Schöneberg Guide

Schöneberg sits south of Tiergarten and west of Kreuzberg, and it is the district many Berliners would choose for themselves: residential, mixed in age, and rich in cafés without feeling made for visitors. It has also been the centre of gay life in Berlin for a century. Before 1933 the area around Nollendorfplatz was already known for its gay bars and clubs, and the association has lasted ever since. The walk below covers it in an easy half day.

1. Begin at Wittenbergplatz. The U-Bahn station here is a protected 1910s building. Just beside it stands KaDeWe, the grand West Berlin department store, whose food hall is the reason to go inside.
2. Walk to Nollendorfplatz. A busy junction under an old elevated U-Bahn station with a green dome. Christopher Isherwood lived in the streets nearby, and his writing about Berlin before the Nazis took power inspired the musical Cabaret.
3. Follow Motzstrasse and Fuggerstrasse. The heart of the long-established gay scene, with bars, cafés and shops. Note that some places are busy only late at night.
4. Reach Winterfeldtplatz. A square with a church at one end and a market on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with food stalls and produce. Check before you go, since market days can change.
5. Stroll Goltzstrasse. Bookshops, wine bars and small restaurants run south of the square and lead toward Akazienstrasse, a tree-lined street known for its cafés.
6. Walk to Rathaus Schöneberg. Here, in June 1963, John F. Kennedy told a crowd of tens of thousands that he too was a Berliner. West Berlin's government sat here during the Cold War, and the tower still carries a bell given by Americans.
7. Finish at Kleistpark. A leafy park with a baroque colonnade that was moved here from Alexanderplatz in 1910.

When to come and what to skip

Saturday is best, when the market runs and the streets are lively; a weekday afternoon is quieter and cheaper in terms of crowds. Schöneberg has no headline sight, so we would not make a special trip unless you like neighbourhoods. It connects easily to the shopping avenue in City West, and Kreuzberg is a short U-Bahn ride east. Tiergarten lies just to the north. For an overnight base, see our where to stay guide.