Some of my hipster Berlin travel tips

I’m by no means a Berlin travel expert, but I’ve been here a fair few times that I thought I’d share some travel tips. Here they are, in no particular order. I’ll expand on this guide to Berlin as time goes by…

It’s not a complete list on all the best things to do in my favorite European city, but rather a collection of some of my favorites. Favorite bars, clubs, restaurants and other things to do. Whether you’re visiting just for a weekend, 36 hours, or a day, maybe some of these tips will be useful. They’re all my personal favorites and places I’ve been to in Berlin :-)

Bars

• Lerchen und Eulen (near Gorlitzer u-bahn) – Moscow Mule cocktails and cozy interior! a friend set her hair on fire in this bar and no one noticed, so, uh, this place is amazzzzzing!
• Möbel Olfe (near Kottbusser Tor) – gay bar! super crowded on thursdays
• Hotel Bar (near Kottbusser Tor) – hipsters and very smoky inside, but just how kreuzberg should be
  
• Mein Haus Am See (near Rosenthaler Platz) – omg! hipsters! and the best view in berlin is at the top of the stadium style seating, looking down on hipsters below
• Liberacion – in Friedrichshain – just be careful going to the bathroom here, feels like you may never return
• Multi Layer Laden (near Kotti) – cool hipster place, hidden behind the supermarket and through a curtain
• Locke Müller (near Görli) – probably Berlin’s best cocktails (or at least in Kreuzberg), smoky atmosphere inside, but the bartenders really know their drinks. suppose they have to, because there’s no menu. €8 for a cocktail is expensive for berlin, but worth it here.
• Gastón – In trendy Neukolln, this little Spanish tapas bar serves cheap beer and affordable tapas. With outdoor seating on a quiet street corner, you may just think you’re back in Spain.
• O Tannenbaum – This kitschy bar and club near Hermannplatz is decorated with fake Christmas trees and lawn furniture. They often have great DJs and it’s always open late.

Coffee

• Mein Haus Am See – in case you want more hipsters! open 24-hours :)
• St Oberholz (near Rosenthaler Platz u-bhan) – hipsters with macbooks

Brunch

• Bateau Ivre for meat & cheese plates – french hipsters
• California Breakfast Slam for American-style egg plates – american hipsters
• some quick bakery before you go to Berghain

Drink Club Mate and you too can be a Neukölln/Berlin hipster!

Nightclubs/dancing

• any u-bahn station will do – see this
• Berghain, of course – gay/straight and AWESOME
• “london calling” first friday of each month at Schwuz – gay club, indie/electro music night
• Cassiopeia – pretty cool club on Revaler Strasse in Friedrichshain. R&B and hip-hop nights are the most popular. Courtyard and rock-climbing are perfect in the summertime.

Gay Berlin

• Schwuz – hipster gays
• Gay Beach Berlin – tan gays
• GMF @ Weekend – every Sunday night in a Berlin skyscraper. Trendy gays.
• Zum Schmutzigen Hobby – on Revaler Strasse – small and very fun gay bar which also turns into a nightclub.
• Möble Olfe – at Kottbusser Tor, most popular on Thursdays when it’s too damn crowded.
• Silver Future – in Neukolln on Weserstrasse. Lots of lesbians.

Art/galleries

• c/o Berlin Gallery – usually good exhibits
• Zozoville – Small gallery near Kottbusser Tor with quirky exhibits
• Museum of Photography behind Zoologischer Garten – great photo museum/gallery with permanent exhibits from Helmut Newton
• Bookstore: Shakespeare & Sons in Prenzlauer Berg (same owner as the bookstore by the same name in Prague)

Touristy stuff

• East Side Gallery – meh, but worth seeing because that’s probably why you’re here
• Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial if you’re into the holocaust – view my post from there
• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe AND the Gay Holocaust Memorial
• Reichstag dome – you can go inside, and if it’s summertime, walk around on the roof! – photos
• Checkpoint Charlie museum is filled with information but it’s totally cluttered and disorganized
• Photography mentor workshop – Most people are in Berlin because it’s so damn creative and “artsy.” Why not take a 4-hour photography workshop where you’ll get to explore a local ‘hood and come away with some extra skillz? More info: I’ll Get You My Pretty photo mentor session

My über hipster bike in Volkspark Friedrichshain

Parks & Platz’s

• Görlitzer!!!!!!! It’s where all the hippies, hipsters, and druggies hang. Try not to get stabbed. But well worth the visit. – video
• Also, Kreuzberg Park is great for watching sunsets
• Sundays at Mauer Park for the outdoors karaoke – for reals, this sh*t is real good.
• Winterfeldtplatz Platz for the farmer’s market on Saturdays
• Boxhagener Platz for the hipster shopping market on Sundays

Food

• Best shawarma: Maroush at Kottbusser Tor. Trust me.
• Best burrito: Dolores (San Francisco style!) wins by popularity; Santa Maria on Oranienstrasse is good too
• Best Vietnamese: Miss Saigon (Gorlitzer u-bahn) is great!
• Best noodles: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a big box of €2.50 “Chinese” noodles at the Nollendorf u-bahn station. The woman who runs the shop is super nice!
• Best burger: The Bird. But I’m also partial to Room 77

Want more? Read all my Berlin travel blog posts

Berlin

• 35 unique things to do in Berlin
• 5 favorite gay bars in Berlin
• 7 quirky things about living in Berlin
• A night of art & food: Berlin’s Taste Festival 2012
• A winter weekend in Berlin by Instagram photo
• An ode to the Berlin Späti
• Beats by Dre event in Berlin, live with David Guetta
• Berghain nightclub – the best club in the world?
• Berlin airport rant: Tegel sucks
• Berlin’s Sugar Museum (Zucker Museum)
• Berlin’s summer starts with MyFest — Kreuzberg’s best street festival
• Berlin’s Tropical Islands: best way to escape a Berlin winter?
• Berlin’s U-bahn by Instagram
• Bon Iver live music gig in Berlin
• California Breakfast Slam!
• Celebrating NYE 2013 in Berlin: loud and bright
• Christopher Street Day gay pride in Berlin 2012
• Dancing in Berlin: Schlesisches Tor U-Bahn
• Exploring Berlin’s Christmas Markets—from the trendy to the quirky
• Fête de la Musique in Berlin 2012 (photo essay)
• Four weeks of learning German in Berlin: was it successful?
• Gay Holocaust Memorial in Berlin
• German movies I didn’t know were German
• Getting naked in Berlin
• Graffiti park in Berlin: Preisterweg Nature Park
• Hipster Berlin: Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg
• Inside Berlin’s C/O photography gallery
• Inside the German Reichstag dome by Norman Foster
• Instagramming Berlin: photos of autumn
• Is Berlin the coolest city in the world?
• Kiez culture in Berlin: my favorite places in Kreuzberg
• Learning German in Berlin…finally! Why I enrolled in a German language course
• Life as an American expat in berlin
• Living in Berlin, at least for a little while
• Losing myself in Berlin’s most surrealist bar & labyrinth
• Lost in my mind & finding inspiration
• Occupy Berlin demonstration photos, 15 October
• One crazy night out in Berlin
• One month as a hipster Berliner
• One week in the kino: Berlin International Film Festival
• Photo essay: Karneval der Kulturen (Carnival of Cultures)
• Photos (& video) from the MyFest street festival
• Photos from the 2012 Hipster Olympics in Berlin
• Polaroid photography exhibit in Berlin
• random update, july 13, 2011
• Respect Gaymes – LGBT sports event in Berlin
• Robbed in Berlin: I lost my iPhone!
• Rock & Roll Fashion Night, part of Berlin Fashion Week
• Ryoji Ikeda exhibit at the Hamubrger Bahnhof
• Social Media Week in Berlin
• Staycation in Berlin
• that time i saw a shakespeare play in german
• The Berlin, Tel Aviv connection: why these two cities are so cool
• The good and the bad about learning German in Berlin
• Things to do on a rainy day in Berlin
• Translating hip hop around the world
• Visiting the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial
• Week 2: Learning German is sometimes fun, but definitely stressful
• Week 3 of learning German: still fun but much more technical
• Why you should visit Berlin…in the winter!
• Win a weekend to Berlin with Roomsurfer
• Within walking distance of Alexanderplatz
• Wombats City Hostel: The best hostel in Berlin?

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