My top Berlin spots for your next city trip

Every year. Berlin and I, we like each other, and that’s why I was a guest in Germany’s capital for the seventh time in a row two weeks ago. Since sightseeing played only a marginal role in most of the visits and I was attracted to Berlin for study-related or professional reasons, I got to know Berlin more from the local side and less from the tourist side. So there is something new for me to discover every time I visit.

Centrally located in Berlin Mitte

This time, too, there was a premiere. For the very first time I spent the night in Berlin Mitte. Directly on the historic Bebelplatz in a former bank building from the 19th century, luxury hotelier Sir Rocco Forte opened the Hotel de Rome in 2006. The offices of the bank directors are now spacious suites and the spa was housed in the bank’s vault. The big plus point of the house – apart from the great interior, which combines classic elegance with modern design – is the central location. The most visited tourist resorts such as the Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island are within walking distance. Our weekend at the Hotel de Rome starts with a hearty breakfast before we explore Berlin Mitte on foot.

Discover Berlin Mitte

And as it is, if you don’t visit a destination primarily in the sense of a city trip, then the most obvious tourist spots usually pass you by completely. On my very first visit to Berlin, I had taken the time to see the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Jewish Memorial. Since then, I’ve only scurried past this corner of Berlin and so we seize the opportunity to finally explore Berlin Mitte extensively again. With a detour, we also take Potsdamer Platz with us and then stroll back towards Museum Island and Alexanderplatz. So far, I have definitely paid far too little attention to the Museum Island. Time to change that. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is currently being renovated and structurally expanded according to a master plan. It is expected that in 2025/26 the Museum Island will present itself in the sense of the implemented master plan. In this context, one of Berlin’s most visited museums – the Pergamon Museum – is also surrounded by scaffolding. It is a bit of a pity that most of the display cases have been emptied due to the risk of vibration, but the mighty ancient monumental buildings also make an impression when scaffolded. Especially in hazy weather, the Museum Island is a safe place to go for an entertaining morning.

Lunch stop Kastanienallee

Our stroll through the city then takes us from Berlin Mitte via Hackesche Höfe to Kastanienallee. The almost one-kilometre-long avenue, which leads from Fehrbelinner Strasse to the corner of Eberswalderstrasse and Schönhauserstrasse in Prenzlauer Berg, is lined with colourful cafés and interesting boutiques. A place outside in the sun is a guarantee for entertaining people-watching. For example, the Napoljonska (Kastanienallee 43) has cosy sunny spots. At the very end of Kastanienallee near the Eberswalderstrasse subway station is the restaurant “On a Sunday in August” – a hip café-bar and popular brunch restaurant.

Strolling through Kreuzberg

My favourite neighbourhood is Kreuzberg. There’s just so much to discover here. If you walk from the Museum Island in the direction of Kreuzberg, I recommend following Annenstrasse and turning off at Legiendamm in the direction of Oranienstrasse. Oraniestrasse is great for window shopping. I like the small shops, some of which are filled with curiosities of all kinds and some of them are filled with unexpected gems. Last time a pair of shoes found their way into my bag and this time two colorful blouses smile at me expectantly. So at least I always carry a piece of Berlin around with me.

Moabit – Eating ice cream in the trendy district

What’s hip in Berlin right now and what’s not, likes to change every five minutes. On the hip radar, Moabit seems to be on the rise. We took a look around Berlin’s newest trendy district and can say that there is at least quite good ice cream (ice box, Elberfelder Strasse 27) and leisurely walks along the Spree. This part of the city is well worth a visit.

Berlin Housing Estates

Berlin has a total of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites to offer. The most common of these are the Museum Island and the palaces and parks of Potsdam and Berlin. Less well-known are the settlements of the modern era. The six housing estates built between 1919 and 1934 are outstanding examples of housing architecture of the 1920s. Other architecturally interesting housing estates can be found in the Hansaviertel, a district between Moabit and Tiergarten. As part of the International Building Exhibition in 1957, the area, which had been destroyed by the Second World War, was redesigned in the typical style of post-war modernism. Renowned architects such as Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius, Oscar Niemeyer and Max Taut were also involved. For those interested in architecture, I recommend this small detour from Moabit to the Hansaviertel – interesting insights into housing construction during times of housing shortage and economic upswing.

Vegetarian restaurant insider tip in Berlin

I like to discover Berlin schampar on foot. The only consequence of this is that my feet are slowly getting really flat in the evening and are happy about short distances. While looking for a restaurant near our hotel, we stumbled upon a tip from Cookies Cream (Behrenstrasse 55) while browsing through the magazines available in our room. I didn’t mention the word “vegetarian” when I suggested to my friend that we visit this restaurant within a 5-minute walk of the Hotel de Rome. The walk takes a little longer, because we have marched around the block Friedrich-/Glinks-/Behrenstrasse due to the lack of clues where the restaurant could be located. Last but not least, we dared to go into the backyard. Past dumpsters and parked cars, a chandelier lit the way to a locked back door out of nowhere. “Cookies Cream” – et voilà, done. The location, which seems quite weird from the outside, turns out to be a real insider tip. With luck, we get a table even without a reservation and feast our way through a delicious three-course menu (around 40 euros). Even the male companion doesn’t mourn a juicy piece of meat for a minute. Drink tip: Vodka rhubarb.

Cheers Berlin

To digest it, we go back to the hotel on the roof terrace, which boasts a great view over Berlin Mitte (currently the opera house, which is directly in front of it, is just scaffolded and surrounded by about 5 construction cranes, which clouds the view a bit). Afterwards we end the evening in the Bebel Bar with a Berlin Mule. Once again a successful short trip to beautiful Berlin.

You can find more of my favorite places in Berlin in this post: Berlin from A to Z

My current visit to Berlin was supported by the Hotel de Rome – thank you very much for this! As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.