Your Guide to Hipster Berlin

When you head to Berlin, ditch the guidebook and don your horn-rimmed glasses. Famously described as “poor but sexy” by a former mayor, Berlin will inspire you to venture beyond the classic sights in search of emerging cultural hotspots, fantastic food, and unexpected spaces. Follow this guide, and you’ll be acquainted with the Grey City from the perspective of its hippest residents.

Reinhardtstraße 20, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Only in Berlin could a hulking, aboveground World War II‒era concrete bunker, right in the center of the city, be turned into an art gallery. The structure—too bulky to be blown up after the war—was transformed in 2008 by collector-curator Christian Boros, who lives in a penthouse on top of the building. After extensive renovation, the lower floors house the Boros Collection, around 500 works of art spanning sculpture, installations, paintings, and photography. Works change every couple of years but always feature big international names such as Damien Hirst, Olafur Eliasson, Elizabeth Peyton, Wolfgang Tillmans, Manfred Pernice, Ai Weiwei, and Michel Majerus. You can view the collection only on weekends, as part of a guided tour; book an appointment via the website.
More from AFAR
Sign up for our newsletter
Join more than a million of the world’s best travelers. Subscribe to the Daily Wander newsletter.
AFAR Journeys
Journeys: Wellness
Journeys: Food + Drink
Journeys: Romance
Journeys: Family
Journeys: Caribbean + Atlantic
Journeys: Caribbean + Atlantic