Kreuzberg

No other district stands for the rough, creative Berlin quite like Kreuzberg. Around Kottbusser Tor, Oranienstraße and the Landwehrkanal, corner shops, record stores, bars and snack stands line up one after another, with murals covering entire building walls in between. With the Topography of Terror, one of the most important sites of remembrance for Nazi history lies right here, next to the former Wall strip.

Eating in Kreuzberg is varied and often inexpensive: from Turkish snack bars and vegan spots to the legendary street food at Maybachufer, where the Turkish Market takes place twice a week. In the evening, life shifts to the clubs and pubs around Wrangelstraße and Schlesisches Tor. The Wrangelkiez is one of Berlin's liveliest neighborhoods, packed with bars, cafés and corner shops. Stay here and you get the unfiltered Berlin, some noise included, but you are right in the thick of it.