Three rules of thumb first

• Close to a U-Bahn or S-Bahn station. In Berlin what counts is not the distance to the Brandenburg Gate but the walk to the nearest station.
• Inside the S-Bahn ring is zone A. If you stay there or just outside, an AB ticket gets you everywhere, more in Understanding the BVG.
• Think from the airport. The FEX stops at Südkreuz, Potsdamer Platz and the main station. If you stay in the west or in Mitte, you get there especially fast, see From BER airport into the city.

01 First visit: everything nearby

If it is your first time in Berlin and you have a lot planned, stay where transport scores full marks with us. The Spandauer Vorstadt around the Hackesche Höfe is right in the middle of Mitte, with galleries, boutiques and restaurants, though it is busy in the evening. Quieter and with even more choice for food is Savignyplatz in Charlottenburg, with bookshops under the S-Bahn arches and Kantstraße right next door.

02 Good food and quiet nights

Our favorite for anyone who wants to eat well and still sleep quietly: neighborhoods with lots of restaurants but moderate bustle. Ludwigkirchplatz in Wilmersdorf is its neighbors' second living room, with cafés around the church and the Ku'damm round the corner, more in our neighborhood walk. The Bergmannkiez in Kreuzberg has the market hall, old buildings with gas lamps and Viktoriapark. The Graefekiez shows Kreuzberg's cosy side, on the Landwehrkanal. And the Rote Insel in Schöneberg with Akazienstraße is the neighborhood hardly any visitor knows.

03 Nightlife: where Berlin goes to bed late

If you come to go out, stay where the way home is short. The Wrangelkiez in Kreuzberg is the only neighborhood with full marks for bustle in our atlas: Görlitzer Park, the riverside, pubs until late. The Boxhagener Kiez in Friedrichshain is a few minutes from the clubs at the RAW site, and in the Reuterkiez in Neukölln the bars line Weserstraße. To be honest: if you want an early night here, bring earplugs.

04 With kids: room to run around

With children, green space, quiet and short distances matter more than the bar on the corner. The Bötzowviertel in Prenzlauer Berg sits right next to Volkspark Friedrichshain with its fairy-tale fountain. In the Schillerkiez in Neukölln the Tempelhofer Feld is on the doorstep, the vast open space on the old airport. And the Bergmannkiez has Viktoriapark, a hill with a waterfall.

05 Truly quiet: Berlin as a retreat

There are places in Berlin where you forget you are in a big city. At the Schlachtensee in the southwest a shore path leads around two forest lakes, and in Friedrichshagen in the southeast Bölschestraße ends at the Müggelsee. Both are lovely, but the trip into the center takes much longer. That works if you want Berlin mainly as a backdrop for quiet and nature and only head into town now and then.

At a glance

All 33 neighborhoods with scores for bustle, green space, food, character and transport are in the Kiez atlas, sortable by whatever matters to you.