Discover your neighbourhood: Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

In Berlin's Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district, you'll discover plenty of secret spots to go for culture enthusiasts away from the idyllic prefabricated buildings.

Marle

5 minute read

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Updated on 5 Aug 2024

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Living

The Ku'damm in the heart of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf creates a feel à la Champs-Élysées in the neighbourhood, lined with exclusive boutiques and baroque façades. Once you've made your way north to Charlottenburg Palace, there's no longer a sense of Berlin beyond the grey idyll of prefabricated concrete slabs.

We show you 12 spots you can't miss as a new resident in your new neighbourhood in Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the economic engine in Berlin: the district in the heart of Berlin is considered the highest-turnover business and commercial centre and, if you're lucky, you can even watch the hustle and bustle of the annual European Film Awards ceremony, which the European Film Academy hosts in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

The Kurfürstendamm area somewhat takes on the role of Berlin's city centre, even though there's no real city centre in Berlin. You will find the Technical University, the University of the Arts and the Olympic Stadium spread throughout Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Let's face it, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf almost seems to be a city in its own right, hidden away in its own quarter. But what really belongs to Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf?

These 7 districts are at home in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf:

• Charlottenburg
• Charlottenburg-North
• Grunewald
• Halensee
• Schmargendorf
• Westend
• Wilmersdorf

The Berlin neighbourhood of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf plays a somewhat neutral role in Berlin: people don't really rave about it, but they don't really complain about it either. Yet Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf has so many secret spots, owner-run pubs and places to go for culture enthusiasts away from the Ku'damm.

Who says you have to dig deep into your pocket or climb the TV tower to get a view overlooking Berlin? Get a picture perfect view with a student budget in the cafeteria of the Technical University: affordable student coffee on the 20th floor, facing the capital.

After your coffee, while gazing at Berlin, make your way to the next spot. Walk up Bismarckstraße until you see Witzlebenplatz on your left. Down the street, you can already see the Lietzensee in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Far from the urban buzz: at Lietzensee you get to indulge in an oasis of nature right in the middle of Berlin. A popular place to go for all Charlottenburgers with their four-legged friends, and an even more popular place for students to grab a spot to barbecue in the summer after their lectures.

Continue from Lietzensee towards Suarezstraße, from where you cross Amstgerichtplatz in front of the Charlottenburg district court until you reach Holtzendorffstraße and then turn onto Leonhardstraße. It’s a promise: the window display filled with the finest selection of books won't let you walk past it.

Upon stepping into this bookshop, let yourself be carried away by the familiar scent of books, your fingers roaming over the carefully selected titles in the tiny bookshop. The range of books is anything but haphazard: well-kept treasures are juxtaposed with hand-picked titles and covers that you will hardly find anywhere else. Good motivation to brush up on your German, isn't it?

On the way to the next park, we stop at the vintage shop very close to Hacker and Presting. To get there, walk up Holtzdorffstraße via the Charlottenburg station railway crossing until you reach Joachim-Friedrich-Straße et voilà, Vivi's Bazaar is waiting for you!

How can you tell that Ku'damm can't be far away? Well, the second-hand shops have even adapted to the upmarket clientele and are giving designer pieces and luxury brands a second life. Find unique pieces at bargain prices in Vivi's Bazaar.

After vintage heaven between Gucci and Chanel, you deserve a break. From Vivi's Bazaar, walk down Johann-Georg-Straße until you reach Westfälische Straße. The smell of rice, coriander and spicy curry fill your nostrils? Then you're almost at Preußenpark.

Get that holiday feeling during your lunch break. The Thaiwiese in Preußenpark is no longer an insider's tip; it has long attracted hungry Berliners hoping for a tasty Thai street food dish. On the meadow, Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese street food artists prepare traditional dishes and cocktails in their open-air kitchen. Grab a blanket and feast on the street food.

After your short trip to Thailand, take a digestive walk until you arrive at the other restaurant. Walk to Hohenzollernplatz and then up Uhlandstraße.

From Thailand to Israel in less than 20 minutes! Benedict Berlin has struck a chord with Berliners and created a true breakfast mecca. The Israeli restaurant only serves breakfast - morning, noon and night. If you're in the mood for the famous Egg Benedict, Israeli goodies like shakshuka or mimosa, Benedict Berlin is your ticket to heaven.

That's enough food, now we need a nightcap. Fancy a rum? A little further up Uhlandstraße you turn right onto Ludwigkirchstraße until you reach Fasanstraße on the left.

From the outside, the authentic pub with its lined-up rum bottles invites you to linger. In Berlin's oldest bar, you can taste your way through various rums in the Rum Trader. If you come here, you will experience the old West Berlin with all its facets.

Hopefully not too tipsy, you'll next head across Fasanenplatz to the next item on the agenda: films.

Experimental art abounds in this cultural venue! And there really is all kinds of culture here: from various exhibitions to festival programmes, which is often referred to as experimental theatre, there are all kinds of entertainment here.

Ok ok, it's been a long time since we had food, so it's time for another place on our food journey today: Spain! Walk from the Haus der Berliner Festspiele to Ku'damm until you reach Bleibtreustraße.

This fried dough-scented cinnamon-sugar blend will make your mouth water. The Spanish treat sweetens up just about every day in Charlottenburg with its calories in the form of cinnamon and sugar.

Might as well roll over to the next spot. Follow the train line to Zoologischer Garten station, where you'll see true masterpieces of ℅ Berlin close by.

Young artists and well-known contemporary photographers take turns exhibiting their work here. At ℅ Berlin, photography enthusiasts get to discover thrilling projects and photo volumes spread over two floors.

Take a little more time for the ℅ Berlin, there's too much to discover here between the canvases and the museum shop, too much to browse through.

No need to miss out on going to the cinema as an international in Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, despite your lack of German language skills. At delphi LUX at Bahnhof Zoo, you can go straight from the realms of photography at ℅ Berlin to the world of film. The focus of delphi LUX is on German and European films, sometimes also American independent productions.

Take a walk along the Zoological Garden until you can sip your drinks above the monkey cage.

Monkey Bar? The name is no coincidence. At the Monkey Bar Berlin, you drink your gin and tonics and eat your sweet potato fries on the 10th floor of the 25 hours Hotel directly above the monkey cage, and you also have a free view of the monkeys when using the toilet.

A diverse blend of Charlottenburg's chic and tourists gather at the Monkey Bar and let themselves be entertained by the DJ.

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