{ "city_report": { "@appeal_score": "62.3", "@region": "western", "metadata": { "title": "Berlin", "name_it": "Berlino", "flag": "🇩🇪", "source_url": "https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Berlin" }, "indicators": { "hotel_count": "21", "hotel_price": "137.27", "safety": { "@index_score": "60.8" }, "environment": { "@green_score": "82" }, "cost_index": { "@value": "74.2" }, "economic_accessibility": { "@score": "25.8" } }, "transport": { "b": [ "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin" ], "#text": "The area covered in this guide is expansive, but the most popular attractions are almost all near the Zoologischer Garten train station and the Ku'damm, and thus easily within walking distance. If you want to visit the outlying ones, you may want to use 's excellent public transportation system - the U-Bahn, S-Bahn and the bus networks. West , unlike East , had its tram network dismantled and you will find no trams here." }, "accommodation": { "hotel": [ { "name": "Amstel House Berlin", "price": "Four-bedded dorms from €12/person/night. Single and twin rooms en-suite also available" }, { "name": "Gasteiner Hof", "price": "Rooms from €30, breakfast included" }, { "name": "Jet Pak City", "price": "Double rooms start at €30 per person, sleeping hall starts at €18 per person" }, { "name": "Meininger Hotel Berlin Central Station", "price": "Double Rooms start at €39 per person, dormitory starts at €21" }, { "name": "Three Little Pigs Hostel", "price": "€13" } ] }, "highlights": { "attraction": [ { "@lat": "52.5163", "@lon": "13.3777", "name": "Brandenburg Gate", "description": "Neoclassical monument symbolizing German unity." }, { "@lat": "52.5186", "@lon": "13.3761", "name": "Reichstag", "description": "Historic parliament building with a modern glass dome." }, { "@lat": "52.505", "@lon": "13.4397", "name": "East Side Gallery", "description": "Longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall with murals." }, { "@lat": "52.5169", "@lon": "13.3999", "name": "Museum Island", "description": "UNESCO site housing five world-renowned museums." }, { "@lat": "52.519", "@lon": "13.4011", "name": "Berlin Cathedral", "description": "Grand 19th-century cathedral on the Spree river." }, { "@lat": "52.5208", "@lon": "13.4094", "name": "TV Tower", "description": "Iconic landmark offering views from 203 meters up." }, { "@lat": "52.5074", "@lon": "13.3904", "name": "Checkpoint Charlie", "description": "Famous former border crossing between East and West." }, { "@lat": "52.5139", "@lon": "13.3786", "name": "Holocaust Memorial", "description": "Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe." }, { "@lat": "52.5212", "@lon": "13.2958", "name": "Charlottenburg Palace", "description": "Largest palace in Berlin with beautiful gardens." }, { "@lat": "52.5094", "@lon": "13.3767", "name": "Potsdamer Platz", "description": "Public square and symbol of Berlin's urban renewal." } ] }, "districts": { "district": [ { "name": "City West", "description": "City West is the heart of former West Berlin and even after reunification it represents the main retail centre of Berlin — all the best and most expensive shops are here. The area also includes some landmarks of great historical and cultural interest, as well as a large number of accommodation and entertainment options. After Berlin was split into two by the division of Germany, West Berlin had to develop a city centre of its own, as most of the historic centre (Mitte) remained on the eastern side. Thus came about an unlikely city centre carved out of mostly residential, relaxed districts of Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf and Schöneberg. The obvious centre became the area close to the Zoologischer Garten train station, which became the main train station for West Berlin, extending southwards towards the Kurfürstendamm (known popularly by the contraction Ku'damm) in southern Charlottenburg. This has always been the traditional retail centre of Berlin, cemented by the construction of the enormous iconic department store KaDeWe at one end, and remained so all through the years of West Berlin, seeing a lot of modern construction filling in the gaps left by World War II and updating the neighbourhoods to ever-changing standards. This remains the area of Charlottenburg you absolutely need to visit for luxury shopping (or window-shopping). Further north from the Ku'damm area is where the Schloss Charlottenburg is located, the beautiful castle and open park from which the district got its name; it had been a separate township developed around the castle. After World War I Charlottenburg had a large, wealthy Russian scene, due to the refugees from St Petersburg after the Russian revolution which had given rise to the area's nickname - \"Charlottograd\". South of the Ku'damm is the cozy residential district of Wilmersdorf, which is mostly overlooked by tourists but cherished by its inhabitants for its relaxed and comfortable living conditions. Wilmersdorf has always been a middle and upper class inner city villa and apartment house area. It is quieter but has nice restaurants and cafes. About 80% of Berlin's Jewish population (estimated 25,000 people) — now mostly of Russian descent — live in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. KaDeWe marks the eastern border of Schöneberg, which extends farther south and east towards the main north-south railway line crossing Berlin. Schöneberg has all the properties of a dense 19th-century residential district, with narrow streets connecting large plazas and tree-lined avenues. Schöneberg is the traditional centre of the gay scene in Berlin. Today the borough is gentrified and very popular with young families and middle-aged singles. Renovated old apartments with stucco are pretty common. While the former district of Schöneberg was merged with Tempelhof in 2001 for administrative reasons, the two areas have little in common and thus Tempelhof is dealt with in our guide on Berlin/Central South." }, { "name": "East", "description": "The East is a district of Berlin. It consists of the boroughs Pankow (except for Prenzlauer Berg), Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen, Marzahn and Hellersdorf. The most interesting places for tourists are in Lichtenberg: the Stasi (secret service of the GDR) relics and museums, the Tierpark (zoo) and some remarkable architecture such as the Mies van der Rohe house. Lichtenberg is a district in the east of Berlin. It was merged with Hohenschönhausen in 2001. Lichtenberg is mostly a residential district, but because of its heterogeneity there are all classes of people living there. The centre of Lichtenberg (where there are some buildings left from the 19th century) is home to the working class, as is the centre of Hohenschönhausen (built mainly in the 1970s in rather ugly East German (GDR) socialist building block architecture). The middle class resides in the greener areas like Friedrichsfelde, whereas in Karlshorst you can watch some smaller mansions of the upper class. Marzahn-Hellersdorf is a district in the northeast of Berlin. It is largely a residential district for the underclass and the middle class. It is famous for its GDR socialist building-block architecture, but often ignored are some old, village-like parts. In general it is a very green district. There are only a few interesting sites for visitors. Most interesting are maybe the \"Gärten der Welt\", the Gründerzeitmuseum and the Schlosspark Biesdorf with its small castle in late classical style. A more thorough description of the district can be found on its official website. Pankow is a borough of Berlin. In 2001 the three former districts of Prenzlauer Berg, Weißensee and Pankow were combined to form the new Pankow district. The former Pankow on the other hand is a very green, middle-class district with a laid-back atmosphere and some minor sights for tourists. Weißensee, too, is a largely residential district. Prenzlauer Berg is dealt with in East Central. Like other place - names ending in \"ow\" Pankow is pronounced ending in a slightly more open German o, certainly not \"punk-off\" and a wrong pronunciation is a frequent cause of derision. The GDR authorities prioritized the S-Bahn and later the Tram over the U-Bahn and it shows. While the U5 is the only U-Bahn that was extended during GDR times, it is a single line and where it doesn't go you'll have to make use of other modes of transportation. The stations of biggest interest are and S-Bahn station . You can also use the long distance/regional trains, but departures are less frequent than for the S-Bahn. also goes to Hohenschönhausen. The S-Bahn lines or and the U-Bahn line will get you to most parts, otherwise take the tram: the M6, for example, starts in the city centre (e.g. Alexanderplatz) and runs through almost the entire district. U5 was one of only two U-Bahn lines operated in and by East Berlin during partition and it is the only one that saw any expansion by the GDR." }, { "name": "East Central", "description": "East Central is a trendy, bohemian, artsy area that consists of Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg (sometimes called Prenzlberg), Wedding and Gesundbrunnen. The western district Kreuzberg was merged with the eastern district Friedrichshain in 2001. They skew towards a young and alternative, often politically left-oriented crowd. Both districts feature a very heterogeneous architecture, from whole quarters of 19th century apartment houses to functional and not very pleasant 1960s and 70s residential building blocks. You also notice the differences as the districts were separated by the wall. The remaining part of the wall between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg is the longest part still existing in Berlin. Prenzlauer Berg is to the northeast of Friedrichshain and has changed considerably since reunification. It has gentrified similarly to Brooklyn/Williamsburg from deserted apartment houses into a lively area for students, artists and young people – if they or their parents can afford it. Rents have risen sharply in the last few years, and many empty apartments in this area are no longer rented out but sold, refurbished into luxurious lofts or hostel rooms. Wedding and Gesundbrunnen formed the Bezirk of Wedding prior to 2001 when the boundaries were redrawn. Wedding has a long tradition of being home to the working class and accordingly voted \"red\" for most of the Kaiserreich and Weimar era. During partition it lay on the west side of the wall and attracted an above average number of immigrants, particularly of Turkish descent. Since reunification it has been gentrifying much like Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg albeit not at the same breakneck pace. The former districts of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain had few things in common (one thing is nowadays for sure the attraction to students, politically left and young creative people), due to their history on either side of the wall. Since the political decision to merge, these two districts work together politically. The name was made by flipping a coin to decide which name would appear first. The Oberbaumbrücke which was a border crossing point during the era of German partition now serves as the main connection between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg as well as a symbol of reunification. Once a year it is the site of a humorous \"vegetable battle\" (Gemüseschlacht) between the two former districts. Kreuzberg is one of Berlin's most eclectic districts, home to an unusual mix of left-wing punks, anarchists, gays, creative artists and Turkish immigrants, the last of which make up a third of the population and have earned the area its occasional nickname Little Istanbul." }, { "name": "Mitte", "description": "Mitte, literally meaning \"the middle\" and being a contraction of Stadtmitte (city centre), contains the historical heart of Berlin and represents in many ways the real centre of the city. It is here that you will find the vast majority of the most popular sights. \"Mitte\" can refer both to a larger district (Bezirk) and its smaller borough (Ortsteil), which was a separate district until 2001 when the administrative division of Berlin changed. This guide focuses on the smaller Ortsteil Mitte and the Ortsteil Tiergarten, both of which belong to Bezirk Mitte. Tiergarten is the borough extending northwest from the Zoologischer Garten train station, taking its name from the large park that covers most of its area, which in turn takes its name from the world's oldest zoo in its southern end, close to the train station. On the outskirts of the park there are many little neighbourhoods of varying characters, detached from each other by the park. For other Ortsteile contained within the present-day Bezirk Mitte see Berlin/City West (Moabit and Hansaviertel) and Berlin/East Central (Wedding and Gesundbrunnen). The border between the Ortsteile Mitte and Tiergarten runs right across the Potsdamer Platz, and most of the buildings and institutions described here are actually in Tiergarten, but for the sake of making this guide more useful are described along with the others which fall in Mitte proper. For points of interest lying further West, see Berlin/City West. 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. Most Berliners would refer to \"Mitte\" as the Ortsteil and former district, which is smaller and more cohesive. Location touting hotels and restaurants may however advertise their location within \"Berlin-Mitte\" instead of the Ortsteil. This guide oversteps the boundaries of the Ortsteil Mitte and includes Ortsteil Tiergarten as well." }, { "name": "Reinickendorf and Spandau", "description": "The northwest of Berlin consists of the boroughs of Spandau and Reinickendorf was urbanized in the 19th century. Before that, it largely consisted of small towns. In the early 20th century, it was the working-class area with heavy industry where Siemens was founded; indeed, part of Reinickendorf is called Siemensstadt. The area is more residential today, though big industrial complexes remain. Spandau is the westernmost borough (Bezirk) of the German capital city of Berlin. It is a green area near the Spree and Havel rivers. Once a town in its own right, Spandau is one of the oldest areas in the Berlin region and retains much of its unique character, having been spared the worst of the Allied bombing in the Second World War that so devastated the rest of the city. The center of the district is formed by a dense network of medieval streets and a market square, retaining a large number of timber-framed buildings. Spandau was the site of the military prison in which Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess was imprisoned after the 1946 Nuremberg trials until his death in 1987. The prison was then demolished. Despite being part of Berlin, neither Berliners nor Spandauers usually consider that fact to apply in popular thought. If for example, you ask a taxi driver to take you to the \"city center\", they will most likely take you to the center of Spandau, not necessarily Mitte or the old heart of West Berlin. It's as much in the boondocks as some Berliners ever venture, and even those who consider Potsdam in BVG zone C to be at the edge of civilization might consider Spandau basically another planet. Reinickendorf is a borough in the northwest of Berlin. It consists of the localities Tegel, Reinickendorf, Märkisches Viertel (1970s-era apartment blocks area) and some small village-like areas. Reinickendorf loves to use fox symbolism as \"Reinicke\" is a poetic term for fox (the standard term is \"Fuchs\") which is used in fables. The coat of arms thus shows a fox, and Berlin's most successful handball team, Füchse Berlin, is from here though they now play their home games in Max Schmeling Halle in the former east. In general, it is a very green district with much water, and the neighborhoods have a typical small town cityscape. There are some minor sights interesting for tourists (especially architecture in Tegel). Within the borough of Reinickendorf, Märkisches Viertel (sometimes derisively called \"merkwüdiges Viertel\" - peculiar quarter) is one of the most notable West Berlin new constructions, dating to the 1960s when housing was scarce. When the housing units were constructed, a subway connection was promised, but it took until the 1980s to extend U8 towards the area (by then in questionable parallelity to the S-Bahn) - and Berlin ran out of money just about one or two stops before actually reaching the neighborhood, causing considerable frustration among residents." } ] }, "description": { "b": "Berlin", "#text": "Capital of resilience and underground culture, offers an unparalleled breadth of public parks among major European metropolises. The real estate market and security make it a magnet for tech and creative talent." }, "wiki_intro": { "b": [ "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin", "Berlin" ], "i": "Bezirke", "link": [ { "@href": "https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Potsdam", "#text": "Potsdam" }, { "@href": "https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Brandenburg", "#text": "Brandenburg" } ], "#text": "is Germany's capital and largest city. Within the city limits, in 2022 had a population of 3.7 million. is coming into its own again as a cosmopolitan capital of one of Europe's wealthiest nations. \"Arm aber sexy\" (poor but sexy), as a former mayor would have it, attracts young people, students, and a creative bohème like few other cities in the world. With architectural heritage from Prussian monarchism, Nazism, East German communism and Potsdamer Platz, filled with 1990s- and 2000s-style glass palaces after having been a \"blank canvas\" due to the wall, 's architecture is as varied as its neighbourhoods and its people. And due to its long history as a cosmopolitan capital, it has attracted immigrants from all over the world for more than 300 years now, who continue to leave their own marks on the city. is home to world-renowned universities, orchestras, museums, and entertainment venues. It hosts many sporting events. Its Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. The city is well known for its festivals, nightlife, contemporary arts, and a very high quality of living. can be seen as a cluster of centres. While Mitte might be thought of as the core of the city, it's often not where local's lives revolve around. has many boroughs (), and each borough is composed of several localities (Kiez or Viertel) — each of these boroughs and localities has a unique style. Some boroughs of are more worthy of a visitor's attention than others. Almost all of them have everything that you might need for daily life a short walk from your lodging, and easy access to a metro station. used to be divided into 23 boroughs, and these boroughs are used in Wikivoyage as they remain foremost in popular conceptions of the city and are useful for visitors to know. In 2001, the number of boroughs was reduced from 23 to 12 for administrative purposes—mostly by merging old boroughs—sometimes across what was the inner- border. The boroughs can roughly be grouped into eight districts: The city of is co-extensive with the Land of , one of the 16 federal states that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has a population of 3.8 million (2019) (and a million more in suburbs like across the state line in ). is and has been far less dominant as the capital of Germany than London, Paris or Madrid are in their respective countries, because of the federal nature of Germany and because the havoc war and partition wreaked on the city. In many ways, West was in some ways forgotten by West Germany, given that it was located as an enclave inside of the DDR, and would be immediately lost if hostilities were to break out between NATO and the Warsaw Pact." }, "landmark_image": "assets/images/berlin.jpg", "nightlife": { "venue": [ { "@lat": "52.56382", "@lon": "13.328849", "@category": "bar", "name": "Albert's" }, { "@lat": "52.5232268", "@lon": "13.4164254", "@category": "nightclub", "name": "ASeven Club" }, { "@lat": "52.547659", "@lon": "13.4887104", "@category": "bar", "name": "Bar im Wasserturm" }, { "@lat": "52.4927208", "@lon": "13.4217007", "@category": "pub", "name": "Bei Schlawinchen" }, { "@lat": "52.512055", "@lon": "13.3918753", "@category": "bar", "name": "Bellboy Berlin" }, { "@lat": "52.5511652", "@lon": "13.4043646", "@category": "pub", "name": "Blaumilchkanal" }, { "@lat": "52.5127422", "@lon": "13.458706", "@category": "bar", "name": "booze bar berlin" }, { "@lat": "52.5700374", "@lon": "13.3221149", "@category": "pub", "name": "Bären-Eck" } ] } } }