Berlin Like A Local

From rock-star hangouts and disco balls to peacocks and parks, writer Rick Jordan maps out a wunderbar weekend in Berlin.

Berlin is a big city, but it’s easily navigable by tram, train and U-bahn – you can even take a tour in a Communist-era Trabant, if you don’t mind a rattling ride. Walking will bring you face to face with history on every corner, as well as the concept of the kiez; Berlin’s close-knit micro-neighbourhoods, with their cafés, communities and shops. The 20th century looms large, of course, but this is a city that’s constantly evolving and moving forward. Here are some of our favourite things to see, eat, drink and do around town.

FRIDAY

Berlin may have a reputation for its edgy, graffiti-backdropped street life, but the west of the city steps to a different beat than the east. Charlottenburg’s elegant, high-gabled architecture feels almost Parisian at times, with tree-lined boulevards and pretty streets such as Suarezstraße, known for its antiques shops.    

Head out from The Dean Berlin and explore the area – to the Lietzenseepark and its lake, perhaps, or the baroque gardens of Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin’s Versailles. Built in the 17th century for Frederick the Great, its highlights include a rococo ballroom and porcelain-filled teahouse. If there’s time, visit Villa Oppenheim, once the summer residence of art-collecting Jewish couple Margarete and Otto Georg Oppenheimer. It’s now a museum, offering a poignant snapshot of the area before the wars.

The streets just around the hotel are worth exploring too. Kantstraße is one of Berlin’s most diverse thoroughfares – especially for food lovers, who can find some of the city’s best Asian restaurants here. The main drag of Kurfürstendamm (or Ku-Damm for short) flutters all the big luxury names, but save your energy for KaDeWe, built in 1907. Wooden-clad escalators spiral up like tentacles, while the sixth-floor food hall is a sensory overload (over 1,300 cheeses, never mind the marzipan; best to steady yourself at the Champagne bar). 

Some 20 minutes’ walk away, West Berlin’s seventies-era bohemia lives on at the cash-only Schwarzes Café, which burns the candle at both ends – as the all-day breakfast (with a shot of vodka, if desired) attests. David Bowie was a regular here and at close rival Paris Bar, whose legendary owner Michel Würthle’s spirit endures, with walls covered in signed photos of famous friends and portraits by artists such as Sarah Lucas. Diener Tattersall is equally atmospheric: feast on comfort food like sausages with sauerkraut, surveyed by pictures of the great and good who’ve dined here over the decades.  

Its techno scene may be omnipresent but the city also nods its head to jazz, so end the night at the Hat Bar, tucked under the S-Bahn tracks, or the nearby A-Trane, where Gregory Porter and Wynton Marsalis have played. Both are free to get in. 

SATURDAY

Start the weekend with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel’s Benedict restaurant, then make tracks for the Tiergarten. Created from royal hunting grounds, it’s Berlin’s version of Central Park; a place to get lost in, with secret gardens, fountains, deer statues and, above it all, the golden-winged Victory Column. For coffee in the sun, the lakeside Café am Neuen See has views of rowboats and ducks. On your way to the park, consider a stop at C/O Berlin, a modernist pavilion with striking photography exhibitions (book a guided tour if you can).

From here, head east to the Humboldt Forum, the latest addition to the city’s cultural landscape. Set in the baroque Berliner Schloss, rebuilt with a bold new extension, it’s home to a huge collection of ethnological objects and art. Don’t miss the Berlin Global section, with its walk-in disco ball, or lunch at the rooftop café, Baret, whose terrace overlooks the Brandenburg Gate and cathedral. The Forum is a stepping stone to Museum Island where the Neues Museum is a must, with its monumental marble staircase and 3,400-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti.

From here, board a river boat at the pier near the cathedral for an hour-long voyage along the Spree, past the Reichstag and other sights. If you’d rather stay on dry land, the streets around Alte Schönhauser Straße are home to some of the city’s most interesting independent boutiques, including shipshape stationery store RSVP Papier.

In the evening, dip into Berlin’s cocktail culture at Mr Susan. It’s run by the effervescent Susan Choi, whose creations include the house michelada, served with a kimchi and tomato popsicle. A short walk away, Clärchens Ballhaus is a survivor from 1913 that looks as if Marlene Dietrich might waft in at any moment. Its main ballroom is now a restaurant, the gilded Luna D’Oro, whose retro-leaning menu runs from fried pickles to roast chicken on rye; afterwards, try to catch a swing session upstairs. Another option for dinner is the green-painted dining room at Trio, where chef Vadim Otto Ursus deftly updates Central European classics such as schnitzel and game goulash.   

SUNDAY

Take the train to Kreuzberg, one of Berlin’s most vibrant neighbourhoods for people-watching and Sunday strolling, then meander along the Landwehrkanal’s banks to the Oberbaumbrücke bridge. It’s a popular rendezvous point for Berliners, as is La Maison on Paul-Linke-Ufer, where tables sprawl under the linden tree and waiters deliver espressos with buttery croissants or pain Suisse. For another art hit, there’s the Berlinische Galerie, which has a giant wordsearch of yellow letters outside, hiding artists’ names; inside, look out for paintings by the Dada artist Hannah Höch.  

Continue south to the vast Tempelhofer Feld, the former airfield where Orville Wright once flew and the Berlin Airlift brought supplies during the Cold War. Closed in 2008, it now draws picnicking families and kite-surfers, with the sound of planes replaced by birdsong. At MobilcenterBerlin you can rent go-karts, pedal cars or bikes to whizz past the vintage aircraft and old radar tower; there’s also a quirky, artist-designed crazy golf course. 

Alternatively, hop on a train west to the Havel River, where a ferry will take you to Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island). Along with its namesake birds, the island is filled with historic follies and ruins, including the newly-restored Pfaueninselschloss, a swan-white miniature palace, built by Friedrich Wilhelm II for his mistress. From here, it’s a half-hour trip back to the hotel, via train or taxi.

About The Writer

Born in Edinburgh, Rick is a contributing editor at Condé Nast Traveller – a title for which he has travelled the world over the past two decades. He’s been fascinated by Berlin since he was a teenager, when his father gave him a fragment of the Wall, and regularly visits to chart the city’s changes.