St. Nicholas quarter looks a bit like Disneyland with its small houses dating from the 17th to the 19th century, nowadays with original stores, original restaurants and cafés like the down-to-Earth Gerichtslaube or the Kartoffelhaus ("Potato House"). And still, this is the part of Berlin where you come closest to the origins of Germany's capital.

In its centre you find St. Nicholas Church, Berlin's oldest building, home to an exhibition of the history of this part of Berlin. Further highlights are the house of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, and the Zille Museum, documenting the life of the famous Berlin artist Heinrich Zille who portrayed Berlin's "lower class" of the era.

If you want to dig deeper into the history of Zille, we recommend you a trip to the theatre of St. Nicholas Quarter or the Zille Stuben, with matching event. Every now and then the Historiale Festival takes place there, where actors dressed in historical costumes walk the streets.

Top10 Berlin tip: The countelss small shops and stores in St. Nicholas quareter are ideally suited to get really special Berlin souvenirs, for example the miniature books of Minilibri.