Every Friday and Saturday, artisanal food vendors fill up Markthalle IX, a traditional market hall smack in the middle of Kreuzberg. Foodie heaven, in short (42-43 Eisenbahnstrasse).

You have to wonder who shops at The Corner concept store. It's more Beverly Hills than Berlin, and the prices of the fashion and design products seem to mostly begin in the high three-figure realm, with no upward limit. That said, we don't know many other places in Berlin that sell Alexander McQueen handbags. Celebs take note (thecornerberlin.de)!

Christmas markets were invented elsewhere in Germany, but nowhere are they done better than in Berlin. Favourites include the huge fun-fair style Grosser Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt near Alexanderplatz and the chilled-out, romantic, Scandinavian-style Lucia Christmas market nestled in the walls of a charming former brewery in Prenzlauer Berg.

Veganism seems to be really taking off in Berlin, so Veganz seems to have hit a chord with the first all-vegan, all-organic supermarket in Europe. Check out the wide variety of foods you can still enjoy if you takes animals out of the equation (34 Schivelbeiner Strasse, Prenzlauer Berg; www.veganz.de).