Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

From alternative to gentrified in one district
Noteworthy for: The one common denominator of former East Friedrichshain and West Kreuzberg is the allure to students and youth, with the average age just 29.

Talk of the town: The remaining part of the wall between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg is the longest still existing, home to the iconic East Side Gallery.
On the ground, Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain doesn't feel like one district. Unified in 2001, it's three main areas are vastly different in character, and nowhere else are the changes happening in the city right now so evident.

Referred to by many as Berlin's bohemia, Friedrichshain manages to connect with its East German past, while harbouring the most forward-thinking, alternative youth scene, thanks to low rents. Come for the best bars, clubs and the arty squats Berlin is famous for. Though Simon-Dach Strasse has already started to be favoured by the lager-drinking stag crowd.

Old East Kreuzberg retains some of its gritty street vibe - this is the birthplace of Berlin's punk scene - now with a cosmopolitan mix of cool kids and Turkish immigrants. Oranienstrasse is full of the aromas of Turkish cooking, vintage shops and bars, while the surrounding streets are a beautiful shambles ripe for exploring. But signs of the gentrification that has changed West Kreuzberg are already evident. Now most interesting for its museums, West Kreuzberg is definitively middle-class with a boho chic appeal especially along shopping street Bergmannstrasse.