Kreuzberg embodies both affordable cuisine and Michelin-starred restaurants, grand old buildings and social housing, Berlin and the world. All in all, it is a district full of contrasts, which is not only cosmopolitan in culinary terms, but also as tough as it is warm.

Kreuzberg cup from the Colors of Berlin edition

Kreuzberg should actually be called "Kreuzbergchen". Or even better: Kreuzhügel. The district's namesake measures just 52 meters in height, only one-seventh of the Berlin TV tower. It is located directly on the border to the neighboring district of Schöneberg (which, by the way, does not even exist), in the Viktoria Park, and with its panoramic view, it probably offers the best starting point for a tour through the noisy hustle and bustle of the neighborhood.

At the foot of the hill are the cafes and restaurants of Bergmannstraße, but also the market stalls of the Marheineke Halle offer delicacies from all over the world. American, Vietnamese, Austrian and above all: Turkish and Arabic food is best found in Kreuzberg. Little by little, you can drink and snack your way from there, the part of the district colloquially called the 61s, further east, cross Urbanstraße, stroll across the always full Admiralsbrücke along the Spree and end up via Kotti at Mariannenplatz, the heart of Kreuzberg 36.

View from the Kottbusser Tor subway platform

For breakfast coffee (preferably directly from a Berlin bean manufactory) you drink a freshly brewed mint tea. If you like it hearty, order shakshuka or flatbread with eggplant cream, and if you want something sweet, Turkish delights or baklava with pistachio topping. You should definitely be full when you walk through the district, visit art galleries, fashion meccas or Checkpoint Charlie, because: Kreuzberg nights are long!

As black as night is the darkly shimmering Kreuzberg mug, the newest member of the Colors of Berlin family. From the BERLIN service designed in 1996 by Enzo Mari together with the designers at KPM, we extracted the iconic mug and honor the different districts with their own color schemes. So you can live in Munich, but enjoy your morning pick-me-up as if you were in Mitte, have your afternoon coffee in Tiergarten, and drink your tea in Kreuzberg in the evening. Or what is your favorite district?