Hey Berliners!

Three weeks ago I would have told you Berlin’s Christmas markets start late November. One has been running since yesterday, two more open this Friday, and a fourth follows at Nollendorfplatz later in the week. The one everybody pictures at Breitscheidplatz opens on the 13th. berlin.de prints 23 November as the season’s start, which is true of some markets and not of any you are likely to reach first. We checked each one individually, which is the only way to get this right.

That is the week in miniature. Almost nothing is where you would expect it. The Volksbühne has a play performed in English, and the listings file it under Dance. The Philharmoniker changed the conductor for Mahler’s Fifth, and some listings still print the old name. Berlin Science Week puts hundreds of events across the city, many in English, and almost nobody outside the universities has heard of it.

One thing begins tonight that has nothing to do with culture: the Kältebus and Wärmebus start their winter runs. And one thing ends. The Berlin Dungeon’s last day open to visitors is Friday; it closes permanently on Saturday, after more than 13 years.

— Dr Yassir A. Shuaib

This week’s shoutout goes to Dr Gareeballa Osman Balla. Thank you for spreading the word. It is the only reason this list grows.

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A date warning before anything else. MediaMarkt’s Halloween campaign page contradicts itself. Its offer footnote says in-store from 27 October to 2 November and online from 27 October to 3 November, 08:59. The general terms at the foot of the same page say in store to 12 November and online to 13 November, 08:59. Individual product tiles also carry their own earlier deadlines. Treat the early date as the real one, check the deadline on the product page itself, and buy in the first 48 hours.

Do not wait for a November sale either: Black Friday is 27 November, and Singles Day is the 11th. Neither has started.

Retail prices move within hours. Check the live product page before you travel.

Saturn is advertising the same Halloween campaign — compare the exact model and price at each, because they do not always match. → MediaMarkt Halloween deals · Saturn offers

A PS5 DualSense controller bundled with Marvel’s Wolverine for €99 in store while supplies last.

Ending 2 November in stores. → Apple Week here

Spend 300 € or more in store by 2 November and you get two 15-euro coupons for a later purchase, valid to 31 December. This is not an immediate 30 € off: the coupons are issued after the qualifying purchase. Members only — show your MyMediaMarkt or MySaturn card — and in-store only. → More info here

Book today; travel next week. Super Sparpreis Last Minute is bookable only on Saturdays and Sundays for travel Monday to Sunday of the following week, from 6.99 euros second class while stock lasts. It runs every weekend to 13 December — so today is exactly the day to book 2 to 8 November, and on Tuesday you will find nothing. → Book here

Jugend BahnCard 25 is free — zero instead of 7.90 — for ages 6 to 18 inclusive, orderable to 12 December. And Flexpreis Young takes 20% off the full-flex fare for under-27s, bookable to 12 December, with ID checked on board. → More info here

Rossmann’s 20% coupon expires today, 1 November. It is narrower than it looks: beauty-category dietary supplements only, activated in the Rossmann app and scanned at the till. → More info here

Next week’s brochures cover this exact week: Lidl 2 to 7 November and Müller 2 to 7. We could not confirm the dates of Müller’s toy brochure, and we have not checked individual prices in either, so treat these as where to look rather than a promise. → Lidl here · Müller here

IKEA Lichtenberg opens next Sunday, 8 November, 13:00–18:00, with the restaurant 12:30–17:30. Sunday trading is rare here, so it is worth the diary note. Landsberger Allee 364. → More info here

Seven euros at the Berlinische Galerie on Wednesday. Happy Wednesday cuts entry for everyone on the first Wednesday of the month, which is 4 November. Under-18s are always free. → More info here

Free at the Technikmuseum from 13:00 on Friday 6 November — the first Friday of the month, not every Friday. That gives you 13:00 until closing at 17:30. Book the zero-euro “Free admission on Friday afternoon” ticket in the museum’s shop. Worth knowing on any other day too: it is 15 euros online but 17 at the till, including a 2-euro service fee. Under-18s are free year-round and still need a zero-euro ticket. → Ticket information

Free at the Spandau Citadel today, 10:00–17:00 — grounds, Julius Tower, museums and exhibitions, on the first Sunday of every month. At 14:00 there are two separate tours, an English-guided tour and a German-costumed one, at 4.50 euros on top. U7 Zitadelle. → More info here

The Super-Ferien-Pass is nine euros, but its benefits are holiday-only. The Badekarte gives one free swim per holiday day; free ice rinks and the Zoo and Tierpark coupons are holiday benefits too, and the Zoo and Tierpark coupons stop at age 15. Classes resume Monday, so none of that applies between 2 and 7 November. Buy it now for the Christmas break: it runs to the Easter 2027 holidays and covers Berlin residents up to and including 18. Activate the swim card at a pool desk before first use. → More info here

BVG Club members get 25% off the Konzerthausorchester’s Pablo Ferrández concerts — but the last qualifying date is today. → More info here

The AI cameras at Kottbusser Tor are about to start. Thirty cameras at 15 locations are due to begin a four-week live trial in early November, running around the clock. Full story below.

Berlin’s next government takes shape. Die Linke’s congress voted on Saturday to open three-way talks with the SPD and Greens. Negotiations begin Monday. Full story below.

Your VBB fares are due to rise on 1 January. The VBB supervisory board approved an average 3.72% in September, and its price sheet says the figures remain subject to tariff approval. The Berlin AB single stays at 4.00 euros, but the AB monthly Umweltkarte goes from 81.30 to 84.30 and the four-trip ticket from 12.40 to 13.20. → More info here

The Berlin Dungeon closes for good this week. Friday 6 November is its last day open to visitors; it shuts permanently on Saturday 7 November, after more than 13 years in Mitte. Holders of tickets dated later are reported to be getting contacted with options. → More info here

Autumn break ended yesterday. Classes resume Monday 2 November, so Monday morning gets its full rush hour back. Christmas holidays begin on 23 December.

Die Linke’s congress voted on Saturday to open formal negotiations with the SPD and the Greens — a large majority, with scattered votes against and abstentions, and no tally published. Talks start Monday, 2 November. The vote authorises negotiations, not a government: any deal goes to all three parties’ members and then the Abgeordnetenhaus. Together they would hold 91 of 153 seats; Die Linke’s Elif Eralp would be its candidate for Governing Mayor.

What they have agreed is not expropriation. The 17 October paper states that expropriation under Article 14 of the Basic Law is excluded. The mechanism is socialisation, applying to private landlords holding 10,000 flats or more, each retaining 10,000. Compensation is capped at €16 billion subject to fiscal sustainability, and nothing reaches the Abgeordnetenhaus before mid-2028. Vonovia calls it unconstitutional.

Also in the paper: 100,000 building permits by 2031, a 2% annual rent cap at the state-owned housing companies, and a new tenant-protection office. Die Linke goes into the talks, pressing to implement the Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen referendum.

All Saints’ Day is a public holiday in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is not one in Berlin, and this year it falls on a Sunday anyway, so nothing changes here.

Free today

Jazzfest closes tonight at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele: artist talk at 17:30, Graewe/Jones/Drake 18:30, Ganavya at 20:00, and Alexander von Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra at 21:20. Full detail under Music. → Running order here

Markets — Nowkoelln Flowmarkt at Maybachufer 32–33, 10:00–17:00; Flohmarkt Pankow at Breite Straße 31, 10:00–17:00, which runs on first Sundays; Mauerpark and Boxhagener Platz at 10:00–18:00. Full list under Markets.

Sport — Eisbären v Adler Mannheim 14:00, Union v Köln 15:30.

On screen — six films with English subtitles at Babylon, including Oldboy at 18:30 and Memories of Murder at 20:00, plus Nosferatu at 18:00 live with orchestra. Two other Korean films today carry German subtitles only — see Film before you book.

Books — BUCHBERLIN at Arena Berlin, 10:00–17:00, around 300 stands. Its second and final day.

No rain at all this week, the forecast shows none on any of the seven days, which does not happen often here. So this is coat weather rather than umbrella weather. Highs sit between 7 and 10 degrees, Tuesday the mildest and Saturday the coolest, and Wednesday night is the one that gets close to freezing at 1°C. Today’s high of 8°C is about three degrees below the seasonal average. The sun now sets just before 16:40 and we lose another three and a half minutes of daylight a day.

Forecast from Weather Underground for Berlin city centre, checked Saturday afternoon.

👉 Full forecast here

🛏️ Kältehilfe, the buses start tonight

Berlin’s cold-weather service for people sleeping rough starts its bus runs tonight, 1 November. The Kältehilfe season itself began in October and runs to April; the two buses operate November to March.

The providers’ advice: speak to the person first, politely, and ask whether they want help. If they do, call a bus. If someone seems helpless, is unresponsive or is in immediate danger, Berlin’s official guidance is to call 110 for the police or 112 for fire and rescue rather than a bus. For an acute medical emergency, 112.

→ Berlin’s Kältehilfe information and phone numbers

Berlin police say thirty AI-assisted cameras at fifteen locations around Kottbusser Tor will begin a four-week live trial in early November, running around the clock. Interior Senator Iris Spranger announced the timing at the Kottbusser Tor police station on 28 October. No exact start date has been published.

Police say the software looks for movement patterns typical of fights and other violent confrontations. When it flags one, officers at the nearby station get an audible alert and the live feed on screen, and decide whether to send colleagues. Police also say it does not do biometric facial recognition and does not register skin colour, gender or clothing — though officers viewing a high-resolution feed can of course see faces and clothing. Recordings are deleted after 30 days unless needed as evidence.

The case for it: police reported more than 900 offences around Kottbusser Tor in the past twelve months, more than 300 of them physical attacks. Spranger wants to extend the technology to Warschauer Brücke, Alexanderplatz and Görlitzer Park — proposals, not decisions.

The case against: Die Linke and the Greens have filed suit against the underlying police-law reform at Berlin’s Constitutional Court, and several dozen people protested at the station on Wednesday. Netzpolitik reported in August that Berlin would be the third German city to use behaviour-analysis surveillance, after Mannheim and Hamburg, and that the existing German projects had not been independently evaluated.

→ More info here

The state-owned HOWOGE has begun letting 388 new-build flats across three projects in Hellersdorf, Lichtenberg and Köpenick, 195 of them subsidised for eligible WBS households. First move-ins are expected in November at Schkeuditzer Straße (167 flats, 84 subsidised). Rosenfelder Ring (173 flats, 87 subsidised) and about 48 at Mahlower Straße in Köpenick are expected from February 2027, with letting at Mahlower Straße due to start at the end of November. → More info here

The tram does not vanish. From Monday 2 to 9 November the M10 keeps running between Warschauer Straße and Kniprodestraße, with replacement buses covering Kniprodestraße/Danziger Straße to U Naturkundemuseum. From 9 November to 21 December it runs between Warschauer Straße and Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, buses onward. See Getting Around.

Berlin Science Week opens today. Ten days, hundreds of events across the city, many in English. The weekend hub at HKW is free with a pass; admission elsewhere varies by event. Details below.

A play in English at the Volksbühne. Der Teich, Friday and Saturday, performed in English with German surtitles. Friday is the Berlin premiere. Genuinely rare, and filed under Dance on the listings sites.

Four winter markets open or running this week — Lichtenberger Winterzeit since yesterday, Heissa Holzmarkt and Glühwald on Friday, and the Nollendorfplatz winter square later in the week. All of them before Breitscheidplatz opens on the 13th.

The Berlin Dungeon’s last week. Last visitor day Friday 6 November; permanent closure Saturday.

Mahler’s Fifth, three nights running, with a conductor substitution some listings have not caught up with.

Theater der Dinge, to Thursday. An object-theatre festival where the headline work has no spoken language at all — unusually easy if your German is not there yet.

Bazaar Berlin, Wednesday to Sunday. The 64th edition at the ExpoCenter, with the Mineralis minerals and fossils fair joining for the first time.

Berlin Science Week runs 1–10 November, theme “In Touch.”

Hundreds of events across the city, in German and English, with the language shown on each listing. Thirty-three public libraries take part. The HKW Festival Centre is free with a pass; admission and registration for the citywide programme vary by event, so check the individual listing.

The centre of it is at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, for three days: Friday 6 November 12:30–00:00, Saturday 7 November 10:00–00:00, Sunday 8 November 09:30–19:30. Exhibition stands keep shorter hours — roughly 13:00–18:00 Friday, 10:00–18:00 Saturday and 10:00–19:00 Sunday.

Entry is free with a 3-Day Festival Centre Pass. Walk-ins are welcome, but booking gives priority access and workshop seats are limited, so reserve if there is something you want. → Book here

Worth putting in the diary:

One caution: the programme is large and it moves. Open the individual listing before you build an evening around a time printed here. And note the Ig Nobel Prizes fall on Sunday 8 November, the day after this issue’s window closes.

→ Full programme here

Everything below is detailed in its own section further down.

Starting today · Berlin Science Week opens citywide, to 10 November · Kältebus and Wärmebus begin their winter runs · Berlin Vintage and Heritage Market launches at Ballhaus Berlin

Ending today · Jazzfest Berlin’s final night, with the Globe Unity Orchestra · BUCHBERLIN’s final day · Rossmann’s 20% supplements coupon

Free · Zitadellensonntag at the Spandau Citadel, 10:00–17:00 · Marco Fusinato at the Gorki, 13:00–21:00

Markets · Flohmarkt Pankow 10:00–17:00 · Nowkoelln Flowmarkt 10:00–17:00 · Onkel Toms Trödel 10:00–16:00 · Antikmarkt Ostbahnhof from 9:00 · Ballhaus Berlin 11:00–17:00, €3 · Mauerpark and Boxhagener Platz 10:00–18:00 · RAW from 8:00 · Arkonaplatz and Fehrbelliner Platz 10:00–16:00 · Rathaus Schöneberg 8:00–16:00

Sport · Eisbären v Adler Mannheim 14:00, Uber Arena · Union v Köln 15:30, An der Alten Försterei

Stage and screen · Pique Dame, Deutsche Oper, 16:00 · Rachel Willis-Sørensen recital, Staatsoper, 20:00 · six English-subtitled films at Babylon from 14:00 · Nosferatu with live orchestra, 18:00 · Dreamland at Theater der Dinge, 15:00–20:00 · New In Town comedy, 20:45

Also · BUCHBERLIN at Arena Berlin, 10:00–17:00 · Zehlendorf S-Bahn closes from 18:00

Schools go back · Coalition talks begin · M10 cut back to Kniprodestraße, buses onward to U Naturkundemuseum, to 9 November · Line 21 restriction ends · Zehlendorf S-Bahn reopens 03:40, Teltower Damm 04:00 · Schönhauser Allee traffic measures begin · MediaMarkt and Saturn in-store coupon ends · Apple Week ends in stores · Dreamland and a Round Table (17:00, in English) at Theater der Dinge · Babylon: Parasite 17:00, Tale of Cinema 20:00, Memories of Murder 20:00

MediaMarkt Halloween deals end online, 08:59 · Fusinato at the Gorki, 13:00–21:00 · Dreamland and a Lecture Performance (17:00, in English) at Theater der Dinge · GPO Box No. 211, Schaubude, 20:00 · Babylon: Wings of Desire 17:00, Broker 20:00, Aguirre 22:30 · Ökomarkt Hohenstaufenplatz 12:00–18:00

Bazaar Berlin opens at the ExpoCenter, 10:00–19:00, to Sunday · Berlinische Galerie 7 euros for everyone under Happy Wednesday · Max Delbrück Center job closes · Tierpark Laternenlauf begins, 15:45–17:00 · Loops & Hoops at Schaubude, 19:00 and 21:00, both sold out · Pique Dame, Deutsche Oper, 19:30 · Deep Purple, Uber Arena, 19:30 · Saying the Wrong Thing comedy, The Wall, 20:30 · Babylon: Parasite 17:30, Rocky Horror with live shadow cast 19:30, Memories of Murder 22:00, Oldboy 22:45 · Ökomarkt Nordbahnhof 11:00–18:00 · Winterfeldtmarkt 8:00–13:00

Mahler’s Fifth, night one, Philharmonie, 20:00 · U5 late-night works end · Theater der Dinge’s final day · Lithuanian Cinema Goes Berlin opens, to 8 November · Jethro Tull, Tempodrom, 20:00 · The Answering Machine premieres at Babylon, 19:30, with a Q&A and live music · Ponyo and Life Support, both 20:00 · On Fire! comedy, The Wall, 20:00 · Laternenlauf, Tierpark · Ökomarkt Akazienstraße 12:00–18:00 · Brandenburger Bauernmarkt, Wittenbergplatz, 10:00–17:00

Heissa Holzmarkt and Glühwald open · Science Week Festival Centre opens at HKW, 12:30 to midnight — Yoshua Bengio 13:00–14:30, Brian Schmidt 15:30 · The Berlin Dungeon’s last visitor day · Technikmuseum free from 13:00 · ALBA v Phoenix Hagen, 20:00, Uber Arena · Elektra with English surtitles, Deutsche Oper, 19:30 · Der Teich in English, Volksbühne, 20:00, Berlin premiere · Mahler’s Fifth, night two, 20:00 · Cœur de Pirate, Columbia Theater, 20:00 · Danger Dan, Tempodrom, 20:30, sold out · Comedy in an Art Gallery, Tor218, 20:00 · Kookaburra showcase 19:30 · The Answering Machine, Babylon, 20:00 · Laternenlauf, Tierpark · Markthalle Neun Big Market 12:00–18:00

Science Week’s biggest day at HKW, 10:00 to midnight — Who Belongs in Science? 10:30, Claudia Hammond on hormones 14:15, Queens of Science drag show 21:30, plus the family programme · Berlin Freedom Week opens, with the Ostfrauen*Salon from 14:00 · The Nollendorfplatz winter square, 15:00–22:00

Sport · Hertha v Wolfsburg, 20:30, Olympiastadion · ALBA’s women v Keltern, 18:00

Markets · Karlshorst Riesenflohmarkt 9:00–17:00 · Makers Market Moabit 10:00–17:00 · Winterfeldtmarkt 8:00–16:00 · Leo Flohmarkt 10:00–16:00 · Domäne Dahlem Ökomarkt 8:00–13:00 · Fahrradmarkt Kreuzkölln 10:00–15:00 · Markthalle Neun Big Market 10:00–18:00

Stage · Der Teich in English, Volksbühne, 20:00 · Pique Dame, Deutsche Oper, 19:00 · Barocktage opens, Staatsoper, 20:00, sold out · Mahler’s Fifth, night three, 19:00 · Tokio Hotel, Uber Arena, 20:00 · Danger Dan, Tempodrom, 20:30, sold out · Kookaburra showcase 19:30

Family · Alles Film? at FEZ-Berlin, 12:00–18:00 · Laternenlauf, Tierpark, 15:45–17:00

U5 — last nights. Works section Wuhletal–Tierpark, Sunday to Thursday from about 22:00 to close, ending Thursday 5 November. Trains run Hönow–Kaulsdorf-Nord, a 10-minute shuttle continues to Elsterwerdaer Platz, buses cover Elsterwerdaer Platz–Tierpark with a separate shuttle to Biesdorf-Süd, and Tierpark–Hauptbahnhof is normal. → More info here

M10 — shortened, not cancelled. From 2 to 9 November it runs Warschauer Straße to Kniprodestraße only, with buses covering Kniprodestraße/Danziger Straße to U Naturkundemuseum. From 9 November to 21 December it runs Warschauer Straße to Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, buses onward. The two phases share 9 November, so check that day specifically. Separately, M5 runs U Turmstraße–Zingster Straße and M8 U Turmstraße–Gudrunstraße throughout, and the M2 runs Heinersdorf or Am Steinberg to Am Kupfergraben until 21 December. → More info here

U2 — evenings only. Buses replace trains Zoologischer Garten–Bismarckstraße from about 22:30, Sunday to Thursday, through the night of 12 November.

Zehlendorf S-Bahn — tonight. The S1 is closed from 18:00 until 03:40 Monday for a bridge lift, with Teltower Damm shut underneath until 04:00 — two different end times. The 101, 115 and 623 stop moves from Gartenstraße to Machnower Straße. The station’s northern entrance stays closed to 30 November. → More info here

Schönhauser Allee bridge. Traffic-safety measures begin Monday 2 November and utility work on 13 November, running to about March 2027. One lane each way at 30 km/h, northern U-Bahn entrance closed, Dänenstraße no longer a through route. → More info here

Good news: the S3. A 10-minute weekday service Erkner–Charlottenburg, roughly 06:00–20:00, to 11 December. → More info here

Long distance. The Stadtbahn stays shut to regional and long-distance trains between Charlottenburg and Ostbahnhof until 12 December, so most use Hauptbahnhof’s lower level and Hamburg trains skip Spandau. RE1 is split. Separately, the Hannover–Berlin corridor is heavily restricted and stays that way into December 2027 — check the live DB connection before you travel west. → More info here

One trap. At Allee der Kosmonauten and Rhinstraße some trams change line number mid-journey, continuing as the M17. The tram you boarded is not necessarily the tram you are on.

Babylon Mitte, Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 30, is a strong week for English-accessible cinema: a South Korea season running to Wednesday, plus Kubrick and a Kinski centenary. OmeU means original audio with English subtitles. OmU means German subtitles, which is a different thing — and Babylon’s Korean season uses both, so check the tag on the screening you want. The cinema publishes no legend for its tags, and the asterisk it sometimes adds is unexplained.

Sunday 1 — With English subtitles: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring 14:00 · Woman Is the Future of Man 14:15 · Barking Dogs Never Bite 15:45 · Oldboy 18:30 · Memories of Murder 20:00. Plus Lazzaro felice at 16:00, Italian, under CinemAperitivo rather than the Korea season. German subtitles only: Right Now, Wrong Then 17:45, Mother 20:45 and 2001: A Space Odyssey 20:30. And Nosferatu at 18:00 with the Babylon Orchester live — silent, with German intertitles, so language is no barrier.

Monday 2 — English subtitles: Parasite 17:00 · Tale of Cinema 20:00 · Memories of Murder 20:00.

Tuesday 3 — English subtitles: Wings of Desire 17:00 · Woman Is the Future of Man 17:45 · Broker 20:00 · Aguirre, Wrath of God 22:30, which is partly in English already. Eyes Wide Shut at 21:45 has German subtitles.

Wednesday 4 — English subtitles: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter 17:00 · Parasite 17:30 · Memories of Murder 22:00 · Oldboy 22:45. Plus The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 19:30 with a live shadow cast.

Thursday 5 — The Answering Machine premieres at 19:30 with English subtitles, with a Q&A with director José Cortés and Ivon Mateljan plus live music, and plays again Friday at 20:00. Also Life Support at 20:00 in English, and Miyazaki’s Ponyo at 20:00 with English subtitles.

→ Full programme here

From Thursday, a second festival. Lithuanian Cinema Goes Berlin runs 5 to 8 November at ACUD Kino 1, Veteranenstraße 21 in Mitte, and Sputnik Kino am Südstern, Hasenheide 54 in Kreuzberg. The festival states that all films are in the original with English subtitles, or in English — unusually easy. There is a free party at ACUD Club on 5 November and a free Cinema Brunch with a talk at Sputnik on 8 November. → Programme here

For original-version screenings across the rest of the city, ovkino.de lists them by day — check each film for English subtitles rather than assuming.

Der Teich at the Volksbühne is the one to book. Performed in English with German surtitles, which is the right way round for once. Friday 6 November is the Berlin premiere; it plays again Saturday 7. Both nights 20:00 on the Main Stage, 1 hour 25 minutes, no interval. The Volksbühne publishes no prices for it, so check at the box office — Monday to Saturday 11:00–18:00, or from an hour before curtain. Berlin.de files it under Dance, which is why you have not seen it. → Tickets here

Theater der Dinge runs to Thursday 5 November at Schaubude Berlin, Greifswalder Straße 81–84, with satellite venues. The fifteenth edition, themed “the world as a model” — and much of it works without German:

The full Thursday programme was not published when we checked, so look at the festival schedule before planning the last day. → Programme here

Pique Dame at the Deutsche Oper has English surtitles, and three dates this week: Sunday 1 November 16:00, Wednesday 4 at 19:30 and Saturday 7 at 19:00. Sung in Russian with German and English surtitles. From 28 euros on the Sunday and Saturday; Wednesday is priced €34 and €10. About three hours twenty with one interval, recommended 14 and over. It uses strobe lighting, and a blank cartridge is fired on stage at the end. → Tickets here

Elektra, Deutsche Oper, Friday 6 November 19:30, in German with German and English surtitles. No price is published on the listing. → More info here

Marco Fusinato’s IN THE CORPSE OF THE PRESENT is at the Gorki, Tuesday to Sunday 13:00–21:00, running to 15 November — so this Sunday and Tuesday fall inside our window but you have a fortnight. A durational installation: you walk in and out rather than take a seat. Check admission on the Gorki’s listing; the house says nothing either way about surtitles for this one. → More info here

Two useful negatives. English Theatre Berlin is dark until 28 November, and the Berliner Ensemble’s next surtitled show is The Last Sky on 10 November, just past this week. The tool worth bookmarking is berlin-buehnen.de, the joint schedule for Berlin’s stages in English.

Jazzfest closes tonight at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The 63rd edition ends with Alexander von Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra at 21:20, playing Apokalyptische Nabelschau, after an artist talk at 17:30, Graewe/Jones/Drake at 18:30 and ganavya at 20:00. → Running order here

Mahler’s Fifth, three nights — and a conductor change. Berliner Philharmoniker, Thursday 5 and Friday 6 at 20:00, Saturday 7 at 19:00. €40–114, free introduction 45 minutes before each, about two and a quarter hours. Andrés Orozco-Estrada has replaced Iván Fischer, and some listings still print Fischer. → Tickets here

Barocktage runs 7 to 27 November at the Staatsoper. The opening concert is Saturday 7 at 20:00, Christina Pluhar directing L’Arpeggiata with Céline Scheen and Renato Dolcini, at €57 — but the house marks it sold out, as it does 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, 25 and 27 November. Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen gives a recital there tonight at 20:00, €9–67. → More info here

Also on: Deep Purple Wednesday 19:30 and Tokio Hotel Saturday 20:00, both Uber Arena · Jethro Tull Thursday at the Tempodrom, doors 19:00, show 20:00, €71.35–107 · Cœur de Pirate Friday 20:00, Columbia Theater · and Danger Dan at the Tempodrom on Friday and Saturday, both 20:30, €65.40 — sold out in every category on both nights, so only resale.

Lovis Corinth: Then Came Berlin!, Berlinische Galerie, to 25 January. Fourteen euros, 7 reduced, and 7 for everyone on Wednesday 4 November. → More info here

Maurizio Cattelan: NIGHT, Neue Nationalgalerie, to 7 March 2027. Cattelan’s first major solo exhibition in Germany. Sixteen euros, 8 reduced, or 20 for the whole building. Closed Mondays. → More info here

Ryuichi Sakamoto: seeing sound, hearing time, Hamburger Bahnhof, to 20 June 2027. Sixteen euros, 8 reduced, under-18s free, closed Mondays. The same ticket covers Next Door, with Tacita Dean and Olafur Eliasson. → More info here

Gropius Bau has Christoph Schlingensief and Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960, both to 17 January. Fifteen euros, 10 reduced, closed Tuesdays. → More info here

Über Zeiten: Gursky, Lucas, Miró, Warhol and the art of the long 19th century, Alte Nationalgalerie, to 28 February 2027. Sixteen euros, 8 reduced. → More info here

Rubens, Jordaens, van Dyck: Flemish Master Drawings, Kupferstichkabinett, to 31 January 2027. Eight euros, 4 reduced. → More info here

Genghis Khan and the World of the Mongols, James-Simon-Galerie, to 18 April 2027, 14 euros and 7 reduced. → More info here

Four winter markets are open or opening this week — the season starts far earlier than the Christmas-market headlines suggest.

Running as usual: Mauerpark 10:00–18:00 · Boxhagener Platz 10:00–18:00 · RAW-Gelände from 8:00 · Arkonaplatz 10:00–16:00 · Rathaus Schöneberg 8:00–16:00 · Fehrbelliner Platz 10:00–16:00. All free.

Winter hours have kicked in on three. Straße des 17. Juni now runs 9:00–16:00 instead of 17:00, Marheinekeplatz closes at 16:00 on Sunday instead of 17:00, and the Tuesday Ökomarkt at Hohenstaufenplatz shuts at 18:00. Aim to arrive before 15:00 across the board.

And one to stop looking for: the Langschläfer-Flohmarkt at Winterfeldtplatz has no dates left in 2026. Its last was 25 October.

The indoor halls are open all week: Marheineke Markthalle Monday to Friday 8:00–20:00 and Saturday to 18:00, Arminiusmarkthalle Monday to Saturday 8:00–22:00.

Union Berlin v 1. FC Köln, today, 15:30, An der Alten Försterei, Bundesliga matchday 8. If you see 14:30 anywhere, including on the league’s own site, that is UTC — Germany went back to winter time on 25 October. Standing 14 to 16 euros, seats 33 to 48 plus fees, but Union raffles home tickets among members. → Ticket prices

Eisbären Berlin v Adler Mannheim, today, 14:00, Uber Arena. Doors 12:30. → Tickets here

ALBA Berlin v Phoenix Hagen, Friday 6 November, 20:00, Uber Arena. → Tickets here

Hertha BSC v VfL Wolfsburg, Saturday 7 November, 20:30, Olympiastadion, 2. Bundesliga matchday 11. Tickets 35 to 85 euros. If you see 19:30 on Hertha’s general fixtures page, that is the same timezone artefact — the club’s match-specific ticket notice, the Olympiastadion and the DFB all give 20:30. → More info here

ALBA Berlin’s women v Keltern, Saturday 7 November, 18:00. We could not confirm the venue or admission from ALBA or the league, so check albaberlin.de before setting out.

Füchse Berlin have no home fixture this week; their next is against THW Kiel on 14 November.

Prices below are what the ticket pages show, fees included.

Sunday 1 — New In Town at Hier wo du strahlst, Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 20, 20:45. No price listed for this date. → More info here

Wednesday 4 — Saying the Wrong Thing at The Wall Comedy Club, Grünberger Straße 84, 20:30, listed from two euros. That figure is a seat reservation rather than the price of the show: the club’s nights of this kind are pay-what-you-want at the door. → More info here

Thursday 5 — On Fire! at The Wall Comedy Club, 20:00. We could not open the ticket page to confirm the price, so check before you go. → More info here

Friday 6 — Comedy in an Art Gallery at Tor218 Art Lab, Torstraße 218, 20:00, doors 19:30, from 13.48 euros. → Tickets here

Friday 6 and Saturday 7 — English Comedy Berlin Showcase at Kookaburra, Schönhauser Allee 184, 19:30 both nights, from 22.56 euros. The two nights are separate listings, so make sure you book the right date. → Friday tickets

If Monday or Tuesday is your only free night, the weekly English rooms are worth a look — several Neukölln and Friedrichshain bars run Tuesday nights — but no venue had a dated listing up when we checked, so ring ahead rather than turning up.

Classes resume Monday 2 November after the two-week break, so this is the first ordinary week since mid-October.

The Deutsches Technikmuseum, Trebbiner Straße 9, is free for everyone from 13:00 on the first Friday of the month — which is 6 November. That gives you 13:00 until closing at 17:30, so it is an afternoon rather than a day out. Book the zero-euro ticket first. Under-18s are free any day and also need one. → Ticket information

Labyrinth Kindermuseum, Osloer Straße 12, is open Sunday 11:00–18:00, Friday 13:00–18:00 and Saturday 11:00–18:00, last admission 17:00. There are no family hours Monday to Thursday this week. Advance online booking is no longer offered — tickets are sold at the desk. Its posted price table is years out of date, so take the price as you find it. → Opening hours

Alles Film? Klappe, die Zweite! at FEZ-Berlin in the Wuhlheide, Saturday 7 November 12:00–18:00, built for children aged 6 to 12. 6.50 euros a head, or 5 each for two or more, and the ticket also covers the Alice Museum. Some workshops need signing up for on site. → Event page

Science Week’s family programme is the weekend of 6 to 8 November at HKW, not the whole festival — including a light-and-colour workshop for ages 4 to 8 in German and English. Free, but it needs the free Festival Centre pass, places are limited and most of the family programme is in German. Children need an accompanying adult. → More info here

Lantern walks through the Tierpark start Wednesday. The Tierpark runs ten evening Laternenläufe — 4 to 8 November and 11 to 15 November — each 15:45 to 17:00, meeting at the Bärenschaufenster entrance. Thirteen euros from age four, under-fours free, entry included, and it is an evening-only ticket. Tickets are online and advance only, and the walk is led in German only — worth knowing if your household needs English. Dates that disappear from the shop are sold out. Bring your own lantern and a torch; no real flames or candles. Four of those dates fall inside this week, so you do not have to wait for St Martin’s Day on the 11th. → Tickets here

Zur letzten Instanz, Waisenstraße 14–16 in Mitte, has been serving since 1621 and claims the title of Berlin’s oldest restaurant. Dark wood, a tiled stove, low ceilings.

It is closed on Sundays, so not today. Open Monday to Thursday from 17:30, Friday and Saturday 12:00–15:00 and from 17:30. Booking is essential, by email or phone, and same-day tables by phone only. It also advertises a St Martin’s goose for four or more with notice, but that notice dates from 2022, so ask when you ring. → More info here

Two to watch rather than visit: Circolo Popolare, the Big Squadra group’s Italian in the Kranzler Eck rotunda, is reported to open on 20 November; IRO Sushi on Krumme Straße is announced for November without a confirmed day.

Bazaar Berlin, Wednesday 4 to Sunday 8 November, 10:00–19:00 every day, Berlin ExpoCenter City, Messedamm 22. The 64th edition: an international sales fair for crafts, design, natural products and fair-trade goods across five theme worlds. The organiser’s own site gives around 500 exhibitors from more than 60 countries in its introduction and 430 from 56 in its key-figures panel, so take it as “several hundred”. Mineralis, the minerals and fossils fair, joins for the first time this year. The organiser does not publish 2026 ticket prices — last year’s were 10 euros for a day and 25 for a family, so budget around that and buy at the door. The fair recommends bringing cash. → More info here

Today: BUCHBERLIN, the city’s book fair, at Arena Berlin, Eichenstraße 4, 10:00–17:00, with around 300 stands weighted towards fantasy, romance and crime. This is its second and final day. Ticket prices are not published on the venue listing, so check before you travel. → More info here

The pass that covers five of this week’s exhibitions

This issue lists seven exhibitions worth going to. Buying into them one at a time costs about seventy euros. There is a cheaper way, and most people who live here have never used it because it looks like a tourist product.

The Museum Pass Berlin is €32 and runs for three consecutive days from whichever start date you pick. It covers more than thirty museums — the official list currently runs to thirty-seven — and you buy it online from visitBerlin, which emails it to you. A reduced pass exists for students, pupils, volunteers, people on certain benefits and anyone with a disability of 50% or more, though the price isn’t published; bring proof.

Five of the seven exhibitions in this issue are on the list: Lovis Corinth at the Berlinische Galerie, Cattelan at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Sakamoto at the Hamburger Bahnhof, Über Zeiten at the Alte Nationalgalerie, and the Flemish drawings at the Kupferstichkabinett. Two are not — the Gropius Bau and the James-Simon-Galerie, so Schlingensief and Genghis Khan still cost you separately.

Two of the sixteen-euro shows and the pass has already paid for itself.

One catch worth knowing before you buy. Permanent collections are free with the pass outright. Special exhibitions are usually included, but some need a separate timed ticket on top — so check the Staatliche Museen page for the specific show before you plan a day around it.

And three things not to buy it for right now: the Pergamonmuseum, Museum Berggruen and the Märkisches Museum are closed, and the German Historical Museum’s permanent exhibitions are temporarily shut. The pass is non-cancellable, so pick your three days deliberately.

→ Museum Pass Berlin

Five listings, live when we checked on Saturday. Re-open each one before you apply.

Wedding, Amrumer Straße 36. 1 room, 31.10 m², 368.66 euros base rent — a student apartment with shared facilities. Free from 1 December. No WBS stated. → More info here

Lichtenrade, Lichtenrader Damm 173. 2 rooms, 66.74 m², 504.76 base, 811.76 total, third floor with no lift. Needs a WBS mit besonderem Wohnbedarf for at least 2 rooms. Free from 1 November. → More info here

Waidmannslust, Tegernauer Zeile 6. 2 rooms, 72.63 m², 510.52 base, 845.52 total. No WBS category, but a mid-income band of 140–220% applies — ask Gewobag what that means for your household rather than working it out from a salary figure. → More info here

Siemensstadt, Moderlieschenstraße 16. 3 rooms, 75.24 m², 714.78 base, 1,000.70 total. Two cautions: the listing contradicts itself on which WBS tier is needed, and it appears to count the same 142.96 euros of operating costs twice in that total. Ring the Vermietungs-Service before applying. → More info here

Marzahn, Cecilienstraße 193. 1 room, 44.26 m², 757.29 cold, 890.50 warm, no WBS needed, available now, one-year minimum tenancy. → More info here

A WBS is the entitlement certificate for subsidised housing, issued in income bands — 100, 140, 160, 180, 220 — and valid for a year. It does not guarantee a flat, and it is open to non-EU nationals holding a residence permit valid for at least a year. You apply at your local Wohnungsamt. → Check eligibility here

These three have English-language adverts, which is rarer in Berlin than it should be. Check each advert’s own language requirements and closing date.

Max Delbrück Center — Head of an Independent Research Division in AI-enabled Mechanistic Systems Biology, W3 intended, starting 1 December. Closes Wednesday 4 November, so this is the urgent one. → Apply here

TU Berlin — Research Associate postdoc in RF Technologies and Photonics, grade 13 TV-L, closes 13 November. → Apply here

FU Berlin — Professor of Sociology with a focus on Eastern Europe, W3, closes 26 November. → Apply here

For everything else, the city’s own portal carries several hundred public-sector vacancies at any time. Always check the Bewerbungsfrist on the advert itself. → Search here

Sat 7–Sat 14 Nov · Berlin Freedom Week, 150-plus events on freedom and democracy, built around the Wall anniversary, with the conference on 10 November. Opening day has the Ostfrauen*Salon at Ruschestraße 103 from 14:00. → Programme here

Mon 9 Nov · 37 years since the Wall fell. DDRdirekt free at Normannenstraße, 19:00; BEYOND LINES at the Tränenpalast, 18:00.

Tue 10–Sun 15 Nov · interfilm 42, the international short film festival — the organiser promises 350 films in 60 programmes. KUKI, its children’s and youth strand, runs 8 to 15 November. → Programme here

Wed 11 Nov · St Martin’s Day, including a lantern procession with horse and bonfire at the Dorfkirche Lübars, Alt-Lübars 11, from 17:00, free. Other processions are listed around the city but we could not confirm this year’s details, so check your local one.

Fri 13–Sun 15 Nov · Hamburger Bahnhof turns 30 and opens non-stop for 30 hours across the 14th and 15th, free. The Sophie Calle exhibition opens on the 13th. → More info here

Fri 13 Nov · Gedächtniskirche Christmas market opens at Breitscheidplatz, to 3 January, free entry, hours not yet published. The first of the big central ones — four smaller winter markets are already open by then, listed under Markets.

Wed 18 Nov · Christmas Garden opens at the Botanischer Garten, to 10 January. → More info here

Sun 22 Nov · Totensonntag, the last Sunday of the Protestant church year. It is one of Berlin’s stille Tage under § 4 of the Feiertagsschutz-Verordnung, which restricts publicly audible entertainment for that one day — which is why several winter markets close. It is not a bar on markets opening earlier, as this week shows.

Mon 23 Nov · Gendarmenmarkt to 31 December. Entry price not yet announced, so ignore last year’s figure. EUREF-Campus indoor market from 26 November. → More info here

Fri 4 Dec · SPACE DISCOVERY opens at Arena Berlin, to 4 April. → More info here

Sat 12 Dec · The Stadtbahn reopens to regional and long-distance trains between Charlottenburg and Ostbahnhof. Note that the Hannover corridor does not come back with it — those works run into December 2027.

Not happening: Wintertraum at Hauptbahnhof is cancelled for the whole 2026 season. Ignore any listing that still shows it.

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