Looking for the best place to stay in Berlin?
Follow the guide, we have tested, listed and detailed for you the best districts to sleep in in Berlin as well as the best accommodation.
⏰ Don’t have time to read everything?
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations sorted by price category:
🚨 These hotels are among the most popular, so don’t hesitate to book. Plus, they offer free cancellation, so don’t worry if you change your mind.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
🏨 Se e other accommodation at the best price 👈
Table des matières
Here are the districts of Berlin to find accommodation
Prenzlauer Berg: the best district to sleep in Berlin
If you say those words to a Berliner, their eyes will start to sparkle, and if you ask them what the word evokes in them, they’ll immediately tell you about strolling through tree-lined streets dominated by buildings with magnificent facades and the scent of freshly roasted coffee and ice cream!
Why is “Prenzl-Berg” the best district in which to book your stay in Berlin? You’ll find the answer to this question as you stroll along Oderberger Strasse, Kastanienallee, Kollwitzstrasse and Helmholtzplatz.
Don’t forget to visit some of the landmarks of this part of Berlin: the Kulturbrauerei (a cultural centre converted into a brasserie), the Lichtblickkino (a 30-seat cinema) and the ever-popular Mauerpark flea market, once known as ‘death row’ at the time of the Berlin Wall and now a place to meet and exchange ideas.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
🏨 Se e other accommodation at the best price 👈
Mitte: the city centre district where to stay in Berlin
If you’re on a whirlwind tour of the German capital or just want to see the top 10 attractions the city has to offer, and don’t want to stray more than a few blocks from your accommodation, the Mitte district is definitely where you’ll find your accommodation for your Berlin holiday.
Strolling through the Mitte area is like taking a trip back in time: you’ll pass through streets haunted by the former kings of Prussia, which then went through the 39-45 war and some of which were even cut in two by the Berlin Wall in 1961.
If you have a nice budget for accommodation during your stay, don’t hesitate to opt for one of the city’s most beautiful establishments, the Hotel Adlon, where you will literally be overlooking the emblematic Brandenburg Gate.
Perhaps you’ll also meet a few presidents, politicians or pop stars for breakfast..
Mitte is not only a paradise for tourists, it’s also the district of choice for Berliners when they spend time in the city centre.
Take a stroll down Oranienburgerstrasse, Linienstrasse and Weinmeisterstrasse and you’ll find a labyrinth of alleys and courtyards, where you’ll find famous coffee roasters (like The Barn or Father Carpenter), tea rooms (Nannoushan or Tajik Tearoom), galleries (KW) and where you can treat yourself to the best German bread in Berlin at the ZeitfürBrot bakery.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
🏨 Se e other accommodation at the best price 👈
Neukölln: the cosy district to sleep in Berlin
Five years ago, Neukölln was renowned for one thing: Turkish cuisine.
Today, visitors flock here for its bare-walled cafés, small candlelit bars, live music concerts and, of course, the incredible diversity of the international art scene to be found in this charming district with its cosy atmosphere.
The district is huge, so you’ll need at least a day to explore Neukölln.
Start on Pannierstrasse (for the cafés) or Maybachufer (a riverside street known for its market held every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday), and wind your way between the blocks to end up on Weichselstrasse and Weserstrasse, where you’ll find cosy, welcoming bars.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Kreuzberg: the trendy family district
The famous Kreuzberg district has two quite different faces – on the one hand those who wake up at 11am, drink a coffee, enjoy a pastry and go for a jog or a nice walk, and others who also wake up at 11am and start their day with a bang by enjoying a good German beer.
The U7 line of the Berlin Underground winds its way through the Bergmannkiez area, a district with many streets where you’ll find cafés and restaurants serving all kinds of world cuisine. An island of culture devoted to gastronomy, situated between the panoramic Viktoriapark and the Marheineke Markthalle covered market.
Yes, the U1 line literally passes through the heart of the city: the atmosphere is more family-oriented on the Bergmannkiez side (intellectuals, ecologists) and younger and trendier on the Schlesisches Tor side. It’s a very green area, with lots of trees, parks and gardens. If you go there, you’re in for an adventure – anything can happen during your evening in one of the bars or clubs in the area.
Just a short walk from Görlitz station, you can enjoy a drink in some of the strangest bars you’ve ever seen (the Vögelchen, for example). And if you want to relax (or start your evening in a more original way), head down to Schlesisches Tor and head south-east through the narrow streets to more discreet and secret places like the 70s bar Konrad Tönz.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Friedrichshain: the trendy district
If you’re looking for a trendy area to stay in Berlin, Friedrichshain seems like a good choice, as this is the district where rockers and vegans walk hand in hand.
By day, it’s a very family-friendly neighbourhood where you’ll find plenty of restaurants and snack bars offering cheap but delicious food; by night, Friedrichshain transforms into a party district where you’ll find almost every kind of bar imaginable.
If you’re heading to this district, there’s one absolutely unique place you won’t want to miss: RAW Gelände.
As well as the décor of an abandoned train repair yard, you’ll find plenty going on here, with clubs like Cassiopeia, a gallery bar called Urban Spree, a veggie-eat-dive-bar called Emma Pea, as well as the Badehaus, a concert venue, and the huge market, hipster paradise and absolutely irresistible Neue Heimat.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Alt-Treptow: the trendy district to stay in Berlin
When it comes to finding the perfect place to stay in Berlin, Alt-Treptow is probably the city’s best-kept secret (oops, not any more!).
Most of the Treptow district is peaceful, and the former communist Treptower park is perfect for a few beers by the water. But Alt-Treptow marks the very border with the crazier parts of Kreuzberg.
You’ll be a stone’s throw from some of the capital’s most Berlin-style clubs: between the iconic old industrial buildings along the Spree, you’ll find the Chalet and the Arena.
Be warned: you may be in for a real surprise if you go to White Trash, an upmarket fast-food restaurant (yes, you read that right) that’s also a tattoo parlour, or Badeschiff, a pool bar floating on the Spree.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Wedding: Berlin’s booming district
Since last year, the Wedding district has been attracting a lot of attention. If you like new things and are looking for a place to stay in Berlin that can give you an idea of the changes currently taking place in the capital, this is obviously the district where you should book accommodation.
Being a young district (as opposed to Prenzlauer Berg or Kreuzberg), everything has yet to be built in the Wedding area.
Bars with a unique atmosphere, subdued pubs, microbreweries (German hipsters guaranteed) and local artistic initiatives such as PANKE, a gallery, club and café nestled in a courtyard by a stream; and the Piano Salon Christophori, a former piano manufacturing and repair workshop that hosts intimate, world-class piano recitals where everything is free (even the drinks!).
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Tiergarten: the green district for sleeping close to nature
This central location is an excellent choice for finding a room if you’re visiting Berlin in spring, summer or autumn (sorry, winter), particularly because of the magical Tiergarten forest you can explore, stretches of woodland that are nothing less than the former royal hunting grounds.
It’s also the ideal place if you’re going with your children, as you’ll be right next door to the West Berlin Zoo, which is, incidentally, the oldest in Germany.
Although three quarters of the district is made up of the park itself (yes, the park really is that big), to the south of Tiergarten you’ll find a network of culture-rich streets with real ‘old’ Berlin cafés, such as Cafe Einstein Stammhaus.
Pass through Potsdamer Strasse, however, and you’ll find a totally different atmosphere.
Alongside Turkish grocery shops, you can have a good time in sophisticated cocktail bars, as well as visiting private modern art galleries that rival each other in creativity with murals that you can admire directly from the street.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Schöneberg: the gay-friendly district
When you research nightlife in the Schöneberg district, you’ll notice that the area is well stocked with gay bars – and in Berlin, gay is synonymous with cool, laid-back and a healthy dose of kitsch.
If you’re a bon vivant who likes to go out and party, look no further than this is the place to stay in Berlin. Especially if you also like the streets to be clean and not littered with broken beer cans when you wake up in the morning, as can be the case elsewhere in the city.
You’ll find restaurants and other establishments that have become institutions for traditional Berlin brunches all over the district (such as Café Bilderbuch), particularly around Akazienstrasse and Goltzstrasse.
Schöneberg is not far from the city’s main sights and can be reached by public transport in just a few minutes.
The area isn’t short on historical sites, however: it was here that Kennedy thrilled the masses (and made a fool of himself with his more than a little rough grammar) with his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, which he gave right next to the Rathaus Schöneberg town hall.
In 2016, and for one night only, Hauptstrasse changed its name to David-Bowie-Strasse to honour the famous singer’s last journey to the stars.
And Natur-Park Schöneberger Südgelände, once a marshalling yard, has now been transformed into a nature reserve where a host of cute little animals thrive.
Here are our 3 favourite accommodations in this district, sorted by price category:
Note: Don’t delay in booking as these hotels are among the most booked in Berlin.
(€) Mercure Hotel checkpoint Charlie: This cheap hotel in Berlin welcomes you in the heart of Berlin, a 3-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and Stadtmitte underground station. Book here
(€€) Grimm’s Potsdamer Platz: Located in the centre of Berlin. The rooms are large and bright. Its roof terrace offers a unique view of the city. Book here
(€€) ❤️ Boutique Hotel i31 Berlin Mitte: Superb hotel with modern decor located in the heart of the Mitte district, 1 km from the main railway station. The breakfast garden is great! Book here
Potsdamer Platz: Berlin’s modern district
If you go to this square, don’t forget to look at old photos of the area from the 20s, 50s and 70s.
You’d never guess from the glass skyscrapers that the streets were once lined with horse-drawn carriages and that traffic was so chaotic that the idea of traffic lights was born here.
But the immeasurable damage caused by the Second World War and the construction of the Berlin Wall turned it into a wasteland where everything had to be rebuilt – and you can see sections of the Berlin Wall scattered around the area.
Although the highly visible Sony Center with its cinema and shops is a testament to a globalised world, you’ll still find a large number of museums nearby, so you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Further afield, you can take a trip to the Kulturforum, a cultural forum (as its name suggests) recognisable by its modern, innovative architecture, where you’ll find the Berliner Philharmonie and the New National Gallery.
And don’t forget the German Museum of Television and Film, which is free to visit on Thursdays from 4pm!
Charlottenburg: the bourgeois district to stay in Berlin
If you have a taste for bourgeois chic and want to stay in Berlin in a top-of-the-range hotel, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for in Charlottenburg.
Here you can enjoy a slightly stuffy atmosphere and mingle with the German upper class, not least at KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens, the ‘Department Store of the West’), quite simply the largest department store of its kind in Europe.)
You can compare this department stores’ to Galeries Lafayette in France – it really is a great place to dream or make your dreams come true (if you can afford it).
If you have a guilty conscience and think you’re spending too much, wait until you see the interior of Charlottenburg Palace.
What would the elegant residents of Charlottenburg do with their money? Spend it in the Kudamm, Berlin’s main shopping centre, and stop off at the Grosz for a delicious cup of tea.
In the evening, opt for a cultural activity by attending a lecture at the Wintergarten&Literaturhaus Berlin bookshop and café, or relax in one of the traditional jazz bars on Savignyplatz.
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