riva, boasts a colorfully displayed curved ceiling painted in red, yellow, and purple squares. It's the perfect spot for grabbing one of the assortment of exotic martinis or champagne cocktails.

• Victoria Bar

  phone: +49 30-25 75 99 77
  address: Potsdamer Straße 102
  Comfortable bar with a huge variety of cocktails.

• Weinerei Forum

  phone: +49 30 4406983
  address: Fehrbelliner Str. 57, 10119 Berlin
  This long-standing bohemian, retro-style venue offers vegetarian food by day and becomes a wine bar in the evening.

Clubs

• 40 Seconds

  phone: +49 30 890 642 41
  address: Potsdamer Straße 58
  Named for the amount of time it takes the elevator to reach the dance floor, this posh club has three roof terraces, a dinner area, and an amazing view of the city. Features mainstream R'n'B and house music. Come here in the summer when it's warm.

• Adagio

  address: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1
  A place with chandeliers for the healthy and older (30+) crowd.

• Cafe Moskau

  address: Karl-Marx-Allee 34
  Every Sunday night there is the GMF, a mainly gay party.

• CCCP

  phone: +49 179 69 29 13
  address: Rosenthaler Str. 71
  CCCP is a GDR-inspired club/bar with a nice atmosphere and alternative music.

• Club der polnischen Versager

  address: Ackerstraße 169
  From Polish films to country music, everything to make our neighbours feel like home.

• Golden Gate

  phone: +49 30 57704278
  address: Schicklerstraße 4, 10179 Berlin
  Longstanding dirty, dark and trashy after hours techno club near to Jannowitzbrücke with two floors where people go to dance and not to see and to be seen.

• Grüner Salon

  address: Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz 2
  On weekends hip hop, electro, 80s and indie with freestyle DJs. Also features Swing/Tango Argentino/Salsa Parties.

• House of Weekend

  phone: +49 152 24293140
  address: Alexanderstraße 7, 10178 Berlin
  The Weekend is one of the longest established techno and electro clubs in Mitte and located on the rooftop of the historic Haus des Reisens high-rise building with fantastic views over Alexanderplatz and the Fernsehturm. The rooftop garden is on the 17th floor. Electro, techno and house.

• Kaffee Burger/Russendisko

  phone: +49 30 280 464 95
  address: Torstraße 60
  Bar and club with GDR living room atmosphere. Russendisko is performed every second Saturday by author Wladimir Kaminer. Sometimes live music (Neo-Polka).

• KitKatClub

  address: Köpenicker Straße 76
  A very famous address, a unique clubbing concept mixing techno/electro/trance music with sexual freedom. Nonstop party from Saturday night to Sunday evening. The owner of the KitKatClub, Simon Thaur, is famous for his extreme-fetish porno movies. Be careful and open-minded, and respect the strict dresscode of fetish, latex, leather, kinky, and high style glamour.

• Levee Club

  address: Neue Promenade 10
  It is small and comfortable. They mainly play indie and electronic music and sometimes 60ies. People from 18-27 and sometimes older go there. The entrance is mostly cheap.

• M-BIA

  phone: +49 0172 7582650
  address: Dircksenstraße 123–124, 10178 Berlin
  Techno club below the arches of the S-Bahn that upholds the vibe of the 1990s with an industrial interior, changing decorations and techno and psytrance nights.

• OHM

  address: Köpenicker Str. 70, 10179 Berlin
  Techno club in the former battery room of the disused power plant which also hosts the Tresor and Kraftwerk venues. Has a very industrial ambience, ceramic tiles on the wall, a small dance floor, and a good sound system.

• Sophienclub

  address: Sophienstr. 6
  Tuesdays is Britpop, Disco on Thursdays and Funk & Soul on Saturdays.

• Tresor

  address: Köpenicker Str. 70, 10179 Berlin
  Legendary club dating back to 1990s and the start of techno/house scene. Perhaps the Berlin techno club. The old venue in the vault space of the former Wertheim department store in Leipziger Str. was closed in 2005, but Tresor reopened in May 2007 in a decommissioned power plant in the southeast of Berlin-Mitte.

• Clärchens Ballhaus

  address: Auguststraße 24
  Traditional dance hall and restaurant established 1913. One of the few surviving Berlin ballrooms from the pre-WW1 era, featuring a hall of mirrors. Primarily known for its dance events (be it Disco, Swing, Salsa, Tango, Cha-Cha or "Schwoof", i.e. freestyle), it also hosts concerts, but you may as well just come for dinner or a drink. The venue has been a set for films like Inglourious Basterds and Stauffenberg.

Accommodation in Mitte is mostly catered for the backpacker or business traveller so the mid-range market is small. When you intend to travel for a trade fair, prices tend to rise fast but not as bad as in Frankfurt. During off-peak times, the splurge hotels offer substantials discounts that bring down the price to mid-range level (€120 per night is offered sometimes), so check carefully upfront for special offers.

Dorotheenstadt and Unter den Linden area

Splurge

• Eurostars Berlin

• Hotel Adlon

  phone: +49 30 2261-0
  Unter den Linden 77 (Pariser Platz, Unter den Linden), Located directly at the Brandenburg Gate and was rated the best hotel of Europe in 2006.

• Hotel de RomeLocated at Bebelplatz next to Unter Den Linden and the Museumsinsel. Comfort and style on a whole new level and also a very good bar and Italian restaurant.

• Maritim proArte hotel Berlin

• Melia Berlin

  phone: +49 30 20607900
  address: Friedrichstraße 103
  Modern Spanish four star hotel with excellent location and stylish, well furnished rooms, includes safe in room but no coffee making facilities and poor TV and air-conditioning . Good tapas bars and nice river views from breakfast. Good cold and hot breakfast options.

• NH Berlin Friederichstraße

• The Regent BerlinCharlottenstraße 49. Former Four Seasons hotel now managed by the Taiwan-based Regent chain. Located next to Gendarmenmarkt near Unter Den Linden.

• The Westin Grand Berlin

  phone: +49 30-20270
  address: Friedrichstraße 158-164
  Five-star hotel provides newly decorated accommodations facing the famous boulevard. Pomp architecture of the GDR.

Friedrichstadt/Leipziger Straße area

Budget

• Cityhostel Berlin

  phone: +49 30 2388 66 850
  address: Glinka Str. 5-7
  11 minutes away from Brandenburg Gate & Potsdamer Platz. The Hostel is used by the government of North Korea to generate foreign currency and may be shut down as a consequence of sanctions against the North Korean regime.

Mid-range

• Courtyard by Marriott Berlin City CentreAxel Springer Straße 55, a two-minute walk to the subway and situated close to highlights.

• Mercure Hotel & Residenz Berlin Checkpoint Charlie

• Motel One Berlin-Spittelmarkt

• NH Berlin Mitte

  address: Leipziger Straße 106-111
  Renovated in 2008, this hotel offers 392 spacious bedrooms, meeting rooms and a spa.

Splurge

• Hilton Berlin

  phone: +49-30-202300
  address: Mohrenstraße 30, Berlin, 10117
  Mohrenstraße 30. It is situated near Gendarmenmarkt.

Alexanderplatz area

Budget

• ibis Budget Berlin Alexanderplatz

• ibis Styles Berlin Alexanderplatz

• one80º Hostel Berlin

  phone: +49 30 280 4462 22
  address: Otto-Braun-Straße 65
  6 minutes away from Alexanderplatz.

Mid-range

• Holiday Inn Berlin-Alexanderplatz

  phone: +49 30 740 747 400
  address: Theanolte-Bähnisch-Str. 2; 10178 Berlin

• H2 Hotel Berlin-Alexanderplatz

• Mercure Berlin-Alexanderplatz

• Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Berlin Alexanderplatz

  phone: +49 30 2389-0
  address: Alexanderplatz 7, 10178 Berlin
  Germany's tallest hotel at Alexanderplatz Square features unique views to Berlin

• Ramada Hotel Berlin-Alexanderplatz

Splurge

• Hotel Indigo Berlin-Alexanderplatz

  phone: +49 30 5050860
  address: Bernhard-Weiss-Straße 5, 10178 Berlin

• Radisson Blu Hotel

  phone: +49 30 238 280
  address: Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 3
  The main attraction of the hotel is the AquaDom, the world's largest cylindrical aquarium containing one million litres of saltwater.

Potsdamerplatz area

Budget

• Three Little Pigs Hostel

  phone: +49 30 - 26 39 588 0
  address: Stresemannstr 66 10963 Berlin

Splurge

• Grand Hyatt Berlin

  phone: +49 30 2553 1234
  address: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2
  During the Berlinale film festival, this is the primary hotel to stay because most major attractions are within walking distance.

• The Mandala Hotel

  address: Potsdamer Straße 3
  Hotel on Potsdamer Platz, Kulturforum, Neue Nationalgalerie and the Philharmony.

• The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

  address: Potsdamer Platz 3
  An unforgettable 5-star hotel.

Luisenstadt area

Mid-range

• Best Western Hotel Am Spittelmarkt

• NH Berlin Kreuzberg

  phone: +49 30 278040
  address: Heinrich-Heine-Platz 11

• Novotel Berlin MitteThe only hotel on Museumsinsel

• Park Plaza Wallstreet Berlin Mitte

Splurge

• Art'otel Mitte

  phone: +49 30 240620
  address: Wallstr. 70-73
  A stylish hotel though with smallish rooms. Good breakfast, double-check that your reservation includes it. Helpful staff.

North of Spree

Budget

• Ballhaus Berlin Hostel

  phone: +49 30 28484471
  address: Chausseestr. 102
  Berlin’s oldest hostel is housed in a unique old brick building which also hosts Berlin’s oldest ballroom, and now also one of Berlin’s oldest pubs, the infamous Alt-Berlin. Carrying on the tradition of the ballroom downstairs, the hostel's themes range from the previous golden 20s to the upcoming 20s.

• baxpax downtown Hostel Berlin

  phone: +49 30 2787 4880
  address: Ziegelstr. 29
  Hip, stylish cross between youth hostel and hotel with a mixture of top level service and multi-cultural and cozy atmosphere. They have a nice bar, a roof top terrace with a pool and free wifi.

• The Circus Hostel

  phone: +49 30 2839 1433
  address: Weinbergsweg 1a
  2-bed rooms start at €28 per person, sleeping hall starts at €19. Not to be confused with the hotel of the same name across the street.

• EasyHotel

  address: Rosenthaler Straße 69
  Very basic, cheap and clean: small room with tiny bath room. The nearest metro station is on Rosenthaler Platz.

• Gästehaus Berlin Mitte

  phone: +49 30 992 968 820
  address: Habersaathstraße 40a

• Heart of Gold Hostel Berlin

  phone: +49 30 2900 3300
  address: Johannisstr. 11

• Helter Skelter Hostel Berlin

  phone: +49 30 280 44 997
  address: Kalkscheunenstr. 4-5
  Double rooms start at €46/room, big dorms start at €13.

• St Christopher's Berlin

  phone: +49 30 8145 3960
  address: 39-41 Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße
  A new well maintained hostel with large public bar downstairs located in Mitte. Generally good security and friendly international staff. Part of a large independent hostel chain.

• wombats City Hostel Berlin

  phone: +49 30 8471028-0
  address: Alte Schönhauser Str. 2
  All rooms with shower and toilet; free WLAN, bar with happy hour etc.

Mid-range

• Amano Auguststraße

  phone: +49 30 8094150
  address: Auguststraße 43, 10119 Berlin
  This stylish hotel of the Amano chain is recommended for travellers who like extremely minimalist design. It has a nice rooftop bar and a fashionable cocktail bar with DJs.

• Best Western Hotel Berlin Mitte

• Circus Hotel

  phone: +49 30 20003939
  Rosenthalerstr. 1 - This stylish hotel is close to the Rosenthaler Platz U-Bahn, and is the more luxurious version of the Circus Hostel. Each room has an individual and colorful design. Breakfast included, free wifi, free laptops, DVDs, and iPods available to borrow. Reserve early and ask for an interior room if street noise bothers you at night, but some of the rooms on the street side have a magnificent view over Rosenthaler Platz. Exceptionally friendly service.

• ibis Styles Berlin MitteOne of the four ibis Styles hotels in Berlin - make sure to put down the right address to avoid confusion. WiFi and breakfast included in all room prices as in all ibis Styles hotel.

• Mercure Hotel Berlin City

• Ramada Berlin Mitte

• TRYP Berlin Mitte

South of Tiergarten

Budget

• Jugendgästehaus Berlin International

  phone: +49 30 261-1097
  address: Kluckstr. 3
  Central location near Potsdam Square with quiet surroundings.

Mid-range

• Hotel Berlin Berlin

  address: Lützowplatz 17
  A huge hotel occupying and entire block at the Lützowplatz, with many conference rooms and discounts for large parties and conventions.

• Pestana Berlin Tiergarten HotelLocated next to the Tiergarten park and zoo, in a quiet corner between embassies.

Splurge

• Pullman Berlin Schweitzerhof

  phone: +49 30 26960
  address: Budapester Straße 25
  The former Sofitel found a new lease of life as an ultra-modern Pullman. It is located in Budapester Straße, a relatively quiet upscale street running along the Zoologischer Garten. some distance away from U-Bahn or S-Bahn stations. The hotel is appointed in the beige/brown/ecru theme also found in other Pullmans in Germany. The rooms facing the zoo offer striking vistas, while the ones on the opposite side face a wall of an office building across the courtyard. Fortunately, there are small lobbies on every floor with views of the zoo and complimentary tea and coffee. All rooms offer a full range of modern comforts, including the possibility to link your devices to the room's audio/video systems. There is free mineral water in the rooms, but do note that the WiFi incurs extra charges over the room prices.