Editorial
Berlin's rooftop scene fights a famously flat skyline and wins anyway. Monkey Bar looks straight into the zoo, Klunkerkranich rules a parking deck in Neukoelln, and the rest cluster across Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. We kept only the five that check out as real and open in 2026.
Monkey Bar runs the tenth floor of the 25hours Hotel Bikini, and the terrace circles the whole building for a rare double view: the green of the Berlin Zoo on one side, the Gedaechtniskirche and Ku'damm on the other. The bar team turns out award-winning signature cocktails, NENI sends up bar bites, and DJs play most nights. Go just before sunset and take the zoo-facing rail.
Klunkerkranich crowns the roof of the Neukoelln Arcaden car park, a 1,000 square metre wooden deck that has been the city's favourite since 2013. By day it is a family cafe with plants and street food. By night it turns to cocktails, concerts and DJ sets under a wide Berlin sunset. Go on a warm evening, grab a beer, and stake out the west-facing edge for the light.
The Amano rooftop sits above the design hotel near Hackescher Markt and opens its sixth-floor terrace through the summer, with a clean line to the TV tower across Mitte. The bar team has Mixology Magazine awards to its name, the cocktails are sharp, and named DJs pull a dancing crowd on weekends. Go for a high ball at dusk, and book ahead in peak season.
Deck 5 covers the seventh floor of the Schoenhauser Allee Arcaden with real sand, palm trees and lounge chairs, a rooftop beach that runs May through September. Order a cocktail or a BBQ plate and watch the sun drop behind Prenzlauer Berg as the DJ warms up. In December it turns into the city's highest Christmas market. Go midweek for the beach without the weekend crush.
The Weekend Club tops the old House of Travel at Alexanderplatz, with a 320 square metre terrace 83 metres up that has run since 2007. A 37-metre bar counter and six stations keep the drinks moving, and the TV tower sits close enough to touch. Go late, after the club downstairs fills, and take the lift to the 17th floor for the full skyline.
Berlin rooftops run hardest from May to September, and Klunkerkranich and Monkey Bar are the two essentials. Deck 5 and the Weekend terrace stretch the season at either end.
Most of these terraces peak between 7 and 10 pm in the warm months. Book ahead for Monkey Bar and Amano, and just turn up early at Klunkerkranich.