Kastanienallee Prenzlauer Berg

Discover Berlin > Prenzlauer Berg > Kastanienallee

The Kastanienallee stretches from the large six-street-crossing at U-Bahnhof Eberswalder Strasse in the North, where Schönhauser Allee, Pappelallee, Eberswalder Strasse and Kastanienallee meet, all the way down to Mitte. So beginning your walk down from the U-Bahn Station Eberswalder Strasse can be practical, if you want to head towards Mitte eventually.

You may first want to grab a Currywurst at the corner at Konnopke’s Imbiss. Also getting some cash from one of the ATM machines at Sparkasse, Commerzbank or Berliner Bank might be an idea since you won’t find that many ATM machines on the way – they’re almost all clustered here at the crossing. And having some cash on you can be handy in Berlin in general and especially on Kastanienallee, since you may want to have a closer look at one or the other shop or café or both – and chances are, that they won’t take credit cards.

As I already mentioned, on your walk down to Mitte, which may take around 15 to 20 minutes, you’ll pass many small shops: design shops, record stores and fashion boutiques – but also quite a number of cozy cafés and bars. Also one of Berlin’s oldest beer gardens (‘Biergarten’) is located on Kastanienallee: the Prater.

There is only few streets crossing Kastanienallee: the first one is Oderberger Strasse. Near this crossing you’ll find again bars, cafés and restaurants – also a copy shop and a late shop are at your service.

The housing project Tuntenhaus at Kastanie 68

On the left, a ‘colorful’ house stands out; the formerly squatted house is now the Tuntenhaus. A lettering visible from afar warns “Capitalism standardizes, destroys, kills”. Recently (2024), this warning took on a bitter aftertaste: the Tuntenhaus housing project was under threat – but has now probably been saved. If you would like to find out more about the Tuntenhaus housing project, visit the website: www.kastanie86.net.

Further down you’ll pass by the Café Morgenrot (www.cafe-morgenrot.de) which is well known for their vegan brunch buffet on weekends. This also means it can be crowded, especially on weekends

A book store, a wine shop, and then the language school which had quite some impact on this neighborhood, attracting young language students from all over the world. Before the next street crossing (Schwedter Strasse) you’ll find a well equipped artist supply shop: paper, colors, brushes, everything you may need.

Some people probably think that Kastanienallee continues all the way to Rosenthaler Platz / Tostraße – but actually beyond Fehrbelliner Strasse the street continues as Weinbergsweg – named after the nearby Weinbergspark.

Kastanienallee – Casting Alley

Sometime between 2000 and 2010 the Kastanienallee in Prenzlauer Berg was also known as “Casting Alley” – not only for its wide selection of small fashion shops and boutiques, but also for actual casting teams straying up and down the street looking for the new look and/or authentic faces for whatever campaign. I actually was once casted on Kastanienallee myself once – but that’s a different story.

…to be continued…

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