It has become a real weekend activity in itself: Berlin’s locals search for the best second hand items hiding in one of the many flea markets and vintage clothing stores spread across the city. If you want to go join the hunt for some one-in-a-million treasures, these 7 fantastic spots for shopping in Berlin are great places to start.
1. Boxi
On Boxhagener Platz you’ll find one of the city’s coolest flea markets – which unfortunately means that it is often jam packed with people on Sundays when flea market fever hits Berlin.
Thankfully you won’t find any stalls selling mobile phone accessories and cheap synthetic textiles here, but rows upon rows of antiques, vintage fashion, young Berlin designers’ collections, vinyl records and other delights. The visitors are a happy mix of Berliners, exchange students, artists and musicians, and it is the best flea market to visit if you’re travelling with children, as the park has a total of three playgrounds.
It is impossible walking away from Boxi empty handed!
Where: Boxhagener Platz
Tel: n/a
Nearest Station: Warschauer Straße
2. Sommerladen
Have a desire for sophisticated second hand outfits from the Berlin fashion scene? Sommerladen is your place!
Find everything from suits, jackets, dresses and blouses to hats and glasses, all made by famous designers and sold on the cheap. The owner, Johanna, really knows her stuff and is a real chatterbox, too. It’s always nice to get her competent advice when you’re here.
New products arrive on a daily basis, so it’s always worth popping in, even if you’re just passing by. You could be the lucky one that gets your hands on the next hidden gem. You would be mad to miss it.
Where: Linienstraße 153
Tel: +49 17 7299 1789
Nearest Station: Oranienburger Straße
3. Firlefanz
Firlefanz on Eisenacher Straße is a well-stocked vintage clothes and accessories shop selling everything you could dream of, and lots that you couldn’t!
The owner, Gabriele Stache, is always on the hunt for beautiful things and her shop, which has been here for nearly thirty years, has long since become an institution for its loyal customers.
Apparently one of the dresses Kate Winslet wore in the movie ‘The Reader’ was from here. Pay Gabriele a visit and find your very own movie star get-up.
Where: Eisenacher Straße 75
Tel: +49 30 781 7475
Nearest Station: Weinmeister Straße
4. Colours Kleidermarkt
You can shop for anything and everything in Kreuzberg. Funky shoes and bags, synthetic sweaters and practical hats, local designs, printed T-shirts, ethnic robes in all shapes and colours, and hoards of urban street-wear. But – unlike the rest of Berlin – shopping is not Kreuzberg’s best attraction, and you’re not likely to go screaming with delight from shop to shop.
One thing Kreuzberg is really good at, though, is second hand shops, particularly the area of Kreuzberg 61. Hidden from view on the 1st floor of a nice backyard in BergmannStraße, is the second hand supermarket Colours Kleidermarkt. Clothes, shoes, bags and belts are surprisingly systematised, so if you are looking for something specific, like a colourful poncho or a cool, short leather jacket, you won’t have to spend hours looking through musty piles of clothes, but can simply explore the ponchos or leather jackets section.
Best of all? The prices are totally reasonable, with the option to buy garb by the kilo. Grab yourself a bargain.
Where: Bergmann Straße 102
Tel: +49 30 6943 348
Nearest Station: Gneisenaustraße
5. Objets D’Art
Although the owner might come across as a little strange and grumpy, this second hand shop with vintage clothes deserves a recommendation as just one of the many great places to visit in Berlin.
The shop is called Objets D’Art, and its business card says it all: ‘Objets D’Art – Harder Than the Rest’. The shop consists of two rooms, one of which is permanently blocked by a chair. Although you’re not allowed to go in here, you can ask nicely if you’re looking for something in particular.
Of course, it is somewhat difficult to know in advance that you’d happily buy a polka dot wrap-around skirt in green taffeta covered in rhinestones that you didn’t know existed, but that’s just the way things are here.
Go scout for gems amongst the junk, and you can buy über cool, original Ray-Ban sunglasses from the 1980s.
Where: GervinusStraße 15
Tel: n/a
Nearest Station: Adenauerplatz
6. Jumbo Second Hand
A few doors away from the legendary and highly-recommended Rockabilly haunt Wild at Heart on Wienerstraße, is the just as legendary Jumbo Second Hand, a true El Dorado for vintage lovers.
The shoes in particular are in high demand, and fans come from far and wide to rifle through the pumps, boots and platform shoes like vultures.
As well as footwear, you can also get your hands on sparkly 80s dresses, Panama hats, ponchos and crocheted ladies gloves. It’s a real second hand corner shop: a little too full, a bit unkempt, but with plenty of treasure to be found.
Payment is by cash only.
Where: Wiener Straße 63
Tel: n/a
Nearest Station: Görlitzer Bahnhof
7. Onkel Phillips Spielzeugwerkstatt
Ok, so this Prenzlauer Berg institution doesn’t sell clothes exactly, but it’s a must-see for any vintage fan looking for great shopping spots in Berlin.
Two small rooms packed to the ceiling with old-fashioned toys, so don’t even try to take your kids there if you can’t prise them away from their Nintendo DS or Playstation.
Onkel Phillip puts new wheels on dolls’ prams, fixes broken eyes on teddies, puts new tyres on old Matchbox cars and freshens up the colours of wooden toys. There is a real potential to get great deals here, and it is the perfect place to swap a tricycle for a bike with stabilisers.
If you hate Toys’R’Us, you will love Onkel Phillips Toy Workshop, where nothing is so broken that it can’t be fixed!
Where: Choriner Straße 35-36
Tel: +49 17 7449 0491
Nearest Station: Eberswalder Straße
You want to know more about the German capital? Check out the momondo blog for our tips of lovely eateries in Berlin, then download our free momondo places city guide to Berlin for hand-picked inspiration and local tips.
