Prenzlauer Berg

Prenzlauer Berg largely escaped wartime bombing and later East German demolition, leaving it with some of Berlin's best-preserved Gründerzeit apartment blocks, which have since been renovated into one of the city's most desirable — and expensive — residential areas. It has a reputation as Berlin's stroller capital, full of young families, organic cafés, and independent boutiques, a striking contrast to its scruffier past as a hub for artists and dissidents before the Wall fell. Kollwitzplatz and the streets around it host a popular Saturday farmers' market, while Kastanienallee remains a strip of trendy shops and bars. Mauerpark, on the neighborhood's edge, draws huge weekend crowds for its flea market and open-air karaoke.