I’m a photographer from Brazil, based in Berlin. I’m attached to this city since 5 years and I have been trying it out from top to bottom, from inside out. Here are some of my personal highlights.
A good place to drown your Berliner winter-melancholy. The bartenders are top notch and the interior is warm but stylish, with the inevitable retro vibe. Open from 6 till late. There´s also a legendary (and kinda expensive) restaurant next door, which provides the bar with some excellent snacks. Works for dates and for friends, but if you´re planning for a bigger group it might be wise to reserve.
Just an amazing cup of cappuccino. Try the Franzbrötchen with it for a basic breakfast. It's a place for someone who appreciates good coffee done with extreme care.
Beautiful atellier-stores around weserstrasse, this is from a very nice girl that make "sculpure hats" as she said. Excellent record store across the street also.
I never knew this neighbourhood existed and went to visit a friend and was instantly transported out of Berlin into some sort of 50's utopia.
"The Hansaviertel is a prime example of modern architecture and urban planning in the fifties in Berlin.
36 individual buildings or ensembles still form the model of modern architecture and urban planning of the 1950s. The southern part of the war-damaged Hansaviertel, which lies between the S-Bahn line and Tiergarten, was chosen as the central demonstration area of the International Building Exhibition in order to present the "city of tomorrow" - in deliberate contrast to the East Berlin Stalinallee and the restored tenement barracks." - berlin.de
Also visit The Akademie der Künste, if not for the art then the architecture alone.