Mitte

Less than a hundred meters from the Brandenburg Gate, Einstein Unter den Linden has been the top address for politics, culture, and celebrities in Berlin-Mitte since 1996. Viennese coffee house culture with Tafelspitz, Backhendl, and smoked glass mirrors characterizes the establishment. Jodie Foster, Bill Clinton, and Wim Wenders are among the guests of this celebrity restaurant.

Behind a green door in Gesundbrunnen U-Bahn station, a world of air-raid shelters, tunnels, and old cellars begins. The Berliner Unterwelten association has been leading tours through these facilities since the late 1990s, recounting Berlin's history from World War II to the Cold War.

The large Panorama wall of the artist Yadegar Asisi visualizes the daily life next to the Berlin wall on a fictitious autumn day in the 1980s.

A guided bicycle tour that leads from the Nikolaiviertel in Mitte through Tiergarten to Kreuzberg, revealing places that even long-time Berliners will find surprising. Away from the tourist crowds, approximately 18 kilometers, three hours, and countless hidden city stories.

Beneath Gesundbrunnen station lies an air-raid shelter with almost fifty rooms on three floors, rediscovered by Berliner Unterwelten e.V. only in 1998. Today, the association manages fourteen such sites and guides groups through them in ninety minutes. For a class trip to Berlin, this means: contemporary history without display cases, but with sturdy footwear.

Berlin's very first Frozen Yogurt store is located in Mitte, and it's called YOLI. Since 2009, the shop on Münzstraße has been serving creamy FroYo based on 0% fat yogurt, along with an extensive selection of toppings from fresh fruits to chocolate sauces.

In the cellar of Haus Schwarzenberg on Rosenthaler Straße, mechanical monsters come to life. The Monster Cabinet by the artist group Dead Chickens is a machine theater where automaton figures made from scrap and found objects dance, sing, and recite poems.

Italian craftsmanship gelato, coffee culture, and art under one roof: Cuore Di Vetro in Berlin-Mitte is more than just an ice cream parlor. On Max-Beer-Straße, daily changing homemade ice cream meets vernissages, concerts, and an atmosphere that sounds anything but a typical ice cream shop.

There's only one Peaches with the Hole in the Middle!

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.