Berlin

Akazien-/Goltzstraße

Restaurants abound here, with cuisines ranging from Afghan to Nepalese and Thai, plus several pizzerias and sandwich places. Prices are low, especially compared with other locations in the tourist centre of Berlin. Around Eisenacher Straße (extension of Goltzstr.) you’ll find even more bars and cafés situated in the basements of nice old houses. During World War II, this part of Berlin was not destroyed by bombs as much as other parts of Berlin, so you can get an impression of how 19th-century Berlin's architecture looked.

Al Hamra

Relaxed Mediterranean/Arabic style bar cafe serving good food, with occasional music and movies, has a separate smoking section.

Barcomi's Deli

A deli with superb American cakes and cookies run by the American Cynthia Barcomi. Apple walnut caramel cake, Devil's Food cake, Lemon Meringue Pie, Triple Chocolate Cookies, they have it all. There are also bagels, salads and lasagna on the menu for the non sweet-tooths. You can try to repeat the wonder at home with her four recipe books. They also roast their own coffee which is excellent as well. Not so easy to find though - it is in a courtyard of a building situated roughly in the middle of the quiet Sophienstraße and there is only a small sign outside. Maybe look it up on Google Maps before visiting. The smaller original branch is situated at Bergmannstraße in Kreuzberg.

Mon-Sat 09:00-21:00, Sun 10:00-21:00

Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung

Closed for renovations; the temporary Bauhaus-Archiv is at Knesebeckstraße 1-2 in Charlottenburg. Building designed by Walter Gropius. Inside a museum, library, cafe and shop.

Wed-Mon 10:00-17:00·Sa-M €7/€4; W-F €6/€3

Blaue Lagune

A coffeeshop/restaurant where you can have great coffee, house-made excellent ice cream and cakes, and great food from a short but just as excellent menu, and all that in a wonderful ambiente. Nestled in a corner of Johannisthal, part of Schoeneweide, which is a subsection of Treptow.

Closed · opens 10 am tomorrow

Boxhagener Platz and surroundings

Boxhagener Kiez

The area around Boxhagener Platz is filled with bars, cafes and small shops. Boxhagener Platz itself is a small park with a playground and a cafe, and the nearby Simon Dach Straße is filled with cheap bars and restaurants. At the weekend you can find many places that serve the famous, cheap Berliner brunch. On Sundays there is a small flea market worth strolling around

Cafe Bilderbuch

Café that is stocked with hundreds of books to rest and relax. Good cakes and sometimes on Sunday "Tanztee" (nipping tea and dancing) occurs.

Cafe Solvey

Lovely little vintage cafe. While drinks and cakes are decent, but not extraordinary for Mitte, the decor is really cute and it is very quiet. A good place to relax and read a magazine or book.

Tue-Fri 12:00-18:00; Sat-Sun 10:00-19:00·from €3

Café Fleury

Cute little French cafe near Weinbergspark. Excellent breakfast and tasty baguettes. Tends to be very crowded on weekends, be there when it opens if you want to have breakfast. If it is full, try the small sister Petit Fleury on the opposite side of the road.

Mon-Fri 08:00–20:00, Sat Sun 10:00-20:00·from €3

Café Hilde

A large bright corner cafe and bar. Direct fair trade coffee, organic teas & ice cream, home-made cakes. Evenings there is bistro food including pastas and salads.

Café Melanie

Have a coffee, long drink or cocktail at this cozy café which is one of the most longstanding in Steglitz and Friedenau. This venue also offers some delicious meals, ice cream, breakfast and brunch.

09:00-close

Café Selig

Cute café/restaurant in the Schillerkiez by the church. Good place to people-watch, drink a coffee, and to eat brunch.

Closed · opens 10 am tomorrow

Café am Neuen See

A must-do during the day if the weather is nice. This cafe is more like an outdoor beergarden. Even though it's right in the middle of West Berlin, the "Café am Neuen See" is located in the middle of the Tiergarten next to a small lake. If you are a (romantic) couple, make sure to rent one of the rowboats and enjoy the silent and romantic scenery. The nicer the weather, the more packed this place gets. Don't even dream of a place to sit if it's one of the rare, warm Sundays.

Beers are between €4-5, giant pizzas are €8-9

Dresdner Feinbäckerei

Dresdner Café

This tradition-rich confectionery and café which was founded in 1906 offers backed goods, cookies and cakes from Saxony as well as coffee. Regular events such as readings take place at the café.

Tue–Sat 05:30-18:00, Sun 11:00-18:00

Fernsehturm

Television tower

At 368 metres, the Fernsehturm is Berlin's tallest and indeed EU's second-tallest building, complected between 1965 and 1969. The main function of the building is television broadcasting, but the shiny sphere atop the tower houses a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Berlin Tourist Information point. The viewing platform sits 203 metres above ground, affording views of as much as 42 km away and featuring a bar. Given how flat Berlin is, it's not a very interesting view however and the state of the glass means that you can't get good photos either. The Sphere restaurant at 207 metres rotates at a speed of one full spin per 30 minutes. There are two lifts from the base to the platform and cafe, taking 40 seconds to reach the top, as well as a 986-step staircase. The Fernsehturm is not accessible to wheelchair users. Not all of the Berliners liked the tower and the overall composition of the Alexanderplatz afforded by the socialist city planners. East German T.V. tried to establish the nickname "Telespargel" ("television asparagus") which however doesn't seem to have caught on. During certain times of day, sunlight reflecting from the top caused a large cross-shaped light to shine down on the city. Called the Rache des Papstes (Pope's revenge) by nominally atheist East Berliners, the light-cross was an ironic result of socialist architecture. Rumour has it the architect was deprived of more than his next commission after that fiasco. At night, the Fernsehturm sometimes appears to be shooting light beams from the tower section, giving the impression it's a Death Star à la Star Wars.

Mar–Oct 09:00–00:00, Nov–Feb 10:00–00:00·€13, children €8.50 (if prebooked, slightly more walk up). Discount with voucher from other attractions

Französischer Dom

French Cathedral

The French cathedral houses the Hugenottenmuseum. It represents the ongoing influence on Berlin by the Huguenots who emigrated from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Crown Prince Friedrich William encouraged them to settle here because most of them were skilled workers or otherwise useful to the kingdom. One memorable artwork, in room nine of the museum, pictures Crown Princess Dorothea exclaiming "But he's a refugee!" upon being presented a very valuable set of jewels by Pierre Fromery. The generally agreed-upon view of refugees as poor, without resources let alone diamonds, was blown apart by the talented French Protestants forced to leave their country due to religion. One of the most notable effects of having such a large French population was their influence on the infamous Berlin dialect. Berlinerisch words such as Kinkerlitzchen (from French "quincaillerie" - kitchen equipment) and Muckefuck (from French "mocca faux" - artificial coffee, though that etymology is not universally accepted) are unique to the area. The Französischen Dom (cathedral) itself was built to resemble the main church of the Huguenots in Charenton, France, destroyed in 1688. It has housed the museum since 1929. Closed till 2019

Tue–Sun 12:00–17:00·€2

Hamy Cafe

Delicious Vietnamese cuisine, a main course for €4.90. They have a daily changing menu and great lassis.

Hanfmuseum

Hemp Museum

It is the only hemp museum in Germany; you can see the history of hemp, the culture and use of it. You can see hemp grow. There is a cafe downstairs, with an open WiFi access. Everything going on here is legal - including the hemp growing under artificial light (a low THC strain grown with a special permit) - but they do not refrain from political commentary on the legal situation of cannabis in their exhibits.

Tue–Fri 10:00–20:00, Sat Sun 12:00–20:00, Mon closed·€4.50, concession €3

Kastanienallee

Kastanienallee is well known for its numerous cafés and fashion stores, as well as its many cultural venues in the backyards such as alternative cinemas, theaters and beergardens.

Kauf Dich Glücklich

The café with its iconic colored chairs on the terrace which at the same time is a shop for fashion and design. The venue which is so typical of the hipster-hedonist Kastanienallee neighborhood offers coffee, crêpes, waffles and housemade ice cream.

10:00/11:00–20:00

Kollwitzplatz

The Kollwitzplatz, with a small nice park, is one of Berlin's most beautiful Gründerzeit city squares. Together with the Kollwitzstraße which is crossing it, it offers many cafés and restaurants, but is also a well-known symbol in Germany for gentrification since the late 1990s. Its flea market which takes place every Sunday in one of Berlin's best known and focuses on international delicatessen foods.

KulturBrauerei

Culture Brewery

A complex that was once a brewery. There you can find the Jazz Cafe, the SODA restaurant where you can enjoy a fine meal of insects, and some clubs: Club 23, nbi and frannz. The KulturBrauerei also has several cinemas showing alternative movies, the Kesselhaus concert house, and one of the best shops for instruments in Berlin, the "Sound and Drumland".

Köpenick Palace Cafe

Both inside and outside are beautiful places to have a glass of wine or beer or a cup of coffee with a whipped cream cake. Also have menus for lunch and dinner.

Nov-Mar: Thu-Sun 10:00-18:00; Oct-Apr: Tue-Sun 10:00-19:00; May-Sep: Tue-Sun 10:00-23:00·€4 for drinks

Lisboa Bar am Boxi

Portuguese tapas, bread, wine, beer and coffee. Good place to have a real dinner or just hang our and share a bottle of wine with a couple of tapas

Tue-Sat 15:00-24:00; Sun 11:00-24:00; Mon 17:00-24:00·€19 for four tapas

Morgenrot

Alternative cafe serving vegetarian and vegan food, quite a recommended place for people interested in squats and related issues.

Tue-Thu 12:00-02:00; Fri-Sun 11:00-02:00

Müggelturm

An observation tower without an elevator in Southeast Berlin, from which you can see that there is a great deal of forest around Berlin. There is a cafe at the tower.

Closed · opens 10 am tomorrow·€2

Oderberger Straße

Oderberger Straße is known for its beautiful and generous Gründerzeit architecture, as well as its cafés and restaurants. Since before Germany's reunification the street has been the desired place for alternative folks and avant-gardists, but the area has seen continual gentrification since the early 2000s.

Park Inn

Panorama Terasse

Small terrace on the top of the Park Inn, publicly accessible. Take the elevator to the 40th floor, and follow the signs up the stairs. Pay the attendant who also serves beer and coffee. Great views of the Fernsehturm. In the summer, consider base jumping off the roof with Jochen Schweizer. It is often closed in bad/windy weather, so look for a notice posted near the elevator that the terrace is closed.

10:00–18:00·€4

Potemkin

Russian restaurant that offers good breakfast varieties and a Sunday buffet. Also a popular coffee/cake break

Ramones Museum Berlin

Temporarily closed, check website for updates

Pays tribute to the Punk band The Ramones. It displays more than 300 unique and original Ramones memorabilia. You can get a drink at cafe Mania inside the museum. DeeDee Ramone grew up in Berlin and the city is mentioned in several of their songs.

Sun–Thu 12:00–20:00, Fri Sat 12:00–22:00·€3.50