55 min
35 min
U7 · U8 · S41 · S42 · S45
19.1 / km²
5
7
1,190
−12% vs city
Counted from OpenStreetMap and Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0)
Mixed after dark
The corridor from Hermannplatz to Kottbusser Tor is named in Berlin's own visitor guide for a higher risk of robbery at night, and antisemitic incidents have been reported in the district.
Staying in Neukölln
Only the top of Neukoelln is of any use to you. The Reuterkiez and Weserstrasse, immediately south of the canal, are where Berliners under thirty actually drink, and where a room costs roughly half what Mitte charges. Tempelhofer Feld, a decommissioned airport you can walk and cycle across, runs along the western edge. The S45 from Neukoelln station reaches BER in about half an hour, the best airport connection of any district here.
Everything south of Karl-Marx-Strasse is a working residential district with no reason to bring a suitcase to it. The area also carries a reputation that Berlin's own guide calls sensationalised, and then qualifies: unemployment is higher, certain kinds of crime are more common, and the corridor from Hermannplatz to Kottbusser Tor is named specifically for robberies at night. There is a separate and more serious warning about antisemitic incidents.
Book within ten minutes of Hermannplatz or Rathaus Neukoelln, or do not book here at all. Fifty-five minutes on foot to Museum Island means you will use the U7 and U8 every day of the trip.
What works
- Rooms cost roughly half of Mitte's for the same standard
- Tempelhofer Feld, a runway you can walk on, is along the western edge
- S45 runs from Neukoelln to BER in about 30 minutes with no change
- The Weserstrasse bars are the ones Berliners under thirty actually go to
- Two U-Bahn lines and the S-Bahn ring, so the centre is 15 minutes away
What does not
- Fifty-five minutes on foot to Museum Island; you commute to every sight
- Only the strip north of Karl-Marx-Strasse is worth booking; the rest is residential
- Higher unemployment and more street crime than anywhere else in this guide
- Berlin's own visitor guide warns visibly Jewish travellers about this district by name
- The Hermannplatz to Kottbusser Tor corridor is a known robbery spot after dark
Yes, the area has higher than average unemployment and certain types of crime are more common, but it's not exactly "Lord of the Flies", and by global standards the crime rate is probably on the lower end of the spectrum.Unfortunately what does seem to be a problem is antisemitism, as in 2018 a young Israeli wearing a kippah was beaten up and called "yahudi" in Neukölln.