Imagine flea markets where you can shop till you drop. Street food markets full of international delicacies. Alternative cafés inviting you to hang out in the sun. Colorful street art hidden on unexpected corners. Bars by the river where you can sip a drink while the sun slowly sets. And reminders of history wherever you look. Countless alternative things to do in Berlin are just waiting to be discovered. Time to fall in love with the hidden gems in this city.
Are you looking for alternative things to do in Berlin? Well, there’s no better place to explore the alternative scene than Germany’s capital. It’s full of hidden gems that you will absolutely love once you get off the beaten path in Berlin.
Don’t get me wrong, Berlin is full of highlights worth exploring, but you can find them in any Berlin travel guide! And I truly fell in love with the city once I experienced the more local side of it and explored more non-touristy things to do in Berlin.
My best friend lives in Berlin and I visit her for several weeks every year. So I’ve spent a lot of time exploring Berlin’s local neighborhoods such as Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg with their adorable markets, parks, amazing food scene, art, culture and historical sites. And in March 2025, I spent a whole month in the city, gathering even more tips and recommendations that I can’t keep to myself, of course.
Already curious? So let’s dive deeper together and explore the authentic, alternative side of Berlin that millions of tourists flocking to Berlin miss.
Table of contents
Alternative neighborhoods in Berlin
Friedrichshain – for foodies & night owls
Favorite alternative things to do in Berlin’s neighborhood Friedrichshain:
- Grab a drink in a Späti & hang out at Boxhagener Platz – The square often referred to as “Boxi” by locals is a popular meeting spot surrounded by many restaurants, cafés and bars and home to an awesome street food market on Saturdays.
- Berlin Wall & East Side Gallery Walking Tour – Discover the Berlin Wall secret history, and the history of the street art in Berlin while exploring Friedrichshain.
- Holzmarkt 25 & R.A.W Gelände – Two sites that immediately come to mind speaking about alternative things to do in Berlin (more about them further down)
- 2.5 hour East Side Boat Cruise – With this tour, you come across some of the most interesting monuments, such as East Side Gallery and Oberbaum Bridge
- Stralauer Spitze / Regattaufer – Hang out by the Spree in this beautiful area
- Alternative shopping – There are many eco stores in Friedrichshain offering sustainable fashion, such as Givn Berlin, or local shops such as PP-Berlin
- Munch amazing food – The restaurants in Friedrichshain are fantastic. Here are some of my favorites:
- 1990 Vegan Living – Vegan Asian small plates spreading a tapas-like feeling. You can’t reserve though & there’s always a queue, so I’d go for lunchtime.
- SORA – Another fantastic vegan Vietnamese restaurant
- IRO Izakaya Vegan – The most delicious, all-vegan Ramen restaurant in Berlin
- Sigiriya – The best Sri Lankan food I’ve tried so far
- Lemon Feinkost – A small, Turkish restaurant offering homemade food and a large choice of meze.
Impressions of Friedrichshain
Kreuzberg – for fans of street art & hipster scene
Favorite alternative things to do in Berlin’s neighborhood Kreuzberg:
- Cruise through Kreuzberg by bike – Bike through the highlights of Kreuzberg & Friedrichshain
- Discover its street art – Just by strolling through the neighborhood you can explore many artworks such as “A Wise Man“ (Wrangelstraße 127), „Nature Morte“ (Manteuffelstraße) or „Astronaut Cosmonaut“ (Heinrichplatz). There’s also the option to book an alternative street art tour
- Markthalle Neun – If you can only check out one place in Kreuzberg, it’s this beautiful market hall (more further down)
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Stroll along Paul-Linke Ufer – where you can find some of Kreuzberg’s most popular restaurants and cafés
- Open-Air Cinema (in summer) – Between May & September, there’s an open-air cinema in Künstlerhaus Bethanien, an art space in Kreuzberg
- Freischwimmer – Enjoy a drink or snack in the sun in this cool restaurant floating on the Spree River.
- Bite Club – Every Friday during summer time you can enjoy drinks & street food at this cool event (location changing, free entrance before 6 p.m.)
- Enjoy amazing food – Kreuzberg is home to just as many awesome restaurants. Some of my favorites:
- Bar Raval – The best tapas outside of Spain in my opinion. With many veggie & vegan options.
- Buya Ramen Factory –Yummy vegan Ramen
- HAPPA Restaurant – A low-waste restaurant vegan restaurant. What an amazing concept!
Impressions of Kreuzberg
Prenzlauer Berg – for families, lovers of parks, cafés and vintage shops
Favorite alternative things to do in Berlin’s neighborhood Prenzlauer Berg
- Stroll through the beautiful streets – Admire the old houses and pop into some of the boutique shops
- Market on Kollwitzplatz – The perfect place for a chat, a snack and an Aperol Spritz in the sun on a Saturday afternoon
- Mauerpark – Munch through the street food stalls on a Sunday or try the karaoke
- Wasserturm – Buy a drink and snacks in a Späti and come here for the vibes shortly before sunset
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Enjoy a coffee in the sun – There are so many cute cafés in Prenzlauer Berg that you can never get enough of this neighborhood off the beaten path in Berlin. Some of my favorites:
- UNSER Cafe – A Portuguese cafe (they have vegan pastel de nata) where you can sit & work in the sun
- Brocca Café – Bring some time, but the homemade food will be worth the wait
- Ewig Freunde – A super nice café with a unique decoration
- Easy Peasy – All vegan, all gluten-free and all delicious (try the cinnamon rolls and the vegan cheesecake!)
- Minoa Café & Bookstore – A unique place where you can have a drink in between a great selection of books
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Eat and drink – Some of my favorite restaurants in Prenzlauer Berg:
- Emira Vegan Sushi – No description needed, just enjoy!
- Chay Umi Vegan – All vegan Vietnamese cuisine
- Wen Cheng – There’s always a queue in front, so you have to be patient (or order take away) but these Biang noodles are delicious
- Chutnify – Authentic indian food in a cute place (they serve Thali & Dosa which I both love)
- Försters – If you want to try German cuisine (which is normally heavy in meat), this is the place to go for some vegan all time favorites
Impressions of Prenzlauer Berg
Neukoelln – an upcoming, multicultural neighborhood
Favorite alternative things to do in Berlin’s neighborhood Neukoelln:
- Stroll from Hermannplatz to Weserstraße – Here you come across many cool alternative bars and shops, as well as arthouse cinemas and creative spaces.
- Tempelhofer Feld – What used to be an airport is now a huge park where you can walk, skate or ride a bike on the old runways.
- Sundowner at Klunkerkranich – The perfect place for a sundowner on a leafy rooftop terrace & an absolute gem among all the alternative things to do in Berlin.
- Visit “She said” – A feminist bookstore with a lovely café
- NowKoelln Flowmarkt – Loved among locals, this flea market takes place every second Sunday in a beautiful location on Maybach Ufer.
Impressions of Neukoelln
Historical sites & street art off the beaten path in Berlin
Even if you’re more into markets, viewpoints and bars instead of history, make at least room for some history during your time in Berlin. The city has such an enormous, often dark, but extremely interesting history. And often, it’s depicted in amazing street art works that you can find all over the city.
Berlin is one of Europe’s most historic cities, shaped by centuries of transformation, conflict, and reinvention. Walking through its streets, you’ll find layers of history woven into its architecture, monuments, and vibrant culture.
From the rise and fall of the German Empire, the devastation of World War II, and the division of East and West Berlin during the Cold War, Berlin has been at the center of dramatic world events.
Landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and the Reichstag tell stories of resilience, revolution, and reunification. But what makes Berlin truly special is how it embraces its past while moving forward – turning reminders of division into symbols of unity and creativity.
Today, Berlin is a dynamic hub of art, culture, and history, where old meets new in the most captivating way. Whether you’re wandering through the cobbled streets of Mitte or exploring the graffiti-covered remains of the Wall, Berlin is a city that doesn’t just preserve history – it lives it. And you can experience it in so many hidden gems and alternative things to do in Berlin, besides the well-known historical sites.
Berliner Unterwelten
Berliner Unterwelten (Berlin Underworlds Association) tours are one of my favorite alternative things to do in Berlin for history lovers.
They explore, document and preserve Berlin’s underground architecture (such as historic bunkers, caverns, disused railway tunnels and more places the public normally has no access to). And with their tours you can visit them and learn about aspects of the city history that may have been lost without Berliner Unterwelten.
I especially enjoyed their following tours:
- Tour M “Under the Berlin Wall” – where you learn the heroic and tragic stories of people who tunnelled to freedom during the time Berlin was split into West and East.
- Tour 1 “Dark Worlds” – where you discover the secrets behind a door hundreds of people walk past every day in an underground railway station, unaware of the historical labyrinth behind it and experience WW2 bombing raids through the eyes of civilians.
- Tour D “Tunnel and Bunker Dresdener Straße” – exploring the effects of the Second World War on former subway line D and its time as a “ghost line” in divided Berlin.
Oberbaumbrücke & East Side Gallery
As a landmark for Berlin’s unity, the bridge with the long name Oberbaumbrücke (Oberbaum bridge) is not just an adorable monument (Berlin’s most beautiful bridge in my opinion) but also an important reminder of history. The bridge connects East & West Berlin across the Spree River. With its two towers, it used to be a gate to the city when it was built in 1896. But in the Cold War it became one of the few border crossing points between East and West and was heavily guarded by both sides.
Right next to it you can find the East Side Gallery – the largest remaining part of the Berlin Wall and nowadays, the world’s longest open-air gallery (with 1.316 meters).
Walking along the wall covered in street art, prayers and famous graffitis always brings up a heavy feeling inside of me.
How lucky are we to be able to walk along this wall admiring the art and cross Oberbaumbrücke on foot nowadays? These two monuments are a reminder of how many people have lost their lives during the wars in Berlin and trying to escape from the East to th West. And likewise, they are a reminder of our freedom and the privilege we’re living with.
East Side Gallery
Teufelsberg
A historic site but also a dream come true for everyone who loves street art.
The abandoned listening station used by the US Army during the Cold War has become a cultural & street art hub.
The hill itself is an artificial hill made out of debris of World War II. So it’s a typical Berlin place – carrying a deep history, showcasing the city’s art scene and culture.
Yet, few visitors make it up here and it’s still an alternative thing to do in Berlin.
Take a tour to learn about its history, admire the art and enjoy the amazing view of Berlin from up here.
On a warm, sunny day you can even combine it with a visit to Teufelsee – the lake right next to it – for a refreshing jump into the water.
There’s even a Teufelsberg tour with transfer from S-Bahn station Heerstraße, so you don’t have to walk all the way up.
Teufelsberg
Hackesche Höfe & Dead Chicken Alley
Located directly in Mitte, the courtyard complex Hackesche Höfe is not so much a hidden gem in Berlin. Yet, thousands of people walk by every day without noticing while they’re rushing along Rosenthaler Straße.
It’s made up of eight beautifully renovated, interconnected courtyards that are home to small shops, art galleries and some restaurants and bars (but there are also several offices and apartments in there).
Although fairly known, Dead Chicken Alley is one of those places that immediately come to mind when thinking of alternative things to do in Berlin. It’s an alley in the heart of Berlin, right next to Hackesche Höfe, full of beautiful murals on the walls and home to some alternative cafés and bars. Some of the murals are permanent and some can change overnight. At the end of the alley, there’s a staircase (completely covered in stickers) leading to several galleries.
Its name comes from a group of artists who call themselves “the dead chickens” who have found the abandoned place after the Cold War. They also found out that this place was used to hide Jews during the Nazi regime in WWII. Here, Otto Weidt, organized a factory for blind and disabled Jews, trying to save them from deportation. There’s also a permanent mural showing this honorable man and a free museum about his work.
Dead Chicken Alley
Hidden Backyards Tour
With this Hidden Backyards Guided Walking Tour, you can visit some of the above-mentioned alternative things to do in Berlin and more hidden gems and learn more about them.
RAW area
Not far from East Side Gallery, this former train repair station has been transformed into a creative space full of artwork, cultural events, outdoor activities (such as a skatepark, a climbing wall and a swimming pool in summer), a beer garden and several bars.
RAW area (RAW Gelände) has auch a unique vibe and is one of the first places that comes to mind thinking about alternative things to do in Berlin.
Walk around and admire the street art, visit the flea market hunting some vintage items on Sundays, or have a drink and a snack in the beer garden while watching the climbers.
RAW area
Berlin by bike
With this alternative bike tour of Kreuzberg & Friedrichshain you can bike through many of the highlights of Kreuzberg & Friedrichshain, such as the RAW area, parts of Prenzlauer Berg & along the river.
Markets off the beaten path in Berlin
Markthalle Neun
First opened in 1891, Markthalle Neun is a true Berlin institution. Both locals and visitors love this place and that’s for good reasons. The historic market hall building is stunningly beautiful and it’s full of awesome market stalls. No matter if you want to shop groceries from local farmers’ stalls, try local or international delicacies at the food stalls, or simply marvel at the building – don’t miss out on this gorgeous place.
Every Thursday, you can much through all the sweet and savory treats on “Street Food Thursday”, and if breakfast is your favorite meal of the day, you’ll love the “Frühstücksmarkt” (breakfast market) happening every third Sunday of the month.
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 12 – 6 p.m. | Sa 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. | Su 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Markthalle Neun
Mauerpark flea market & street food
Not quite a hidden gem in Berlin anymore, many visitors flock to Mauerpark every Sunday to enjoy the flea market and amazing street food from around the world. It still perfectly fits into these alternative things to do in Berlin, as it has the perfect laid-back Berlin vibe.
And this place carries so much Berlin’s history, as the park has been created on the former border strip between Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding. Watch out for the markings on the ground where the Berlin wall used to separate East Berlin from West Berlin.
Stroll through the flea market and shop for some vintage gems, munch a few bites after and if you’re up for it, join the large public karaoke in the afternoon (starting at around 3 p.m. at the amphitheater).
Opening hours: Su 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (but the park is open every day)
Mauerpark
Boxhagener Platz weekly market
The Boxi, as Berliners fondly call the square, is one of the best places to enjoy a lazy weekend. On Saturdays, the small green square is surrounded by a farmers market with stalls offering fresh produce and street food. Grab a snack and find a sunny spot on the greenfield.
And the Sunday flea market spreads a vibe of yesteryear with DDR curiosities, antiques and some clothes stalls.
Weekly market at Boxi
NowKoelln Flowmarkt
Loved among locals, here you can truly get off the beaten path in Berlin. This flea market happens every second Sunday in a beautiful location on Maybach Ufer (the river bank next to Landwehrkanal). It’s partly a typical flea market with lots of junk and stalls inviting you to treasure hunt. But there are also a few stalls selling handmade goods and yummy street food.
Opening hours: Every second Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Kollwitzplatz weekly market
A small local market with many stalls selling fresh regional produce, but also some street food (try the gozleme!) or handmade goods such as soap.
It’s the perfect place to meet up with friends on a Saturday afternoon for a chat, a snack and an Aperol Spritz in the sun while soaking up a local Prenzlauer Berg vibe.
Opening hours: Sa 09:00 a.m. – 5 p.m.
NowKoelln flea market & Kollwitzplatz weekly market
Arminius market hall
If you’re looking for the Markthalle Neun experience with a more local atmosphere and less touristy prices, Arminiusmarkthalle (Arminius market hall) is the place to be. And the food stalls are just as amazing and the hall is beautiful as well!
You probably won’t find this market hall in any guide of alternative things to do in Berlin, as it’s still quite a well-kept hidden gem.
Located in Moabit, it’s a bit farther from Berlin’s center but worth the ride to soak up a very alternative Berliner vibe.
Opening hours: Mo – Sa 8:00 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Arminius market hall
Viewpoints, parks & spots by the water off the beaten path in Berlin
Wasserturm Prenzlauer Berg
Gleisdreieck
Park am Gleisdreieck is the perfect place to hang out and enjoy the sun on a lovely spring day. It’s a large park with lots of space for outdoor activities. You may spot a group of yogis practicing in the sun, stumble upon pensioners absorbed in their boule game, can join youngsters for a match of ping-pong and see countless sporty Berliners running or inline skating.
But there are also places to hang out and read a book, such as the wooden stairs, and spots to have a drink and snack like the lovely cafes. My favorites are Cafè Eule & Jules | B-Part.
Park at Wasserturm | a beer garden off the beaten path in Berlin
Holzmarkt 25
Holzmarkt is one of my favorite places in the city and one of those places I immediately connect to alternative things to do in Berlin. It spreads a similar vibe as R.A.W. but has a huge plus: It’s at the riverside.
Just a few minutes walk from East Side Gallery, this is an awesome spot to hang out on the wooden boardwalk next to the Spree River. There are several bars, street art and lots of events happening here. Yet, it’s worth a visit any day and the perfect spot for a sundowner by the water.
Holzmarkt 25
Berlin by boat
As Berlin is one of the cities with the most water in Germany, enjoying the capital from the water is one of the most fun alternative things to do in Berlin.
Instead of only focusing on Mitte, check out some of the boat tours in more alternative areas.
Check out one of these tours:
- 2.5 hour East Side Boat Cruise – With this tour you come across some of the most interesting monuments such as East Side Gallery and Oberbaum Bridge
- Guided Tour by Canoe – Paddle through artistic Kreuzberg on a guided canoeing tour where you can marvel at street art highlights and many amazing landmarks
Map of alternative things to do in Berlin
Map of hidden gems in Berlin (click for interactive map with all details)
Berlin off the beaten path – Good to know
Where to stay in Berlin?
What is the best time to visit Berlin?
How many days do you need in Berlin?
Berlin off the beaten path – a wrap-up
More inspiration for European capitals
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