• NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE

POTSDAMER PLATZ, BERLIN

Front and center in the new Berlin

curated by

LUTZ HESSE AND CHRISTIAN ANDRESEN, OWNERS OF THE MANDALA

Neighborhood Guide: Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
At the edge of Berlin’s central Tiergarten park and within sight of the Brandenburg Gate, it doesn’t get much more front-and-center than Potsdamer Platz. Though it was once a Cold War no man's land, today its soaring glass highrises are an emblem of the new Berlin, global capital and buzzing cultural hotspot. The Mandala owners Lutz Hesse and Christian Andresen helped transform the neighborhood, and these days they certainly know how to enjoy it.
  • Berlin Philharmonic
    ART & CULTURE

    BERLIN PHILHARMONIC

    While the Platz itself buzzes with activity, Hesse and Andresen recommend venturing a little further up the block and catching the Berlin Philharmonic – widely considered one of the world’s best orchestras - in Hans Scharoun’s jagged yellow Berliner Philharmonie concert hall. Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1
    +49 30 2548 8999
    BERLIN PHILHARMONIC

  • NEUE NATIONALGALERIE
    ART & CULTURE

    NEUE NATIONALGALERIE

    Be sure to check out the nearby museums at Berlin’s Kulturforum, especially the New National Gallery, a glass cube by starchitect Mies van der Rohe. The museum specializes in 20th-century art. Potsdamer Str. 50
    +49 30 266 424 510
    NEUE NATIONALGALERIE

  • ART & CULTURE

    MARTIN-GROPIUS-BAU

    Hesse and Andresen also reccommend the Martin-Gropius-Bau, which shows more conventional but no less spectacular exhibitions. Niederkirchnerstr. 7
    +49 30 254 860
    MARTIN-GROPIUS-BAU

  • ART & CULTURE

    TOPOGRAPHIE DES TERRORS

    Across from the Gropius is the newly revamped Topographie des Terrors, a museum survey of the Third Reich on the very site where much of its organization took place. Niederkirchnerstr. 8
    +49 30 2545 0950
    TOPOGRAPHIE DES TERRORS

  • SHOPPING

    ANDREAS MURKUDIS

    For shopping, Andresen recommends Andreas Murkudis’ vast new store on Potsdamer Strasse (about a 10-minute walk away); here the master of Berlin’s fashion avant-garde sells labels like Balenciaga, Dries van Noten, and Margiela in a huge space that once held the printing press of Der Tagesspiegel newspaper. Potsdamerstrasse 81E
    +49 30 680 798 306
    ANDREAS MURKUDIS

  • NIGHTLIFE

    VICTORIA BAR

    Just a little further up the same street is the sultry Victoria Bar, a neighborhood stalwart for years, and still famous citywide for its sexy vibe and excellent cocktails. Potsdamer Str. 102
    +49 30 2575 9977
    VICTORIA BAR

Author

KIMBERLY BRADLEY

Tags

POTSDAMER PLATZ | NEIGHBORHOODS | BERLIN

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