Last updated on 10/21/2026
When it gets dark early and your breath hangs in the air, Berlin shows its cosy side. At the ice rink at Winterquartier in Friedrichshain, guests skate on around 1,000 square metres of covered real ice without having to think about the weather. In Schöneberg, La Cantine d’Augusta cooks its cheese fondue to the grandmother’s recipe and pours wine from its own shop alongside. Anyone who would rather keep the cold outside altogether spends the afternoon at the Bröhan-Museum by Charlottenburg Palace, among Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the Berlin Secession. In between there are baroque concerts at the Orangerie, fairy tales in wooden huts by the Spree, an open-air cinema with Feuerzangenbowle and a cooking studio in an old industrial hall. The cold season in Berlin is anything but dull.
Yulia Veksler
I love the Berlin winter because it surprises me again and again, somewhere between ice rink and ice bar. For this list, I let myself drift through snowy courtyards and warm parlours and discovered places that almost make you forget the cold. What touched me most was the Maerchenhuette in Mitte, where stories and candlelight turn an evening into something all its own. Come along on my winter journey through the city.
Immersed in a wonderful light spectacle, the ice rink at Winterquartier offers weather-independent ice skating in Berlin-Friedrichshain on approximately 1,000 m² of covered real ice. The offerings are rounded off by an ice disco on Saturdays, curling lanes, and a winter market directly at Ostkreuz.
In Nikolaikirchplatz during Advent, only one film is shown: “Die Feuerzangenbowle” with Heinz Rühmann from 1943, approximately 90 minutes long. It is screened in a wooden house equipped with armchairs, sofas, and blankets. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, this has the lowest barrier: admission is free.
At the Berlin Icebar on Spandauer Straße, the temperature is minus ten degrees Celsius, with over 40,000 kilograms of natural ice used in its construction. The bar, seating, sculptures, and even the glasses are made of ice, and a poncho and gloves are included with the ticket. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, this is the only one where the cold is the main attraction.
The event cooking studio in Siemensstadt is a 230 square meter industrial loft with an approximately eight-and-a-half-meter-high ceiling, two professional cooking islands, and a Miele kitchen including a Teppan-Yaki plate. Up to 30 guests cook simultaneously, up to 90 sit at the table afterward. Among the winter leisure activities in Berlin, this is the one where you get to cook yourself.
The Berlin School of Coffee in Uhlandschloss is an independent coffee school where you work with real portafilter machines from the very first minute. Groups are small, usually no more than six people sit at the table. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, this is the one where you go home with a new skill.
La Cantine d'Augusta in Schöneberg is a cheese shop, wine merchant, and restaurant all in one: around 80 types of cheese and over 400 wines are available, and the kitchen prepares fondue according to grandmother's recipe. It is served in a pot, with a bread basket, salad, and French vinaigrette. Among the winter leisure activities in Berlin, this is the coziest.
In Monbijoupark, wooden huts stand directly on the Spree throughout the winter, hosting the Märchenhütte (Fairy Tale Hut): fairy tales for children and families during the day, and versions explicitly for adults in the evening. Each ticket is valid for two consecutive plays. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, this is the one with a fire at the door and mulled wine in hand.
The Charlottenburg Orangery is part of the palace complex and consists of an East and West Wing, each measuring 450 square meters, along with an 8.5-meter-high rotunda. In winter, the Berlin Residence Orchestra performs baroque music in historical costumes, with an optional dinner beforehand. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, this is the most festive.
The Bröhan Museum, opposite Charlottenburg Palace, is Berlin's state museum for Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Functionalism. On display are furniture, porcelain, glass, and paintings from the years between 1889 and 1939. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, it is one of the ideal places for long, cold afternoons.
The Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm Centre is the central library of Humboldt University and one of Germany's largest open-access libraries. Max Dudler designed a terraced reading room for it, reaching up to the ceiling. Anyone aged 16 or over can register, free of charge. Among Berlin's winter leisure activities, this is the quietest.
