Prenzlauer Berg Guide

Prenzlauer Berg was a shabby, half-forgotten corner of East Berlin until the 1990s, when its late nineteenth-century tenements were restored one block at a time. Today it is the city's most polished residential district: wide pavements, chestnut trees, prams, brunch queues and very few sights in the strict sense. That is the point. Come to walk, sit down and see how Berliners live when money is no object, and use the route below as a loose spine rather than a schedule.

1. Start at Eberswalder Strasse. The U2 runs here on an iron viaduct above the street, and the corner is a place to get your bearings. Konnopke's currywurst stand sits right under the tracks and is a famous stop, so see our food guide for what to order.
2. Walk the length of Kastanienallee. Cafés, small design shops and a few survivors of the older, scruffier street.
3. Turn into Oderberger Strasse. A calm row of independent shops, with a former municipal swimming hall at one end that has been turned into a hotel.
4. Visit the Kulturbrauerei. A red-brick brewery complex of the 1890s, now a cultural centre with courtyards, cinema and event spaces. Check what is on before you go.
5. Cross to Kollwitzplatz. A small square with a statue of the artist Käthe Kollwitz, playgrounds and, on market days, food stalls. The streets around it, Husemannstrasse in particular, show the restored Gründerzeit look at its best.
6. Look up at the Wasserturm. The round brick water tower from the 1870s stands in a small park, and the nearby Helmholtzplatz is the lazy end of the district for a coffee.
7. Finish at Mauerpark. A long strip of park on the line of the former border. A short walk west brings you to Bernauer Strasse and the Berlin Wall Memorial.

When to come and what to skip

Weekends are the obvious choice for Mauerpark, where the Sunday flea market and open-air karaoke in the amphitheatre draw large crowds; arrive early if you dislike a crush. Weekday mornings suit the streets best, since cafés fill fast at the weekend. We would skip any plan to cover the whole district in one go. Prenzlauer Berg is large, and Kollwitzplatz and Mauerpark are a long half hour apart on foot.

It pairs well with a day around Hackescher Markt to the south, or with the more raw streets of Friedrichshain. If you want to sleep here, our where to stay guide explains the trade-offs: calm and pretty, but a tram or U-Bahn ride from the headline sights.