29 Hidden Gems in Berlin the Locals Don't Want You to Know About

The Tempelhof railway yard is where forgotten technology and nature meet, providing a strange oasis, rich in nature and abandoned relics. The deserted industrial area was shut down gradually after World War II and has since become a jungle forest that can be explored on foot. Abandoned water towers, trains and railways can be found within the park and visitors will feel as if they have been transported back in time.

A cult gallery space and small concert venue, West Germany is a hidden hangout that is impossible to find unless you’re in the know. The clandestine space has no website or official Facebook page; instead, the former dental surgery turned no-frills art space attracts locals and artists by word of mouth and with their eclectic, acclaimed programme. The events range from underground indie bands to edgy performance art. Hidden among the 70s-inspired buildings at Kottbusser Tor, West Germany can be found by looking for the door covered in stickers and a sign reading ‘Schatz EV Schulaufgabenzirkel’; from here, you need to take the graffitied stairs up to the second floor.

Pfaueninsel, or ‘Peacock Island’, and its palace are romantic gems on the River Havel. Close to Potsdam, the island houses an idyllic white castle and lush sprawling parklands, with roaming peacocks. The River Havel island was settled thousands of years ago and is rich with history stretching back to the 17th century. The tranquil island has many stunning walks, and as well as the famous peacocks, it is also home to a range of wildlife. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed island is easily accessible from the city centre by S-Bahn to Wannsee, and then by bus and ferry, costing €4 each way. Its lovely woodlands and meadows are the perfect place to escape the bustle of Berlin for a romantic escape.

Hidden in the abundant greenery of Berlin’s Tiergarten is a romantic surprise. Just off the main walking trail are two trees with the opening lyrics to Ben E King’s Stand By Me carved onto their trunks. The song’s opening lyrics have been lovingly carved onto the first tree beside the Großer Weg pathway, close to its intersection with Großer Sternallee; the song’s chorus, meanwhile, can be found on a nearby trunk located off a small pathway leading off Großer Sternallee. It’s still a mystery who decided to engrave the sentimental tribute, and when.

Can’t get into Berghain? Luckily, just around the corner is Berlin’s smallest disco, and this secret spot has no bouncers or line. The teledisko is a ‘club’ inside a phone booth in the nearby, uber-cool RAW Gelände; among the graffitied urban stretch of buildings is a gold phone booth, doubling as a disco. The tiny cubicle plays a song of your choice, while fog machines, strobe lights and a disco ball set the mood. The party can be enjoyed solo or with a few friends, to lift your spirits and get visitors ready to party like Berliners.

A surrealist underground world is hidden in Berlin’s central neighbourhood, Mitte. Monsterkabinett was created by the Dead Chickens artist collective and is inhabited by an assortment of mechanical robot monsters, assembled as a computer-controlled art and sound installation. The entrance can be found in the second courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg by climbing the spiral staircase.

Located about 30 kilometres (19 miles) northeast of the heart of Berlin, Straussee is a beloved escape for locals in the winter and summer. Encompassed by a charming small town and a dense forest, this lake is a favourite spot for hiking, swimming and taking a break from the pace of the city. It’s the perfect Sunday escape and you’ll find Berliners here all year round, soaking in the relaxing ambience and fresh air.

Fahimi Bar is an industrial-chic speakeasy hidden among the lively bars and nightlife of Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighbourhood. This secret gem serves some of the city’s best cocktails, and its interior is a mixture of dark wood and candlelit tables paired with exposed pipes and an industrial edge. To enter, guests locate an unmarked, sticker-covered door and head up a graffitied stairwell; upon their arrival, visitors are greeted with ambient electronic beats and an impressive cocktail menu.

Dotted across Berlin are the city’s allotment gardens, offering apartment-dwelling locals the chance to get some fresh air and use their green thumbs. Often sandwiched between railway tracks and residential streets, these quirky spaces pique the interest of passersby. Among these gardens, Charlottenburg’s Bahn Landwirtschaft is particularly special; it’s accessible via a nondescript gate, and the garden’s clubhouse/café/pub is open to the public. Visitors can spend an afternoon wandering the fragrant gardens and resting their feet at the old-school pub, treating themselves to a couple of beers and an idyllic rural atmosphere, all without leaving the city.

Berlin’s vegans and vegetarians are well catered for, as the city is brimming with amazing meat-free joints. Cookies Cream is the city’s chicest herbivore haven, but this high-end vegetarian restaurant isn’t easy to find. Its entrance is reached via the Westin Hotel’s service alley, leading to an industrial-chic loft. Once inside, you’ll be treated to Berlin’s finest meat-free dishes, which are a delight for the eyes and palate. However, if you are craving some meat, you can visit Crackers, which is run by the same team and is located in a former cinema below.

Located in Berlin’s central neighbourhood Mitte is a unique window into the past, Ballhaus Berlin, a survivor of the city’s racy Weimar Era. Hosting a range of events and ballroom nights, it’s the perfect place to put on your dancing shoes and spend a night partying like it’s 1920. However, the main attraction is the Tischtelefonen (‘table telephones’) that are placed on the tables to let guest flirt with each other without even having to stand up.

Each week in the basement of Du Beast, a cosy bar in Neukölln, hordes of Berliners crowd into the space to be wooed by the spoken word. Hosted by Berlin Spoken Word, the night is an open space for everyone to share their stories, poetry and musings. From the tear-jerking to the knee-slapping, this night always offers a wide selection of spoken-word performances every Thursday night, and is beloved by locals and visitors in the know.

Located in a quiet part of Mitte is Eschenbräu, a locals’ favourite and hidden gem offering amazing beer and a Flammkuchen restaurant. With 20 specialities, this small brewery offers a beer for everyone, with quirky names like Amber Rocket and Wedding Crossover. The modern brewery also has a huge courtyard, making it the perfect spot for a few beers in the warmer months.

This mountain in West Berlin looms almost 100 metres (328 feet) over the Grunewald forest. Somewhat in the shadow of its more well-known neighbour Teufelsberg, Drachenberg (‘Dragon Mountain’) still attracts fans to its treeless, oddly-shaped plateau and is a great place to fly a kite or spot a few wild bores and foxes.

Though difficult to make out if you don’t know what you are looking for, the Rummelsburg Memorial is worth seeking out. Once the largest workhouse in Germany and a former East Berlin men’s prison, it is now a historical site that profiles the stories of 21 prisoners and can be reached with an idle walk along the banks of the Rummelsburger Bucht.

The budget accommodation Ostel Hostel promises to cater to all your nostalgia needs with its eerie recreation of Communist Berlin. The youth hostel offers visitors an insight into life before the Berlin Wall fell. Expect Communist kitsch, including corduroy sofas, toy versions of the popular East Germany cartoon character ‘the Sandman’ and historic photographs hanging in the rooms, all within a concrete apartment block typical of what was once East Berlin.

For those who laugh in the face of extreme heights, this skywalk in Marzahn is worth checking out. It’s a secret, free viewing platform over the city perched atop a high-rise building that stretches 70 metres (230 feet) into the sky. You’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views of central Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg.

This one is just too off-kilter to miss: Berlin’s own fully fledged, hand-built homage to America’s Wild West. Located next to a suburban shopping mall, this small but extremely detailed slice of Americana is also the headquarters of Berlin’s very own Cowboy Club. They’ve been swinging pistols and cracking horse whips here since the 1970s, but the quirky attraction remains an under-the-radar catch that even locals are unlikely to know.

This is a regular feature on the calendar of the S036—the little Berlin bar made famous by the nighttime exploits of famous musicians like David Bowie. Now you can roll back into the smashing 70s with the bar’s monthly roller disco dance spectacle. You don’t need to have your own pair of old-school four-wheel skates, as you can rent a pair for just €2 per half-hour.

At the very end of Berlin’s U7 line in Spandau, a neighbourhood known for its fortified citadel and old town charm, sits a beautiful Buddhist temple located on the edge of an industrial estate. The Linh Thuu Pagode was built by Berlin’s Vietnamese Buddhist community and brings an authentic Eastern energy to Berlin. Gold Buddha statues adorn the temple, staircases with carved dragons line the walkways and the surrounding garden has traditional statues, plants and a zen atmosphere. Aside from being a place of worship, the temple acts as an oasis from the gloomy Berlin street it sits on. All visitors are welcome provided they remove their shoes before entering the temple and act respectfully while enjoying the surrounding area.

Silent Green Kulturquartier is located in the former historical Wedding Crematorium, and is an independent project that considers itself a site for interdisciplinary art and culture, and consists of a number of offices, studios and event venues. A self-proclaimed place for ‘thinking, research and experimentation’, the venue is home to leading art gallery SAVVY Contemporary and also has a year-round eclectic programme of music, film, art shows, as well as open discussions and lectures, many of which take place in a beautifully restored cupola. Even if the shows aren’t your cup of tea, it’s worth discovering this true architectural gem in Wedding dating back to 1911.

Berlin’s Gardens of the World is a 22-acre park of beautifully themed landscapes, hidden among tower blocks in Marzahn. The perfectly manicured gardens take visitors on a journey around the world as they wind their way from one continent to another. From an Arabian courtyard to a Balinese rainforest and hillside Korean temple, this stunning space is an impressive gem in Berlin. A must-see while in the garden is the Chinese garden—a picturesque ensemble of crystalline lakes, pagodas, and traditional gardens built entirely by Chinese craftsmen that offers an authentic look into traditional Chinese aesthetics.

The people of Hakenfelde certainly know Uli Feick and his bicycle shop, but Berliners from the 11 other districts of the city may not be so familiar. This Spandau resident exhibits beautiful historical bicycles and his shop is a go-to destination if you’re in need of any repairs on your own vintage beauty.

The Funkturm is Berlin’s own slightly less impressive Eiffel Tower. The architect responsible for the design was Heinrich Straumer, who supervised a total of 140 technical drawings of the steel framework and based his design on the Eiffel Tower. Located in the far west of the city, this former broadcasting tower is a protected monument in Berlin and its observation deck has spectacular city views. Far less known than the TV Tower at Alexanderplatz, Funkturm offers a cheaper view from its observation deck which costs only 5€ ($5.88 USD).

Jungfernmühle is Berlin’s oldest surviving windmill not being used for museum purposes. First constructed in Potsdam in 1757 by the Dutch carpenter Adriaan den Ouden, the mill was moved in 1860 to make way for a villa and was rebuilt in Rixdorf. In 1872, the mill was sold again to Otto Wienecke, who rebuilt it in Buckow-Gropisustadt where it still stands. Steeped in history and authentic charm, this former windmill is a rare slice of Berlin’s past.

A former war bunk which connects to Berlin’s U-Bahn tunnels, the Gesundbrunnen bunker is a spooky window into the past. Although it was first used as an air raid shelter during the Second World War, the French, who ran this zone of occupied Berlin, tried to convert it into a nuclear shelter in the 1970s before deciding to store emergency food supplies here. Only accessible via a guided tour, the bunker hides behind an anonymous door near the Gesundbrunnen U-Bahn station. Inside is a giant steel airlock door that opens to reveal a hidden shelter. The tour takes nearly two hours, costs €9 ($10.58 USD) and is a unique insight into Berlin’s rich and diverse past.

The Berlin Bauakademie (building academy) looks like a rather unremarkable building from the outside but was originally designed and built by one of the city’s most recognised and renowned architects, urban planner and painter Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Responsible for much of the city’s early 19th-century redesign, Schinkel’s remaining work includes many of Berlin’s most beautiful buildings and photographed monuments. While his influence can be seen around the city, head over to the Bauakademie for a truly unique experience. Tucked away down a quiet street behind Unter den Linden you’ll find Schinkel’s door, an isolated entrance and stunning insight into the building’s former glory.

The vintage photo booths of Berlin take black and white photos and make a perfect souvenir of the city. Take the challenge and fit inside with your friends, make funny faces and have fun with the photos. Recommended by Inês Cortez.

Although currywurst is a famous Berlin dish, what the locals really love is a good kebab. You can find kebab spots easily, the most famous one being Mustafa’s Gemüse (vegetable) Kebab, you’ll have to wait in line, but it will be totally worth it. Recommended by Inês Cortez.