Choriner Strasse

Discover Berlin > Mitte / Prenzlauer Berg > Choriner Straße

The Choriner Strasse stretches between Zehdenicker Strasse (Mitte) and Schönhauser Allee (Prenzlauer Berg). On the south part it runs right on the border between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg.

On the first sight the Choriner Strasse may appear a bit ‘boring’, compared to other nearby alleys and streets. But then again there is a lot going on, once you have a closer look. First thing you may notice are the little flags / festoons hanging across the street. I actually don’t know how or when thist started, but every year, on the weekend of the annual street fest, local residents of Choriner Strasse install these festoons. And every year, after the street fest is over, only few of the festoons are taken down – so over the years, the street decoration just gets more complex.

The Choriner Strasse is a good alternative for walking from Prenzlauer Berg to Mitte – especially if you want to avoid the more busy streets. The walk will lead you right into the heart of Mitte – and if you just continue walking down from Prenzlauer Berg, you’ll almost ‘magically’ end up on Hackescher Markt.

Walking down from the Prenzlauer Berg end of the street (where Choriner Strasse is meeting with  Schönhauser Allee and Oderberger Strasse) towards Mitte, you will first walk underneath this installation of little flags. There is a Kiosk right at the crossing to Schönhauser Allee – you may want to grab a snack or a drink here.

After approximately 500 meters a legendary little toy shop ‘Onkel Philipp’s Spielzeugwerkstatt’ (www.onkel-philipp.de) invites you to have at least a view on the things on display. It’s just charming. You can also get broken toys fixed here – or buy vintage toys – or brand new toys.

Across the street you’ll find a small park. This is a nice spot to just sit and rest and maybe read a book in the shade of the trees, or flip through a magazine you could have bought at the Kiosk. Since Choriner Strasse is a ‘bicycle street’, it can be rather calm and quiet here. But if you’re more into some action, you could also play some ping pong here instead. The park is well equipped with benches – no lawn to hang out on though.

Further down towards Mitte you’ll pass a few cafes and bars that are probably more quiet than the ones on Kastanienallee. Again: here you can either just sit and read or chit and chat and have a snack. And then there is also a legendary late shop where some locals love to hang out every now and then.

From the crossing at Fehrbelliner Strasse you could easily reach two parks. If you walk down Fehrbelliner Strasse to the left, you will find Teutoburger Platz. This is a rather small park – again not lawn to st on, but some park benches. And it’s again quite quiet here. If you instead walk down Fehrbelliner Strasse to the right you will find Weinbergspark right behind the crossing to Kastanienallee / Weinbergsweg.

If you instead continue walking down Choriner Strasse, the street will soon change its name: right after the crossing to Zehdenicker Strasse the street continues under the name Gormannstrasse. From here it’s about 10 minutes to Hackescher Markt.

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