Shopping - The Rough Guide to Berlin - page 222

Glitz and dazzle are the prerogatives of City West , with its 3km of large chain stores
on or around the Kurfürstendamm ; Friedrichstrasse in the east, though more modest
in size, is just as opulent. he largest and best central malls are the Potsdamer Platz
Arkaden and the Alexa Centre just southeast of Alexanderplatz . Meanwhile, many
of the city's funkiest speciality shops and expensive boutiques are concentrated in
Charlottenburg , Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg . Ethnic foods and “alternative” businesses
are mostly to be found in Kreuzberg , along Oranienstrasse and Bergmannstrasse.

ESSENTIALS
Listings Though we've selected the best of Berlin's shops
below, the list is far from exhaustive. The yellow pages
( Gelbe Seiten ; W gelbeseiten.de) can be useful in finding
further specialist shops, but an even better idea is to ask
around at similar places.
Opening hours Large shops in central Berlin are generally
open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 8pm, while

smaller shops or those outside the centre will tend to close
two hours earlier. Supermarkets and other shops in main
stations, particularly the Hauptbahnhof, are open longer
hours, daily from around 8am to 10pm. We've included
individual opening hours in the reviews below.
Credit cards In most larger places credit cards are widely
accepted, but don't rely on being able to use them everywhere.

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
Berlin boasts a great variety of new and secondhand bookstores, and it's an ideal city for leisurely browsing. Quite a few
places sell English-language books , most of them on or around Knesebeckstr., Berlin's main street for book shopping.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND GENERAL
Another Country Riemannstr. 7, Kreuzberg T 030 69
40 11 60, W anothercountry.de; U-Gneisenaustrasse;
map p.118. English-language secondhand books sold in
this intimate living-room-like space, where you can borrow
any book for €1.50. Tues-Fri 11am-8pm, Sat & Sun
noon-4pm.
Books in Berlin Goethestr. 69, Charlottenburg T 030
313 12 33, W booksinberlin.de; U-Ernst-Reuter-Platz;
map p.108. Small bookstore with a good selection of
English-language history and popular fiction, some
secondhand. Mon-Fri noon-8pm, Sat 10am-4pm.
Ì Dussmann Friedrichstr. 90, Mitte T 030 20 25 11
11, W kulturkaufhaus.de; U- & S-Friedrichstrasse; map
p.36. Giant emporium with five levels of books, CDs and …
more books. A small shop at the back also features books
about music. Mon-Sat 10am-midnight.
Hugendubel Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, Mitte (U- &
S-Potsdamer Platz; map pp.90-91; Tauentzienstr.
21-24, City West (U-Wittenbergplatz; map p.108);
T 0181 48 44 84, W hugendubel.de. Huge general
bookstore with a section devoted to English-language
paperback fiction. Potsdamer Platz Mon-Sat
9.30am-9pm; Tauentzienstr. Mon-Sat 9.30am-8pm.
Marga Schoeller Knesebeckstr. 33, City West T 030
881 11 12, W margaschoeller.de; S-Savignyplatz;
map p.108. Opened in 1929 by Frau Schoeller, this
bookstore is one of the longest-running in Europe, and was
once a focal point for West Berlin's postwar literary scene.
Schoeller's son now runs the store, which continues to sell
a fantastic range of German- and English-language books
on the arts as well as fiction, history and biographies; with
lots on Berlin. Mon-Wed 9.30am-7pm, Thurs & Fri

9.30am-8pm, Sat 9.30am-6pm.
St George's Bookshop Wörther Str. 27, Prenzlauer
Berg T 030 81 79 83 33; U-Eberswalder Strasse; map
p.132. Delightful British-run bookstore selling a fine
selection of new and used English-language books. There's
a sofa to chill on and free wi-fi; they also buy used books.
Mon-Fri 11am-8pm, Sat 11am-7pm.

16

LOCAL INTEREST
Berlin Story Unter den Linden 26, Mitte T 030 20 45 38
42, W berlinstory.de; U- & S-Friedrichstrasse; map p.36.
The city's most extensive bookshop on Berlin itself, with
everything from travel guides to specialist histories, and
offered in a range of languages. Daily 10am-8pm.

THE ARTS
Artificium Rosenthaler Str. 40-41, in the Hackeschen
Höfe, Mitte T 030 30 87 22 80, W artificium.com;
S-Hackescher Markt; map pp.72-73. Nineteenth- and
twentieth-century art, architecture, photography and the
like. Mon-Thurs 10am-8pm, Fri & Sat 10am-9pm.
Bücherbogen Stadtbahnbogen 593, Charlottenburg
T 030 31 86 95 11, W buecherbogen.com, S-Savignyplatz;
map p.108. Airy and spacious spot under the S-arches where
you can spend hours browsing books on art, architecture, film
and photography. Plenty of English-language books - all non-
fiction. Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm.
Ì Museum für Fotografie Jebensstr. 2, City West
T 030 20 90 55 66; U- & S-Zoologischer Garten; map p.108.
Small bookshop in the museum foyer, where you can browse a
glut of books on photography, art and design - many at
reduced prices - without having to enter the museum itself.
Wed & Fri-Sun 10am-6pm, Thurs 10am-10pm.