How we rate

Bustle: how much is going on, from quiet to loud. Green & water: parks, lakes, canals and forest nearby. Food & drink: density and variety of places to eat. Own world: how much the neighborhood feels like a village of its own. Connections: how quickly you reach the center. 1 to 5 points each. This is our editorial assessment, not a measurement, and several neighborhoods can share a level.

The ranking

Tap a factor to sort by it, for example food & drink for the food ranking. Tap again to reverse the order. On a phone, swipe the table sideways.

Marzahn-Hellersdorf

Prefab towers and a village green, plus one of the city's big garden parks.

01 Alt-Marzahn und Gärten der Welt

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Between the tower blocks lies an old village green with a church and a windmill. Nearby are the Gardens of the World, with gardens from several cultures and a cable car overhead, which does not take BVG tickets.

Steglitz-Zehlendorf

The green southwest: lakes, forest and villas, with a university and museums in between.

02 Schlachtensee und Krumme Lanke

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Two lakes in the forest where Berliners swim in summer and walk all year round. A lakeside path runs around both, the S-Bahn stops at Schlachtensee and the U3 at Krumme Lanke.

03 Dahlem-Dorf

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A village inside the city: Dahlem-Dorf U-Bahn station has a thatched roof, and opposite lies Domäne Dahlem with a farm, farm shop and museum. Around it, villas, the Free University and lots of green.

Reinickendorf

The north with water and forest, from the old town on the lake to the garden city.

04 Alt-Tegel

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

The U6 ends almost at the water: from Alt-Tegel station you walk through the pedestrian street to the Greenwich promenade on Lake Tegel, where excursion boats depart. Behind it begins Tegel Forest.

05 Frohnau

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A garden city on the northern edge of Berlin with big gardens and old trees. It is home to the Buddhist House, considered the oldest Buddhist temple in Europe: 73 steps lead up through an elephant gate.

Spandau

Spandau still feels like a town of its own, with an old town, a citadel and plenty of river Havel.

06 Altstadt Spandau

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Lanes with old houses, St. Nicholas Church and, a few steps away, the Citadel, considered one of the best-preserved Renaissance fortresses in Europe. During Advent the Christmas market fills the old town.

07 Kladow

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

On the far bank of the Havel, and the best way there is by water: the BVG ferry F10 crosses from Wannsee in about 20 minutes on a regular ticket. On the other side: a riverside path, fields and a village feel.

Lichtenberg

The east between prefab blocks and old buildings, with surprisingly quiet islands.

08 Victoriastadt (Kaskelkiez)

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Wedged between railway tracks like an island: small streets of old buildings with cobblestones, a few minutes on foot from Ostkreuz station.

09 Rummelsburger Bucht

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A waterside path around the bay of Rummelsburger See, boats, new apartment buildings and water views, just one S-Bahn stop from Ostkreuz.

Pankow

Prenzlauer Berg's old buildings, quiet corners by the park and Weißensee with its lake.

10 Komponistenviertel Weißensee

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Streets named after composers, quiet old buildings and, a few minutes away, the Weißer See lake with its lido. The tram takes you into the center.

11 Bötzowviertel

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Named after an old brewery, with quiet streets of old buildings and cafés, and right next door Volkspark Friedrichshain with its fairy-tale fountain.

12 Kollwitzkiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Restored old buildings, cafés on every corner, an organic market on Thursdays and a big weekly market on Saturdays on Kollwitzplatz.

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

The well-to-do west: old buildings, the Ku'damm, a palace and surprisingly many quiet corners.

13 Rheingauviertel (Wilmersdorf)

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

The part of Berlin where you arrive and breathe out. Around Rüdesheimer Platz, which locals call "Rüdi", winemakers from the Rheingau pour their wine in summer. Nearby, Volkspark Wilmersdorf runs through the neighborhood as a green strip.

→ Neighborhood walk: from Olivaer Platz to the Rüdi

14 Ludwigkirchplatz und Olivaer Platz

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Around 1900 this was still a swamp with an open ditch, the Hopfenbruch, and in the middle of it the brick church of St. Ludwig was built in 1896/97. Today the octagonal square around the church is the neighborhood's living room, with cafés, restaurants and ice cream parlors, among them Cicchetti da Rosa, where Italy meets Vietnam. A few steps away is Olivaer Platz, where the Ku'damm shopping stretch ends and Aux Merveilleux de Fred serves French pastries.

→ Neighborhood story: Olivaer Platz

15 Klausenerplatz-Kiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Just behind Charlottenburg Palace lies a neighborhood of restored 19th-century buildings with small shops and pubs that feels like a small town. The palace gardens are around the corner.

16 Savignyplatz und Kantstraße

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Under the S-Bahn arches at Savignyplatz there are bookshops and restaurants, and Kantstraße, with its many Chinese and Taiwanese places, is one of the densest food streets in the city.

Treptow-Köpenick

Berlin's largest district, with an old town on an island, lakes and lots of forest.

17 Altstadt Köpenick

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

On an island between the Spree and the Dahme lies the old town with a palace, cobblestones and the town hall, where the Captain of Köpenick stands as a statue.

18 Friedrichshagen

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Bölschestraße, with cafés and small shops, leads straight to the Müggelsee, Berlin's largest lake. A pedestrian tunnel runs under the Spree to the forest on the other side.

19 Alt-Treptow

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Treptower Park on the Spree with the Soviet War Memorial and the Island of Youth, plus excursion boats along the bank. From here it is a short hop to Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.

Neukölln

Loud, young and multilingual in the north, quiet and historic in the south.

20 Hufeisensiedlung (Britz)

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A horseshoe-shaped housing estate by Bruno Taut from the 1920s, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A place to marvel at architecture, not to go out.

21 Böhmisch-Rixdorf

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Around Richardplatz lies the old village founded by Bohemian religious refugees in the 18th century, with a smithy, village church and cobblestones. In December it hosts a Christmas market for one weekend.

22 Schillerkiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Right next to Tempelhofer Feld, the old airport that is now a huge open space. Quieter than the Reuterkiez, with cafés around Herrfurthplatz.

23 Reuterkiez (Kreuzkölln)

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Between the Landwehr Canal and Sonnenallee: bars on Weserstraße, the Maybachufer market on Tuesdays and Fridays, and food from all over the world.

Mitte

The center, but also Moabit and Wedding, which have minds of their own.

24 Sprengelkiez (Wedding)

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A neighborhood between canal bank and old buildings, with a path along the Spandau Ship Canal, studios and neighborhood cafés. Wedding before it makes the guidebooks.

25 Moabit

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Moabit is an island surrounded by the Spree and canals. Many cultures, old buildings, the Kleiner Tiergarten park and riverside paths, and for coffee and cake, Konditorei Buchwald on the edge of the Hansaviertel.

26 Spandauer Vorstadt

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Hackesche Höfe, Sophienstraße and the New Synagogue on Oranienburger Straße: the historic Scheunenviertel with galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Beautiful and lively, packed in the evenings and at weekends.

Tempelhof-Schöneberg

From the queer Nollendorf neighborhood to the quiet Bavarian Quarter, with Tempelhofer Feld on the doorstep.

27 Bayerisches Viertel

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A quiet residential quarter where many Jewish Berliners lived until the 1930s. Signs on lampposts quote the anti-Jewish decrees of the Nazi era, a memorial you read as you walk.

28 Rote Insel und Akazienkiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

The Red Island got its name because railway lines surround it like water and the labor movement was strong here. Right next to it is Akazienstraße with cafés, pubs and small shops.

29 Nollendorfkiez und Winterfeldtplatz

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

A center of queer Berlin since the 1920s, with bars and cafés around Nollendorfplatz. On Wednesdays and Saturdays there is a market on Winterfeldtplatz, with more than 250 stalls on Saturdays.

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

The Berlin of the postcards: loud, colorful and political, with the Spree, the canal and clubs.

30 Graefekiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

Old buildings along the Landwehr Canal, cafés, and on warm evenings people sit on the Admiralbrücke. Kreuzberg in its cozy version.

31 Bergmannkiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

The Marheineke market hall, Chamissoplatz with old buildings and gas lamps, and Viktoriapark with its waterfall and city views.

32 Boxhagener Kiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

The "Boxi" with a market on Saturdays and a flea market on Sundays, cafés all around. A few minutes away are the clubs at the RAW grounds and on Revaler Straße.

33 Wrangelkiez

Bustle Green & water Food & drink Own world Connections

SO36 at its core: Görlitzer Park, the Spree bank, the Oberbaum Bridge and pubs until late at night. Loud, packed, full of life.

Frequently asked questions

Which Berlin neighborhoods are the quietest?
In our view: Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke, Dahlem-Dorf, Frohnau, Kladow, Alt-Marzahn, the Rheingau quarter in Wilmersdorf, the Bavarian Quarter, the composers' quarter in Weißensee and the Horseshoe Estate in Britz.

Where is the widest choice of food in Berlin?
The widest choice is in the Reuterkiez in Neukölln and around Savignyplatz and Kantstraße in Charlottenburg, followed by the Graefekiez, the Bergmannkiez, the Boxhagener Kiez and the Red Island, among others.

Which neighborhood feels most like its own village?
Frohnau, Kladow, Köpenick old town, Friedrichshagen, Victoriastadt, Böhmisch-Rixdorf, Moabit, the Red Island and the Nollendorf neighborhood, each in its own way.