Berlin Beyond the Tourist Stuff
Welcome to my latest Brume & Daisy travel series, featuring Berlin Beyond the Tourist Stuff! This is the fourth time I’ve visited Berlin, so I’ve had the chance to see all the “hits” and I’m reading to dig deeper into this city I love so much. So here are all my Berlin tips, including where to stay, what plant-filled cafes to visit, where you’ll find the best döner kebab, all the cozy bars, urban parks and walking trails, and even a bit of local shopping!
Plus, you’ll find links below for some of my more general travel advice, and my first Berlin City Guide, which includes the classic tourist stops. Alright, let’s get into it!
Where to Stay in Berlin
Usually we love to stay in AirBnbs when we travel — it’s great to have a kitchen and the feeling of home on the road! (If you want, you can use my AirBnb referral code to get a discount yourself, and a credit for me, which helps support this site).
However, Berlin has so many hotels since it’s a major city with a big tourism industry, that we have always found amazing deals on Hotels.com in Berlin specifically. I’ve actually found hotel stays that are cheaper than AirBnb or even Hostel World when in Berlin, so I recommend giving it a look even if it’s not your usual.
What to Eat & Drink in Berlin
Where to even begin?! Eating and drinking is our favorite thing about travel, and Berlin is an absolute wonderland. Because it’s such a diverse city, you can find any food under the sun here. Germany — but specifically the Neukölln and Kreuzberg neighborhoods of Berlin — has a lot of Turkish immigrants and expatriates, so we definitely eat our fill of Turkish food when we visit. And we definitely get our fill of cozy bars and plant-filled cafes in, too.
Lula Deli & Cafe – Located in the Friedenau neighborhood, Lula started as a market that sold baked goods, homemade sourdough, and other treats. Now there is a full cafe, but the market still exists, too, just down the street. The cafe is so cozy and absolutely full of houseplants, which is my favorite. I enjoyed a halloumi burger and we split some delicious fries, but honestly everything looked delicious!
My Berlin Doner Ranking:
Like I mentioned, we love to get Turkish street food when in Berlin, meaning we eat a lot of döner kebab and köfte and Iskender. We’ve tried a lot across Germany and these are our Berlin favorites.
#1 Mustafa’s Gemuse Kebab – This is a classic and it’s definitely a tourist attraction, too. It’s a street foods stall, but the type that gets a crazy 1-2 hours line every night! I am NOT a line person, but I honestly think this is the most delicious kebab I’ve ever eaten — it’s all in the fresh veggies, which I haven’t found compare anywhere else. Grab a couple convenience store beers and make your wait in line enjoyable. It’s worth it!
#2 Doyum Restaurant – We ate here twice because the food was so amazing. The first time we did ‘sit down dinner’ for Iskender — big enough that we should have split — and then we went back at the end of our trip for a takeaway doner kebap. Both were delicious!
#3 Tadim – Another good one in the Kreuzberg neighborhood. Seriously, friends, eat döner kebab as often as you can in Berlin.
İzmir Köftecisi – Then when you’re through with döner, give köfte a try. We loved the grilled köfte sandwhich at İzmir Köftecisi. It’s a whole-in-the-wall place with just a bit of outdoor seating and some stand-up tables, but the food was INCREDIBLE.
Steel Vintage Bike Cafe – I got this recommendation from my pal @myslowworld world because our husbands both love cycling. It’s literally a cafe full of vintage steel bikes — just like the one’s Curtis restores, except really really nice ones are on display here (no offense to C and his ‘found in a barn bikes’!). And on top of it being a really cool place to see, the coffee is also really good. Pour-over coffee is a lot less common in Europe than in the States, so we were pleased to see it on the menu here!
Cafe Luzia – We met up @thegreenedition (Laura) and her husband Mark for a beer here. It was super cozy and cool.
Kimchi Princess – Then we popped over to Kimchi Princess for dinner. Lots of apps you can split and the food was all delicious!
Das Hotel – I think this is the coziest bar I’ve ever been to. It’s full of tea light candles and flowers. And when we were there it seemed like lots of young expats and travelers were there, in addition to locals. I highly recommend it!
Angry Chicken. Go here for affordable Korean chicken wings and awesome fries.
Hopfenreich – They tout themselves as the first craft beer brewery in Berlin proper. They serve 22 “novelty” and seasonal craft beers on tap. In Berlin’s worldly way, beers from all over the world are featured.
Things to Do in Berlin:
Once you’ve eaten to you’re full, it’s time to stroll! Walking around the city parks is one of our favorite Berlin activities. And it’s made better by the Wegbier culture, which basically just means “beer to go” — you can stop at any convenience store and grab a beer while you walk. But why stop at just any store when you could have a map of the cheapest in Berlin?
Download Maps.me so you can pin these beer stops and walking trails to your map and access directions while offline.
Böcklerpark – This is a beautiful park with canals running through it. A perfect place to watch the sunset.
Oranienstraße Square – This park has Ehemaliger Luisenstädtische Kanal and rose garden. Berlin is famous for its grungy parks and wild overgrown landscaping. You just have to see it — I love the look!
Volkspark Hasenheide – This is a massive park, but the far end is a very strollable graveyard (you may think this is really weird, but it was SO COOL to see the history here). As you exit the park, you’ll find a place called Cafe Struass, which has the most delicious cakes and sweets.
From Cafe Strauss, head to Another Country Bookstore by walking along Bergmannstraße. Here you’ll find loads of second-hand shops, bookstores, record shops, a bike shop, and cafes.
Another Country Bookstore is an English language bookstore, library club, and community center. Now. I have been to many a bookstore in my years, but this is the WILDEST bookstore I have ever seen. I can barely describe the piles of books — you just have to see it yourself.
Daimler Contemporary Art Museum – The Daimler Art Collection features contemporary German artworks from the 1960s onward. They exhibit the artwork in several different galleries across the city and a couple are free. We visited the Daimler Contemporary Berlin — it’s on the fourth floor of an office building so it’s a bit hard to find, but follow the signs and it is worth it!
Where to Shop in Berlin
LOVECO – There are three LOVECO shops in Berlin and they carry eco, ethically made, fair fashion! You can find things like Cora Microfiber Balls, People Tree, Veja, eco cleaning products, vegan shoes, Keep Cups… all sorts of goodies!
Humana – The thrifting chain of Berlin! So many recommended Humana to me, and you can find them dotted across the city.
Garage Berlin – This is treasure-hunting thrifting. Garage has prices at 25€ per kilo. Enjoy the bargains!
Bintus Vintage – Some incredible vintage, plus they specialize in exceptional handbags.
General Berlin Travel Tips
If you’re looking for the usual tourist stuff, do go check out my first Berlin City Guide for sightseeing highlights, places like Checkpoint Charlie, the Tiergarten, and Bradenburg Gate, which shouldn’t be missed on your first visit to Berlin.
And don’t forget I have an FAQ where I address basic travel things like budgeting, ATMs, and using a cell phone abroad. Here are some Berlin-specific FAQs answered:
What’s the train station like? You’ll arrive by train to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin Hbh on all the signs) and it’s a very nice and convenient central train station. From there you can access all public transit.
What’s the public transit like in Berlin? Very convenient! We mostly utilized the metro. Most station have ticket purchasing stalls, which isn’t the case all over Europe, so it’s easy to buy single tickets when you need them. Don’t forget to validate before you ride!
What’s the airport like? Ooof. There are two in Berlin: Tegel (TXL), located in the northwest and Schoenefeld (SXF), located in the southeast. We’ve flown in and out of both, and both are honestly kind of a mess. We did prefer Tegel (TXL) because it’s a bit easier to get to (there is an airport bus that departs to-and-from the Berlin Hbh.
What can I expect? Berlin is relaxed unlike any other place I’ve ever traveled — people are not in a rush, and it’s so unlike the States. People are also quite private and keep to themselves. In general, most people speak English and most establishments have English menus — partially because it’s such an international city that English is a universal language.
That’s All For Now
Until next time — let’s chat on Instagram or Twitter, where I’m @brumeanddaisy. You can feel free to ask me any questions about Berlin and I’ll definitely answer them. Berlin is one of my favorite cities in the world!
Want more of this backpacking tour? We also visited Wrocław, Poland; Warsaw, Poland; Ostrava, Czech Republic, Kosice, Slovakia; and Budapest, Hungary. Plus I have loads more guides and travel content here!
