Best Areas to Stay in Berlin: Our Neighborhood & Hotel Guide

The best neighborhoods to stay in Berlin

Each of the districts we recommend suits a different type of traveler. We’ll walk you through which neighborhood is right for you in the sections below.

• Mitte: Ideal if you’re visiting Berlin for the first time.
• Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf: Ideal if you love shopping and want to experience the elegant side of Berlin.
• Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg: Ideal if you want to discover hip, alternative Berlin.
• Neukölln: Ideal if you’re looking for more affordable or one-of-a-kind accommodation.

You’ll find even more hotel picks in our articles: Berlin Boutique Hotels, Cool Hotels in Berlin, Cheap Hotels in Berlin and Berlin Family Hotels.

The districts at a glance on a map

To help you get your bearings, we’ve marked the neighborhoods we recommend on this map.

Staying in Berlin Mitte

As the name suggests, Mitte is right in the center of the city. Many well-known Berlin attractions — the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, Gendarmenmarkt, Museum Island, and the Berlin TV Tower — are all here.

Mitte is hands down the best area in Berlin to stay if you’re visiting for the first time or planning a family trip to Berlin with kids.

For getting around, Mitte is extremely well connected. Most S-Bahn lines and many U-Bahn lines run through here, Berlin’s main train station is in this neighborhood, and the hop-on/hop-off bus routes all pass through Mitte too.

Important: The Mitte borough includes not only the Mitte neighborhood itself, but also Tiergarten, Moabit, and Wedding. Hotels are often listed as being in Mitte when they’re not actually that central. Every hotel we recommend here is in the true Mitte neighborhood.
Advantages of a hotel in Mitte:

• Most of Berlin’s major sights are right on your doorstep.
• Buses and trains make it super easy to reach every other district.
• Mitte has loads of restaurants and shops, and there’s always something going on.

Disadvantages of a hotel in Mitte:

• Mitte is more touristy than other parts of Berlin.
• Restaurants and bars tend to charge more than elsewhere in the city.
• Hotel prices are higher here than in other neighborhoods.

Our hotel recommendations for Berlin Mitte

Our favorite place to stay in Mitte is the Garden Living — a truly one-of-a-kind boutique hotel with beautifully decorated rooms and a fantastic location.

Staying in Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf

Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf are the epitome of classic old West Berlin.

This is where you’ll find the famous Ku’damm — Berlin’s best-known shopping strip — and the legendary department store KaDeWe. The Berlin Zoo is just around the corner.

The area is very well connected by S-Bahn and U-Bahn, and most of the city’s major attractions are easy to reach from here.

If you’re attending an event at the Berlin Olympic Stadium or the Waldbühne, Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf is the best location to stay in Berlin. The same goes for Messe Berlin, which sits on the edge of the district.

Advantages

• You’re right by the Ku’damm with endless shopping options.
• The convention center, Olympic Stadium, and Waldbühne are all close by.
• There are some seriously excellent restaurants in the area.

Disadvantages

• Berlin’s nightlife scene is mostly found elsewhere.
• Alternative Berlin — Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Friedrichshain — is relatively far away.

Our hotel recommendations for Wilmersdorf and Charlottenburg

Our top pick for both districts is, without question, the 25hours Hotel. This design hotel is seriously stylishly furnished and is, in our opinion, one of the coolest hotels in Berlin.

Bonus: as a hotel guest, you skip the line for the Monkey Bar on the 10th floor. The bar is hugely popular — and it’s easy to see why. The views over the city and the Berlin Zoo are absolutely stunning.

Staying in Kreuzberg

Kreuzberg is something of the creative heart of the city. If you prefer a more alternative vibe, it’s a great choice. Everything here is a little rougher and edgier than in Mitte or Charlottenburg.

With the U1, U6, and U8, you’re well connected to the rest of the city. Bars and clubs are everywhere in Kreuzberg — so if you want to dive into Berlin’s nightlife, this is where to be.

Kreuzberg splits into two distinct parts: Kreuzberg 61, centered around Bergmannstraße, and Kreuzberg 36, around Kottbusser Tor and Schlesisches Tor.

Kreuzberg 61 is more residential — many families live here, and most streets are quieter in the evenings. That said, there are plenty of great little restaurants and the occasional cool bar.

Kreuzberg 36 is livelier and more creative. Around Oranienstraße in particular, something is always happening — day or night.

Important: Kreuzberg stretches almost all the way to Potsdamer Platz. Hotels are often listed as being in Kreuzberg when they’re actually near Potsdamer Platz — an area that’s completely dead, with almost no bars or restaurants. All the hotels we recommend here are, of course, well located.
Advantages of staying in Kreuzberg

• There’s always something going on, and you can wander from one great little bar or restaurant to the next.
• There’s a lot to discover in Kreuzberg — not typical tourist sights, but alternative streetscapes, graffiti, local bars, and real Berlin life.

Disadvantages of staying in Kreuzberg

• Especially in parts of Kreuzberg 36, it can get noisy in the evenings and at night.
• There are very few hotels in Kreuzberg.
• The most famous highlights are a bit farther away than from Mitte.

Our hotel recommendations for Berlin Kreuzberg

A real standout is the Orania.Berlin. The rooms at this luxury hotel are cozy and modern, the breakfast is delicious, and in the evenings you can look forward to live music or other great events at the hotel bar.

Staying in Friedrichshain

Friedrichshain is genuinely hard to describe, because the district is so incredibly diverse.

There are very different pockets within it. Around Simon-Dach Kiez and Boxhagener Platz, you’ll find food from almost every cuisine in the world and a buzzing nightlife scene — not just on weekends.

A few streets over, there’s complete peace and quiet, where mostly young families live. A few more streets on, and you’re already spotting the first prefab apartment blocks.

Friedrichshain is genuinely a lot of fun. On weekends, grab an ice cream or browse the Sunday flea market at Boxhagener Platz.

We’d particularly recommend Friedrichshain for families who are spending a few days in Berlin and don’t want to stay right in the thick of the tourist crowds.

Advantages of staying in Friedrichshain:

• Charming neighborhood with loads of cafés, restaurants, flea markets, and an alternative scene.
• There are many flea markets in Friedrichshain.
• Berlin’s nightlife is in full swing around Boxi and Warschauer Straße.

Disadvantages of staying in Friedrichshain:

• There aren’t a lot of hotels in the area.
• Some streets can get a bit noisy at times.

Our hotel recommendations for Berlin Friedrichshain

We love the Michelberger Hotel. It’s got a super central location, seriously stylish rooms, and a design throughout that’s totally hip and modern. The hotel bar is really cool too — evenings there have a habit of running long.

Staying in Berlin Neukölln

Neukölln has cool pockets and it has plenty of quieter areas too — good to know going in. But we absolutely recommend it as a place to stay. The area around Weserstraße and Maybachufer is particularly lively.

A bit calmer, but still really charming, is the neighborhood around Schillerpromenade.

Advantages of staying in Neukölln:

• You step off the subway without being surrounded by hundreds of tourists.
• Tempelhofer Feld is just a short trip away.
• You get to soak up the real Neukölln atmosphere.
• The nightlife in Kreuzkölln is legendary.

Disadvantages of staying in Neukölln:

• It takes a bit longer to reach the typical tourist attractions.
• The number of hotels here isn’t particularly high either.

Our hotel recommendations for Berlin Neukölln

Our top pick for Neukölln is the Hüttenpalast — and it’s not even close. Why? Because it’s a truly special and unique place to stay that perfectly captures the spirit of Berlin, and Neukölln in particular.

Forget standard hotel rooms. Here you can sleep in a trailer or retro-style cabin. And don’t worry — the accommodations are indoors, so you won’t freeze. You can stay there any time of year.

The location is perfect too. The Hüttenpalast sits on a quiet side street in Kreuzkölln, right on the border between Kreuzberg and Neukölln, just a few minutes’ walk from Hermannplatz subway station.

Watch our Berlin hotel recommendations on video