Neukölln Guide

Neukölln is the district people mean when they say Berlin has changed. Long a working-class area with large Turkish and Arab communities, it filled with artists and students from the 2000s onward and now holds all three at once: grocers and bakeries from Istanbul and Damascus, natural-wine bars, galleries in former shops and a lot of late nights. It is not a sightseeing district. It rewards a slow afternoon and an empty stomach.

Where to walk

Sonnenallee is the spine of the Arab quarter, a long road of falafel counters, shawarma, pastry shops selling kunafa and baklava, and fruit stalls. Start at the Sonnenallee station on the Ringbahn and walk north-west toward Hermannplatz. Hermannplatz, a junction of the U7 and U8 lines, is the busy western gateway, with a large department store on its edge.

On the northern edge, the Maybachufer runs along the Landwehr Canal and holds a twice-weekly market that grew out of the Turkish community. Fabric, olives, cheese, vegetables and street food are all on sale. Check market days before you plan around it. Across the canal lies Kreuzberg, and the two districts blur together at this edge.

In the south, Richardplatz and the streets around it form Rixdorf, a former Bohemian weavers' village with low houses, a forge and a cobbled green. It feels like a small town dropped inside the city. Nearby, Körnerpark is a sunken Baroque-style garden with an orangery that holds changing art shows.

Who it suits and what to skip

Neukölln suits repeat visitors, food lovers and anyone who wants evenings in bars and restaurants away from the tourist centre. Streets such as Weserstrasse and Weichselstrasse are the usual starting points for a night out; our nightlife guide explains how the evening works. First-timers with only two or three days should see the main sights first. The Schillerkiez edge of the district borders Tempelhofer Feld, which makes a natural pairing for a daytime walk, and the where to stay guide covers sleeping here. We would skip the long Karl-Marx-Strasse shopping stretch unless you need a shop; the interest is on the side streets.