Berlin City Guide: What To Do, Where To Eat And Where To Shop

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published 7 July 2017

All the hottest bars, restaurants and shops you need to go to when you're in Berlin

If you're anything like us, you love nothing more than a good city break. It's the perfect way to spend a weekend, especially when it's somewhere like Antwerp and Rome. Plus, it means you don't use up all your annual leave, right?

And such a city that's attracting a lot of buzz at the moment is Berlin, and not just because it's the perfect shopping destination. It's full of buzzing cafes and restaurants, nightclubs and shops,and only a two-hour plane journey away, so there's no reason not to go really.

But what to do when you're there? There's no-one better to give you advice than the locals, so we caught up with major fashion influencers Alexandra Lapp, Nina Schwichtenberg and Sofie Valkiers at the Marc Cain show at Berlin Fashion Week. Here's what they had to say...

What do you love about Berlin?

Alexandra says, 'Berlin is such a wild and interesting city. There are many great restaurants, bars, clubs, shops and great activities offered in and around the city - a real fun place to visit. '

Nina adds, 'I love Berlin for being so versatile when it comes to fashion, lifestyle and people.'

'What I love most about Berlin is the multitude of cultures that are here! Everywhere you look, there's a different atmosphere, a new shop to explore, new food to try, and people to meet. It's still small enough to explore easily, but there's so much to do that it just never gets boring,' Sofie adds.

Where are the best places to stay in Berlin?

Alexandra: 'Soho House, Hotel de Rome and Weinmeister'

Nina: 'When we are in Berlin I love to stay with our friends. They’ve got a cute little apartment in Prenzlauer Berg surrounded by restaurants and cafés.'

Sofie: 'The Soho House Berlin has this great industrial-meets-luxury vibe that I really like. It also houses an impressive contemporary art collection! And there's a cool rooftop pool, which isn't that common in Berlin.'

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Best places to eat in Berlin?

Alexandra: 'Katz Orange, Lokal, Heimlich & Treu, Pappa e Ciccia.'

Nina: 'I love Dudu. It’s a restaurant where you can find Vietnamese cuisine like Edamame or Pho Soup.'

Sofie: 'Concierge Coffee has the best to-go coffee, and Aunt Benny is great for a hearty lunch (including a heavenly piece of cake!).'

Best places to dance the night away in Berlin?

Alexandra: 'Sisyphos, Club Jackie O and Club der Visionaere.'

Best places to shop in Berlin?

Alexandra, 'The Store, Voo Store and Wood Wood.'

Nina: 'I love little shops with special pieces. Therefor the area around Hakescher Markt is perfect.'

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.