The best fashion and gift stores Germany

Hardcore in all musical directions, Core Tex is heaven (or hell) for all fans of punk, hard rock and alternative rock. You can find all the alternative and independent labels there. A lot of imports contribute to the great choice of the shop, which tries to get both CDs and recent vinyls: no less than 10,000 CDs are on sale here, as well as a little less vinyl, and of course a whole lot of fanzines, videos and books, and a very large collection of tee-shirts to get a new look.

For germanophiles and germanophones, this antique shop has antique books, just search to find.

Hamburg's most beautiful art-architecture-photo library and this is not an exaggeration. A gigantic stock of books in all languages.

Since 2014, Lala Berlin has been designing clothes for Berlin women and for women around the world. From light pashminas in pastel and fluorescent colours to airy mohair sweaters, silk tops and dresses. Leyla Piedayesh, the brains and hands behind Lala Berlin, has been the city's most prominent designer for many years. She also has a boutique in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prices are high. It is possible to order online on the website, where you can also check out the wide range of clothes on offer.

It is the largest mall in Berlin with 90,000 square meters and 150 stores. The Gropius Passagen is equipped with the classic department stores: fast fashion, such as H&M, C&A, Primark, but also toys, sports, health and beauty stores. It's well known that shopping makes your stomach churn: fortunately, Gropius has twenty or so gastronomic options to help you regain your strength! And to end the day in style, nothing better than to settle down at the UCI Multiplex cinema in front of the latest blockbuster.

This small, committed French bookstore is located in the heart of the former squatter's quarter, which has become a tourist and bourgeois district, and is valiantly trying to resist the onslaught of gentrification. You'll find the great literary classics, but you'll also find more specialized books on Berlin. A wide range of novels, comics, and children's books. The bookstore is bright, and the booksellers are a good source of advice.

To continue the cultural adventure at the exit of the Museum Island or at the bend of a stroll in the district of Mitte, this very charming bookstore, small in size but young and bright, welcomes you and offers you a beautiful assortment of books and magazines from all over the world. The themes of architecture, photography and design are particularly well represented, making it an institution in this district rich in art galleries. In the same street, just across the street, you will find, for example, the very remarkable Galerie Deschler.

Designer and lover of vintage, Marita Schwalm offers in her shop a beautiful range of clothes, shoes, leather goods, decorative objects and even furniture from the 1950s to the 1980s: a joyful foutreras that will delight enthusiasts! The house also offers the possibility to rent jewellery, furniture, clothes, lamps to professionals for films, shootings, advertisements, clips but also to private individuals for costume or theme evenings!

The unconditional meeting place for hipsters, young hipsters and urban fashion lovers. This shop that combines music (vinyl and CD) and fashion has chosen its neighbourhood well, just a stone's throw from Boxhagener Platz. You'll find second-hand records and a beautiful collection of sneakers, all of which will make you look like Berlin fashion. Amongst the brands that are favoured here are: Patagonia, Pinqponq, The North Face, Carhartt, etc.The prices are still quite high. And since you were wondering: HHV are the initials for Hip Hop Vinyl.

This is a huge shop, well known to Berlin's many artists and creative people. There's an art bookstore (with some very nice books about Berlin), a general bookstore, but above all on two levels there are displays of dozens of materials for painting, drawing, sewing, and other disciplines in the do-it-yourself art family. Here you will find every pencil, brush, spray, cloth, tool and accessory imaginable. Everything for the artist in you.

This is one of the busiest flea markets in Berlin (and yet the competition is tough here!). It is divided in two: on the one hand, a "classic" flea market with all sorts of trinkets (Trödel is German for "bric-a-brac") and other dust-pickers, more antiques than real flea markets and, on the other hand, an arts and crafts market where artists but also graphic designers or handymen sell their works. There are toilets and food-trucks.

Large video shop, audio, computer. Legend says it would be the largest CD store in Europe…

A store entirely dedicated to menswear installed since 1999 in the Kastanienalle, anticipating by a few years the movement of gentrification that was going to hit the whole street. We will come there for the small selection of extremely rare sneakers. And then also for the Eisdieler T-shirts with Berlin designs as original as they are interesting and artistic. They're unique. It's a far cry from the tourist T-shirts I love Berlin. Otherwise, watches, gloves, wallets and sunglasses are also sold here. Everything you need for a makeover.

Robert Thomas has been in business for a century. It has been manufacturing and marketing wet and dry vacuum cleaners for four decades. For pet owners, the company has developed a vacuum cleaner specially designed to rid the home of dog, cat and rodent hair: the Aqua+ Pet & Family vacuum cleaner. Thanks to its AQUA-BOX system, this vacuum-cleaner captures hair better than conventional vacuum cleaners (with or without bags). It cleans deep down to the very last trace left by your pets. Its many accessories mean it can go everywhere: on carpets and armchairs, on hard floors and in nooks and crannies.

Rosina Wachtmeister is an Austrian artist inspired by cats. On her boutique website, you'll find adorable porcelain cats with a harlequin look. These cats also adorn rugs and cushions, tableware, flowerpots and garden benches. The artist sells unique ceramic pieces. More modestly, you can buy postcards or paper napkins, puzzles or umbrellas, calendars or kits... Rosina Wachtmeister's world is colorful, joyful and poetic.

Opened in 2018, this shopping center hosts more than 100 stores spread over three floors and a 24-hour parking lot right next to the Warschauer Straße train station. There are the usual mall stores: boutiques, supermarkets, banks, gym... The center recently opened a bee colony on the top floor of the parking lot in collaboration with the organization Stadtbienen.org, which raises awareness about bees and biodiversity by offering educational courses on maintaining bees in the urban space.

The inventor of the Combi remains one of the masters of the van. On a Transporter basis, you can find a few models. The prices are still high. The California with a kitchenette, plenty of storage space, a modular roof that can be converted into a bunk, great modularity and equipment dedicated to camping. From the lighting to the quality equipment and the harmonisation of materials and colours, everything contributes to maximum comfort. An emblematic brand that has been making emulators for many years!

The Commercial shopping centre, ZO for the premises, is a large shopping hall on two levels. Shopping is the watchword. And we buy what? Everything, and much more! Food races, clothing, home products, toys for children, cosmetics… At ZO the pharmacy is a few metres from a bakery, a stationery, a florist, a mobile phone operator, a ongulaire studio, a bank, a press point and even a gym. There are also some snacking establishments such as an Italian glacier or a kebab. As you will have understood, the idea was to regroup everything you need in one place. No need to go out, everything is there. You will cross the entire district and especially students as a result of the proximity of the centre with the Franco-German secondary school and the Baden (prestigious music school in Freiburg). To go further and go beyond the classic shopping stage and thus become a real place of life, the establishment regularly organises events such as exhibitions, flea markets, art sales and bicycle fairs. Finally, there is a parking lot, which is handy when you know how complicated it is to park in the city. As it is located near the tram, you can consider leaving your car, if you decide to leave DU…