Twenty-five years after the fall of the wall, Berlin is transformed. It is now in the East that the city vibrates the most. Thanks to its cheap rents, Berlin attracts creative people from Germany and elsewhere, seduced by the extraordinary excitement of this city on the move.

In the districts of Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain or Kreuzberg, the German capital continues to reinvent itself, from fashion boutiques to art galleries, from electro clubs to organic markets. Certainly, in the eyes of those who knew it in the madness of the 90s, Berlin has somewhat softened, but it has in no way dozed off.

Berlin? “Poor, but sexy!”

“Poor, but sexy,” is how mayor Klaus Wowereit described his city, not long ago. At the dawn of 2010, Berlin seems transformed. Like the Reichstag or the new central station, vast glass and metal buildings have sprung up across the metropolis. The grayish facades of opulent buildings, bruised by war, have regained their pastel colors. As for the underground squats of the 90s, they have given way to refined galleries and select boutiques.

Twenty years after the fall of the wall, the capital of reunified Germany is a little less poor in appearance, because unemployment is still high, and still thrilling. There are nearly 20,000 independent artists. Only 20% of them are pure Berliners, most of them from other Länder, or even from the rest of the world. Their favorite neighborhoods are still to the east of the city, in Kreuzberg, or in the districts of the former GDR such as Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain.

The time is no longer for counterculture, however. The former alternative home has settled down to become a trendy avant-garde haunt. Creative people of all stripes – music, fashion, architecture, design (almost 7,000 agencies!) – and the film industry – Tarantino and Polanski have just turned there – benefit from the city’s excitement. This move upmarket does not drive away visitors, quite the contrary, especially since Berlin remains a cheap destination.

Mitte, the epicenter of creation

Dominated by the imposing Fehrnsehturm, the television tower, the Alexanderplatz district is a good starting point for exploring the hype Berlin. Not far from there, in Mulackstrasse, Alte Schönhauser Strasse, Rosa Luxembourg Strasse, fashion designers are holding the upper hand. Resistant to the grid of the global textile giants, Berlin designers offer minimalist or downright flashy fashion. Push the door of multi-brand shops without fear, the welcome is not snobbish like in Paris.

After this shopping spree, venture further west towards Oranienburger Torto discover a district devoted to the visual arts. Do not expect to find the wild hangouts and the little street bars installed on the sly in the 90s. The district has undergone a spectacular transformation to become the showcase of modern Berlin. Only the Tacheles testifies to its alternative past. Legalized in 2003, this squat welcomed nearly 300,000 visitors per year. The artists rent workshops for the modest sum of 180 €, but the building now belongs to an American, and the future of this symbol of off culture is on hold.

To discover young artists, it is better to go to Augustrasse. Eigen + Art was one of the first galleries to settle there in 1992. Originally from Leipzig, she has seen contemporary artists flourish, among whom we find former leaders of socialist realism. Since then, this street, as well as the neighbouring Linienstrasse, have literally been colonized by international gallery owners. Collectors and curators around the world are closely watching what is happening there as Berlin has become the new hub for contemporary art. It even organizes a fair since 1995, the Art Forum, which competes without complex with the FIAC or Art Basel.

Prenzlauer Berg, the boho

Bad tongues call its main street Castingallee! It must be said that the overlooked population who survey the bitumen of the Kastanienallee has everything from dummy to spoils. In this district of the city, a third of the population is between 15 and 30 years old. Girls and boys with impeccable looks take a brunch on the many terraces of this street lined with chestnut trees, where organic or exotic restaurants grow like mushrooms.

As for shopping, we can venture into the adjacent streets, like Oderbergerstrasse where vintage and designer boutiques offer a selection to refine its look. On weekends, push to Mauerpark for a stroll around the flea market. Buying second-hand is recycling, so a bohemian death!

The other market where we jostle, that of Kollwitz Platz, is famous for its organic products. Spend your time between strollers – “maternity” is the other nickname for this district where the procreation rate is higher than the national average – to taste fresh products. The purists, tired of the growing boboising of Prenzlauer Berg take refuge now higher, in Pankow, or on the side of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

Friedrichshain, electro and beach

Soft but not asleep … The Berlin night has not said its last word. Direction Friedrichshain, on Simon-Dach-Strasse where you can do some shopping with young designers, in streetwear shops and thrift stores before starting the evening in one of the many restaurants and bars that line the narrow streets. We can continue the evening by stopping at the CSA Bar, a lounge area installed on the legendary Karl-Marx-Allee, in the former premises of the Czech airline.

For a less business class atmosphere, go to the banks of the Spree. Many small beach bars have taken up residence between the remnants of the wall, the famous graffiti of the East Side Gallery (photo), and the river.

If the weather does not allow you to club outdoors, go to Club Maria. Don’t be fooled by its uninviting entrance, inside this electro bunker, the beats raise the temperature of the dancers in a few hours. The other essential spot in this industrial area is nestled in Berghain, a disused electric transformer converted on three floors into a temple of minimal techno. At the top, the Panorama bar welcomes the cream of international electro and offers a breath-taking view. The spirit of the 90s raves is still present.

Kreuzberg, the bohemian

All Berliners and expats will tell you: Kreuzberg is “the” neighbourhood on the move. Still, one would be tempted to add … Before the reunification, Kreuzberg was part of the American sector. But this isolated corner of West Berlin – and surrounded on three sides of the wall – was populated by those left behind by society: immigrants, punks, marginalized, protesters of all kinds who had escaped the system. Kreuzberg was the epicentre of Berlin’s bohemian protest, including the legendary SO36 club once frequented by punks, now gay friendly, is still the flagship. Like Belleville and eastern Paris, Kreuzberg continues to attract today students or populations who have come to seek a less sanitized atmosphere and cheap rents.

The streets that stretch between Bergmannstrasse and Marheinekeplatz are home to many Turkish canteens, artists’ studios, antique dealers and cafes to hang out. From Kottbusser Tor and Görlitzer Bahnohf, some old bookshops are scattered on Oranienstrasse.

The charm of Kreuzberg has not escaped Tarantino who would have stayed here during the filming of Inglorious Basterds, nor Polanski who has just made his latest film, The Ghost. But the renovation of the district is underway, and currently, we are fighting to save one of the last squats in the city, the Kopi, symbol of the anti-establishment. To forget this planned reconstruction, the vibrant capital is already reinventing itself a little further south, in Neukölln. Since the closure of Tempelhof airport, the coast of this Turkish workers’ ghetto has continued to climb.

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