I am staying at Huttenpalast Hotel in Berlin. It is in Reuterkiez. By Hermannplatz station. Will I have issues if I am home by 9 or 10pm? I am a 6ft 5in 240lb male in pretty good shape. (Not a fighter but my size keeps me out of trouble.) I'll be alone. Any issues?
Outside of that I'll be in mostly touristy areas in daylight hours, say 7am to 8pm.
Did you read something that made you worry about violent crime in Berlin? Have you ever traveled to any other big city before? I'm a fifty-something female and I just got back from Berlin, where I traveled alone and stayed in the Friedrichschain/Kreuzberg area. I didn't worry for one second about my safety at any time, not walking in the area around my hotel, not in the touristy areas, not even in the U-Bahn at 4:30 am yesterday when I was on my way to the airport. I've traveled solo to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Madrid, London and NYC and find Berlin less crowded, more spread out, and less stressful. In Paris and Rome I felt like I had to be on high alert for pickpockets and tourist scammers. I didn't feel that way at all in Berlin.
When I was in Berlin four or five years ago I stayed near Hermannplatz which was well on its way to gentrification then. It's not so much shady as it is very scruffy in a hipster/alternative lifestyle kind of way. That area is full of graffiti and litter, but it's also full of things like upcycling boutiques and vegan coffee shops.
You should always use common sense when in an unfamiliar city anyway, but unless you're kneewalking drunk, waving wads of cash around, walking through dark neighborhood parks late at night, or looking to buy hard drugs, you're going to be fine.
+1 for the previous reply. In general, a shady area of a European city is safer than a touristy area of a US city. Is this your first trip to Europe? If you can't go to the library to use one of our host's excellent guidebooks, which have a section for new travelers, look at the menu top left:
You don't say when you will be there, but it stays light here in Germany in June-July until almost 23:00.
I have never worried about my safety walking on any German street, no matter which city I have been in. You will be fine.
I stayed in the Hermannplatz/Neukölln area a few years ago & agree with Kayla, scruffy/hipster. During afternoon rush hour, there seemed to be a lot more bicycles than cars. For me, it was a lot more interesting area than the traditional tourist neighborhoods. I enjoyed the good selection of unique small restaurants. The main disadvantage is the area is several subway stops from the main tourist attractions.
I have never felt unsafe in any German city either--whether walking home from the S-Bahn at 3 am, strolling down Große Freiheit in the middle of heavy parties, or anything else. Even back in the day when I was younger and more naive than I am now.
Hermannplatz/Donaukiez is rated as kbO area by Berlin police department (link) and close to Reuterkiez. kbO stands for crime-ridden area. But this is compared to German standards.
In total I do not expect any serious issues for you but be careful with presenting easy to steal and sell items. Few people around this area need money for drugs.
An article from Berlin's residential hosing companies writes the following (2021):
"Starting from the Hermannstraße S-Bahn station further south, Hermannstraße ends at Hermannplatz, a traffic junction in Kreuzkölln and also an important subway intersection. Not far away is the Reuterkiez neighborhood. Parts of Hermannstraße and Hermannplatz are considered places with a high number of crimes. There you should pay special attention to belongings. Shoplifting, theft and pickpocketing are the order of the day here." (translated with DeepL)
Greetings from Brlin Friedrichshain :-)
Another Berliner here - I wouldn’t worry about that area. You will run into some people who are drug addicts on that U-Bahn line. But the Volkspark Hasenheide is nice for walking around and you can get a great Döner at Imren grill right there. If you walk north from the hotel it’s a very trendy neighborhood.
WE lived in Germany for four years and loved it. Cities were very safe, however, I was a reserve officer in the US Army Military Police and even then know that some areas in big cities were best not to visit.
A friend that we met in Germany married an American and they settled very near where we live. She still goes back to Germany to visit her family. She says that Germany is not as safe as it once was and that she was advised by family not to go out to areas that she once did 30 years ago. Also, that this was particularly true for females.
Further, I have noticed that in the past 30-35 years we never saw much graffiti, but now you see it all over the place in German cities and even worse in France and Italy. In America, graffiti is frequently associated with local criminal gangs.
No one can say if you will have issues. My rule of thumb is act like you know where you are going, walk in well-lit main streets and if you feel uncomfortable, listen to your voice.
Graffiti in Germany is not like graffiti in the US, so please don't feel like you should be frightened to walk in areas based on the amount of graffiti that is seen. The only gangs that are here are the ones running the RLD, like the Banditos or some of the Mafia groups, and they are not wasting time writing slogans on bridges, buildings or trains.
As an older woman, I truly have no qualms about walking anywhere in Germany, down any street and at any time of the day or night, and I do NOT feel like it is less safe than 30 years ago. Remember, I live in the city that is supposed to have the highest crime rate too. Yet, I know I can walk through the RLD and no one will bother me. It is unsavory and I feel horribly sad for the people that live or work here, but they are not going to hurt me or steal from me.
If you would like to know the scariest places? Rural train stations, out in the country, late at night. With bored, drunk teens who have nothing to do but vandalize.
The worst neighborhood in Berlin will be safer than anywhere in Ohio…
