The City-West stands for wide boulevards, elegant old-style apartments and green parks. The “Ku’damm” with the KaDeWe, its exclusive boutiques, cafés, restaurants and luxury hotels is known far beyond the city limits. The TU Berlin and the University of the Arts are in its vicinity. In Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf there are office locations that have grown over the decades as well as new ones that have emerged. Companies from the service industry, ICT and media sectors are based here. The district has a diverse cultural scene with museums, theatres, galleries and sights such as the Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church) and Charlottenburg Palace, which is not only popular with tourists.
The multicultural district, centrally located in East Berlin, is characterized by its vibrant art and music scene, bars, clubs and alternative venues. This district is home to people with the youngest average age in the city. In the Mediaspree area, many international companies are settled, e.g. Amazon, Daimler and Zalando. History and modernity meet in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, with traces of the Berlin Wall and a variety of street art works such as at the East Side Gallery.
From the rural idyll on the outskirts to the urban areas, the multifaceted district in the East is one of the most populated. Together with the neighboring district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf, this is the city’s largest contiguous strip of commercial space. As a historically developed industrial location, it now has various commercial centers that tie in with the industrial tradition of the district. The largest landscaped animal park in Europe is in Lichtenberg, the Tierpark Berlin.
Known among other things for its prefabricated building architecture, which was mainly built in the 1970s and 1980s, the Berlin district in the East offers affordable living space with lots of greenery. The Gardens of the World are among the most famous sights. With the CleanTech Marzahn future location, which covers approx. 300 hectares, the district offers a location for companies with innovative technologies and products for clean and resource-saving economy. In this area there is a large industrial area (GI).
The district is not only the historical, but also the political center with the seat of the government. The Reichstag and the Chancellery, for example, represent this. The proximity to politics attracts embassies and representative offices of companies. With “Europa City” a new city district has been created at the main station, where e.g. 50 Hertz, KPMG, SAP and Total have their headquarters. The Brandenburg Gate, the Museum Island, the TV Tower and the Tiergarten are among the famous sights. Numerous bars, restaurants and boutiques invite you to linger around Hackescher Markt.
Cultural diversity and an exciting mix of tradition, modernity and urban lifestyle characterize this district. People from more than 150 countries live here. Popular places are for example the Maybachufer, the Britzer Garden and the Volkspark Hasenheide. Neukölln is home to a healthy mix of high-performance companies from the electrical industry, vehicle technology, mechanical engineering, control technology, food and beverages and the chemical-pharmaceutical industry. Many are among the leading companies in their industry, such as Jacobs Kaffee and Moll Marzipan.
As the second largest and most populous district, it has popular residential areas with the districts of Prenzlauer Berg, Weissensee and Pankow. The Kulturbrauerei on Schönhauser Allee, with its wide range of offers, is an attraction far beyond the district borders. Many startups, young companies and entrepreneurs from the creative industries can be found in this district. Biomedicine and medical technology companies are based in the BiotechPark Berlin-Buch, one of the largest biotech parks in Germany.
With its large expanses of water and forests, it is one of the city’s green districts. There are many opportunities for water sports at Lake Tegel. Reinickendorf is also a traditional industrial location, which big names like Borsig shaped around the turn of the century. In its development, it is at the same time an expression of the change to an industrial and service society. Today, the location is still characterized by globally active companies such as Borsig, Motorola and Otis. The “Urban-Tech-Republic”, a city of the future for research, innovation and technology, is being developed on the site of the former Tegel Airport.
Berlin’s westernmost district lies at the confluence of the Spree and Havel rivers. Sights include the citadel and St. Nikolai’s Church in the Spandau old town. The Siemensstadt district is one of the oldest industrial locations in Germany. Today, a new, pioneering district called „Siemensstadt Square“ is being built here, which is intended to combine work, research and living.
The district in the southwest of the city is home to the Botanical Garden, one of the largest and most diverse gardens in the world. A popular recreational area stretches from the Grunewald forest over to Wannsee lake. Steglitz-Zehlendorf is known for its villa districts, e.g. Dahlem. The Freie Universität Berlin and many scientific institutions provide a good basis for the establishment and growth of companies in the health care industry.
Located in the south of the city, the district offers a rich history and diverse cultural attractions. The Tempelhofer Feld is a popular meeting point for leisure activities. On the EUREF campus in Schöneberg, more than 3,500 people work, research and learn in more than 150 companies, institutions and startups on the topics of energy, mobility and sustainability – cooperatively and openly together.
Located in the south-east of the city, the area with the largest area unites the big city and nature. The historic old town of Köpenick is considered the landmark of the district, as are the Treptower Park and the Müggelsee. The Adlershof Technology Park is one of the most modern and successful science and technology parks in Europe. In Oberschoeneweide, a once historic industrial site in Germany, the focus today is on science, technology and services. At the former center of the electrical industry, a city district of the future is being created with the “BE-U”.
(Source: Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH, 2023)
At a glance
Berlin Neighborhoods at a glance
Business Service
With our on-site corporate service, we, the Berlin economic development agency, together with the economic development agencies of the districts, support companies in Berlin in their expansion and internationalization.
