BERLIN KREUZBERG

Bordered by the Spree River in the east, Kreuzberg is bisected by the Landwehr Canal, which flows from east to west across the district. East Kreuzberg, starting at Schlesisches Tor and extending to Oranienstrasse and Kottbusser Tor, was once the epicenter of Berlin’s artistic counterculture. Today it’s still a lively area full of nightclubs, bars, street food, improvised art galleries, and a high percentage of young singles and immigrants. The area around Kottbusser Tor, the streets near the Moritzplatz U-Bahn station, and the stretch of Friedrichstrasse south of Checkpoint Charlie feature plain, modern, downmarket apartment blocks. North of Kottbusser Tor, leafy residential streets like Naunynstraße and Waldemarstrasse are lined with a mix of  period and contemporary apartment buildings -- some renovated, some not.

West Kreuzberg, which includes tastefully-restored 19th- and 20th-century buildings as well as upscale canal-side apartments, is a family-friendly, upper middle class area that is experiencing a building boom. Graefekiez, Bergmannkiez, and the streets around Paul-Linke-Ufer are especially desirable neighborhoods. Kottbusser Damm, Mehringdamm, and Skalitzer Strasse (where the U1 subway runs above ground) are the district’s busiest thoroughfares.

Besides numerous neighborhood playgrounds and canal-side green spaces, Kreuzberg has lovely public parks like the Park am Gleisdreieck and Viktoria Park, which contains an artificial waterfall, Berlin’s highest natural hill, and some of the best views in the city. Every spring, the “Carnival of Cultures” festival celebrates the city’s diversity with street parades, live music, and food from around the world. Among the neighborhood’s other cultural attractions: the Tempodrom concert arena, the Berlinische Galerie, and the Aufbau Haus, a former factory that now houses artists' workshops, galleries, cafes, bookstores, and a theater for live performances.

Bergmannstrasse and Oranienstrasse offer some of the best shopping in Berlin, including stylish shops like Voo and Schoener Waers Wenns Schoener Waer, a sustainable design boutique. Süper Store in Graefekiez carries hand-crafted furniture and everyday objects with a clean, simple aesthetic.

One of the most fascinating food neighborhoods in Berlin, Kreuzberg boasts some of the finest Turkish cuisine in the city, along with Michelin-starred restaurants like Nobelhart und Schmutzig, Horvath, and Tim Raue. Locavores and artisan food aficionados frequent Markthalle IX, a farmers’ market and street food hub that regularly hosts culinary festivals centered around cheese, wine, bread, and more. Being one of Berlin’s trendiest districts, Kreuzberg is home to a plethora of bars and nightclubs, particularly near Schlesisches Tor and on Oranienstrasse, ranging from the legendary SO36 to Ottorink, a low-key bar specializing in German white wines. The U1 and U8 subway lines make it easy to connect to the rest of the city via public transportation.