Shopping in Berlin

Berlin shopping is a mix of stores catering for the tastes and wallets of local residents and visitors. Boutiques brush shoulders with international chains. Throw in a handful of chic department stores and you have shopping to die for. London has Oxford Street, New York has Fifth Avenue and Berlin has Kurfürstendamm, or has it? It is difficult to pin down Berlin's main shopping strip. Is it Kurfürstendam, Bergmannstrasse or Karl-Marx Allee?



Berlin is divided into neighbourhoods and each has its mix of stores suited for the tastes and pockets of the locals. Shopping in Berlin concentrates in these neighbourhoods:

1. Mitte – Friedrichstrasse and Alexanderplatz
2. Charlottenburg – Kurfürstendamm and Tauentzienstrasse
3. Kreuzberg – Bergmannstrasse and Oranienstrasse
4. Prenzlauerberg – Kastanienallee

Mitte
Best for: international chain stores and souvenir hunting

Galeries Lafayette, Friedrichstrasse 76, the Berlin branch of the French shopping emporium. Three floors of exquisite shopping from Louis Vuitton bags to gourmet food hall.
Berlin Story, Unter den Linden 10, mind-boggling assortment of Berlin-related maps, books and videos in French, Japanese, English and more languages.
Galeria Kaufhof, Alexanderplatz, once a big GDR-era department store and now a busy beehive. Anything you need from underwear to coffee pots. If you can't find it here, you won't find it anywhere.
Hackesche Höfe, Rosenthalerstrasse / Sophienstrasse, lively mix of galleries, boutiques and restaurants in eight interlinked courtyards.


Charlottenburg
Best for international couture and international chains

Hermès, Cartier, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton flank H&M, Zara and Mango. Anything from household names to high-end.
Steiff in Berlin, Kurfürstendamm 220, fluffy animals for all ages from the Steiff company who in 1922 invented the Teddy Bear, named after US President Teddy Roosevelt.
NikeTown, Tauentzienstrasse 76, two floors of hi-tech. Football, golf, tennis and sports gear with watches, caps and sunglasses to match.

Kreuzberg
Best for vintage, buzzing boutiques and the Turkish Market

Crumpler, leonca, Kultbug stand cheek-to-jowl with recycled rubber and GDR-era knick-knacks
Colours, Bergmannstrasse 102, vintage outfits from the 1960s and before, price by the kilo.
Turkish Market, Maybachufer, Heaps of fruits, mountains of bread and buckets spilling over with olives. Low prices and big smiles.


Prenzlauerberg
Best for avant-garde and street-wear fasion

Uhranus, Kastanienallee 13, Diesel watches, Funk sunglasses, Roebuck bags and lots of more difficult-to-resist accessories.
Fuck Fashion, Schönhauser Allee 72b, cheap and jam-packed, street-wear and must-haves.
Betty Button, Stargarderstrasse 10, vintage labels ranging from Zara to Calvin Klein.


Berlin Shopping Hours

Monday – Saturday from around 9:30 am to 7 or 8 pm on weekdays and between 4 and 6 pm on Saturdays.

Shops are closed on Sundays, but open six Sundays throughout the year. They are also open on all Sundays before Christmas in December.

Late night shopping and Sunday openings
Supermarkets in railway stations from 8 am to 10 pm
Edeka, Friedrichstrasse train station
Lidl and Rewe, Ostbahnhof train station