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The finest shops in historic Berlin, including the French department store Galeries Lafayette and the international luxury department store Department Store Quartier 206, are along Friedrichstrasse. And near Friedrichstrasse, Unter den Linden has a few souvenir shops and a Meissen ceramic showroom, while the area surrounding the picturesque Gendarmenmarkt is home to top fashion designers and many international brands.
In Mitte, the charming side streets of the Scheunenviertel area have become the true destination for serious fashion aficionados. The area between Hackescher Markt, Weinmeister Strasse, and Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz have pricey independent designers alongside groovy secondhand shops and a string of hip flagship stores by the big sports and fashion designer brands. Neue Schönhauser Strasse meets up with Rosenthaler Strasse on one end and curves into Alte Schönhauser Strasse on the other. All three streets are full of stylish and original casual wear. Galleries along Gipsstrasse and Sophienstrasse round out the mix.
Berlin designer Andreea Vrajitoru creates experimental clothes and shoes with a casual vibe, supplemented by fashion from indie labels including Italian-based La Haine Inside Us and Latvian designer Keta Gutmane. There is also a branch in the Berlin Bikini mall.
Baerck artfully displays its mix of European and Berlin men's and women's wear on wheeled structures, allowing them to be rearranged in the store whenever necessary. Along with designers like Henrik Vibskov and Hope, you’ll find accessories including jewelry, handbags, scarves, and hats.
Whether you want a new little black dress or a cool vintage bag to carry around this season, a peek into Das Neue Schwarz (The New Black) is guaranteed to result in some special finds. In the midst of Mitte’s fashionista neighborhood of avant-garde designers and exclusive boutiques, this shop holds its own with a collection of secondhand items—many never worn—from big-name designers including Vivienne Westwood, Helmut Lang, and Yves Saint Laurent.
Whether you're looking for something to read on the plane or a special present, this charming bookstore is guaranteed to have something to pique your literary interests. The wide selection of magazines and literature—many of the titles are in English—comes from around the world and spans fashion, photography, architecture, interior design, and cultural topics.
The sleek, industrial flagship store of the Berlin-based luxury streetwear fashion mag carries of-the-moment clothing, accessories, perfumes, and housewares from both their own brand and the likes of Acne Studios and Dries Van Noten.
Since 2003, this Mitte hot spot has nurtured Berlin independent designers who are as visionary in their aesthetics as they are in their production mode: most items are handmade and sustainably sourced. Look for local favorite Anntian for women's dresses, and elegant necklaces by Naoko Ogawa.
This charming concept store offers a large selection of locally designed clothing and accessories, all sustainable and inclusive, along with events including upcycling workshops and poetry readings.
This cool beauty shop offers an assortment of goods. You'll find everything from lovely scented candles to lotions and body products to makeup and cosmetics, with popular, ethical brands like Dr. Bronner, Börlind, and Susanne Kaufmann. But the real gem is the basement-level men’s spa and barbershop, which welcomes guest barbers from around the world, and the women’s beauty salon, which offers makeovers and hair care.
Inside a beautiful old building in the heart of Mitte's Hackescher Markt shopping district, 14 oz. sells high-end denim (Denham the Jeanmaker, PRPS, Edwin), along with sneakers, accessories, knitwear, and outerwear for both women and men.
This tiny shop on Torstrasse is the flagship menswear outlet for designer Wibke Deertz, who uses fabrics and inspirations from her travels around the world to create a collection of handmade, limited-edition pieces, including pants, shirts, jackets, and accessories.
This old-fashioned-style liquor store harkens back to the age of the green fairy—complete with antique wooden cabinets and vintage absinthe fountains—although the primary ingredient, thujone, is now strictly regulated in countries around the world. A friendly proprietor is on hand to help you choose which of the more than 100 different varieties you’d like to carry home.
The first German branch of this Australian luxury cosmetics label opened in 2013 in Mitte to the joy of many Berliners. The entire line of Aesop’s natural skin, hair, and body care products is sold here, in a lovely shop decorated with handmade jade-green tiles and a vintage 1950s farmhouse sink.
This gallery shop opened in the mall-like Hackesche Höfe shopping area in 2001, promoting the red and green Ampelmännchen, the charming symbol used on the former East German traffic lights. The brand now operates five shops in Berlin, and you can find the logo on everything from T-shirts and umbrellas to ice cube trays and candy. It's a perfect stop for souvenirs.
Tucked into a small courtyard near the New Synagogue, this charming candy store has been making and selling handmade sweets for more than 100 years. The brightly colored sugar bonbons are pressed on vintage molds into leaf, raspberry, and diamond shapes, and more than 30 different varieties are available.
Berlin’s largest general bookstore, this five-story emporium has two levels of English-language titles, including unusual books, new releases, and classics. The store is open until midnight on weekdays, and until 11:30 pm on Saturday.
This well-edited store stocks the latest and hippest in men’s fashion, including shoes and bags.
Anchoring Alexanderplatz, Galeria Kaufhof is the most successful branch of the German department store chain, with six floors offering more than 600 brands and a gourmet food area. You can find pretty much everything you need here, though expect wardrobe staples, rather than the latest fashion trends.
Tucked behind the tourist-heavy streets of Hackesche Markt, this labyrinth of small galleries, boutiques, and shops offers a wide range of fashion. The outdoor shopping mall links Rosenthaler and Sophienstrasse with big brands like H&M and MAC Cosmetics, as well as independent boutiques and small gift shops.
The Jünemann family has owned this basement shop on Torstrasse for more than 100 years, producing their quality handmade felt hausschuhe, or slippers, for four generations. The shoes come in a variety of colors and two simple styles, a classic backless version or the full slipper. Either is the perfect way to bring a piece of German tradition back home.
This is the ultimate shop for any kind of (mostly handmade) dolls, including designer models as well as old-fashioned German dolls. It's for collectors, not kids.
Housed in two charming storefronts across the street from each other, this is the go-to place when looking for beautiful paper, notebooks, and other stationery needs. Along with designer parchment, high-end writing tools, and notebooks from Moleskine and others, the store carries international stationery brands, calendars, and other desk accessories.
Products here are inspired by Berlin's facades (pillows), graffiti (etched drinking glasses), and civic symbols (on polo shirts).
The flagship store of German jewelry designer Sabrina Dehoff balances bling and minimalism—bright crystals are paired with chunky metals. There's also a small collection of urban chic clothing.
SOTO is the name of the hip, fashion-forward area of Mitte, south of Torstrasse, filled with charming side streets and numerous fashion boutiques. So, it's appropriate that it's also the name of this boutique where you’ll find a mix of timeless and trendsetting menswear including brands like Norse Projects and Acne Studios grooming products, and accessories ranging from cameras to lanyards.
In the heart of the stunning Gendarmenmarkt, this luxury concept store sells a contemporary collection of new and vintage clothing from high-end designers like Balenciaga and Chloé, as well as cosmetics, home furnishings, and art books. There's also a second store in the west near Kurfürstendamm.
