Big shows with hefty price tags, including Patti Smith, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Arcade Fire and more, will hit the capital’s dozens of stages this season. But there are so many smaller and cheaper venues throughout the city that you won’t have a hard time catching up-and-coming acts for little—or even nothing.

Here’s a rundown of our favorite venues that sing the Cheapo tune:

Be Worldly

Housed in a funky 1950s building dubbed the “pregnant oyster” by locals, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (S-bahn: Hauptbahnhof; U-bahn: Bundestag) hosts dozens of free or inexpensive acts from far-flung corners of the world.

The multi-kulti (German slang for multicultural) Wassermusik Festival (July 22-August 13) features live music outdoors (or, in the case of rain, inside). This year’s theme—the Danube, the Nile and the Amazon—dictates the diverse acts, which hail from Hungary, Peru, Uganda and beyond. Tickets are €10. After the concert, you can take a relaxing—and cost-free—stroll through the expansive Tiergarten park.

Jazz-a-ma-tazz

Berlin’s most famous jazz club, Quasimodo, shuts its doors July and August, but A-Trane (S-bahn: Savingyplatz) and B-Flat (S-bahn: Hackeschermarkt) sweat out the summer. Both venues offer the occasional free concerts; B-Flat shows are rarely more than €10 (€8 if you’re a student).

Open-Air

Berlin’s most beloved summer hangout, Badeshiff (U-bahn: Schlesisches Tor, €4), doubles as a music venue in July and August. Badeschiff is a swimming pool floating atop the Spree River in the funky district of Treptow, just east of bar-lined Kreuzberg. During the day, it’s the place to cool off and recover from a night on the town. After 8 p.m., it’s the place to catch some inexpensive tunes before hitting the bars again. Performers include singer-songwriters and DJs. Shows start at 8 p.m. and cost €4.

If you do feel like shelling out for a full-price concert, check out Comet Club (S-bahn and U-bahn: Schlesisches Tor) for shows under €20 and O2 Welt (S-bahn: Ostbahnhof), Huxelys Neue Welt (U-bahn: Hermannplatz), Arena (S-bahn: Treptower Park) and Magnet Club (U-bahn: Schlesisches Tor) for pricier options.

Don’t forget to check out Zitty, Tip and the English-language Ex-Berliner for comprehensive event listings. If you’re trying to decipher German, look for the word frei (free).

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A network of leafy lanes and avenues perched on a barely perceptible hill (“berg”) just northeast of the center, this district offers such a perfect mix of cafés, restaurants, boutiques and charming architecture that it sometimes has a “this-is-too-good-to-true”, movie-set vibe to it. If Woody Allen were to make a film in Berlin, this is where he’d shoot it.

“Prenzlberg” emerged as a bustling, working class industrial hub in the 19th century—and still has the rows upon rows of (now-restored) tenement houses, complete with ornate stucco details and flower-bedecked balconies, to prove it. Also adding a historic touch are the restored and repurposed red brick factories studding the area. (The Kulturbrauerei cultural center, a former beer brewery, is an essential stop on a tour of the district.)

Ideal city living in the Kollwitzkiez

One century later, the district gained fame as the home base of East Germany’s poets, novelists, dissidents and intellectuals, who gathered around Köllwitzplatz, a triangular park named after the leftist artist and anti-war protestor, Kathe Köllwitz. (Her work is honored over in western Berlin’s Kathe Köllwitz Museum.) The district was grimy then, but the apartment buildings had survived the war relatively unscathed.

Fast forward to this century, and an over-sized bronze statue of Kollwitz is still watching over the park. But now, instead of gray, rundown façades, she faces swing sets and awning-shaded tables marking the cafés and bars along Kollwitz Strasse, Knaack Strasse and Wörther Strasse, the district’s three most genteel streets.

On Saturdays, a market, the Markt am Kollwitzplatz, takes over the square. Overflowing with gourmet food and hand-crafted clothing, it makes this corner of Berlin an urban paradise. After a stroll through the market, it’s practically mandatory to stop at Kaffeehaus SowohlalsAuch, a café-bakery famous for its cakes. Sit outside, even if it’s a bit chilly—blankets draped over the chairs will keep you warm.

This idyllic square is just one indication that this once-rundown neighborhood has morphed into the reunified city’s most appealing “Szeneviertel” (scene). Some Berliners grumble that well-to-do yuppies—many of whom add stylish little tykes to their brood—transformed the once-bohemian, left-leaning district into a pretentious playground for affluent, western German transplants, but the area retains a touch of alluring grittiness, especially along wide avenues like Schönhauser Allee, Prenzlauer Allee and Danziger Strasse.

A laid-back itinerary

The best way to tour the district is to start at the U-Bahn Senerfelder Platz. Walk north on Kollwitz Strasse to reach Kollwitzplatz. Continue north onto Knaack Strasse to reach the Kulturbrauerei (nearby, on Schönhauser Allee 44a, underneath the U-bahn tracks, is the famed Currywurst kiosk, Konnopke’s).

If you have time, keep heading north, across Danziger Strasse, to explore the mellow streets surrounding another classic Prenzlauer Berg square, Helmholzplatz. Bordered by Lynchener Strasse, Raumer Strasse, Duncker Strasse and Lette Strasse, it’s well stocked with shops and café-restaurants.

In addition to the Kulturbraueri, the district’s Cheapo-friendly sights include the redbrick Wasserturm (Watertower, between Knaack Strasse und Belforter Strasse), which served as one of the city’s first concentration camps, and the Jüdischer Friedhof (Jewish Cemetery, Schönhauser Allee 22-23), one of Germany’s largest historic Jewish resting places. The Zeiss Grosplantarium ( Prenzlauer Allee 80) offers inexpensive tours of the stars.

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For culture vultures: Tiergarten

The vast Tiergarten park (S-bahn: Potsdammer Platz, Tiergarten, Bellvue, Reichstag) in Berlin’s center offers green meadows, groves of trees, mossy ponds, and dozens of monuments and memorials. After enjoying a picnic lunch in the park, follow the shaded pathways lacing the park to discover famous sites, including the hard-to-miss Siegessäule (victory column) and the bubble-gum pink Schloss Belvedere (the German president’s palace), and not-so-famous sites, including the quiet Luiseninsel (Luise Island) and the bronze Bismarck Nationaldenkmal (Bismarck Memorial).

One of Tiergarten’s quirkiest attractions is the Berliner Gaslaternen-Freilichtmuseum (Berlin Open Air Gas Lantern Museum, Strasse des 17. Juni), an open-air (and free) collection of some 90 gas lanterns.

For people-watchers: Volkspark Friedrichshain

Don’t expect to have this historic green space, which straddles the Mitte-Prenzlauer Berg-Friedrichshain border, all to yourself. Since the late 19th Century, picnickers, sport-nuts, families, and sun-worshippers have shown up early and in droves on sunny days to claim a patch of the pleasant, well-worn park.

If you’re lucky, you can wrangle a table at Cafe Schönbrunn, a retro-stylish café-restaurant in the middle of the park. There are also plenty of cheapo-friendly gelateria nearby. Be sure to check out the recently-restored Märchenbrünnen (fairytale fountain) at the park’s western-most point (where Frieden Str. and am Friedrichshain meet). It’s a grand way to enter the park.

For romantics: Pfaueninsel

You have to take an S-bahn, bus, and ferry to reach the Pfaueninsel (peacock island), a historic park-island in the Havel river, near the Wannsee lake on Berlin’s far western edge. But the journey is worth the opportunity to explore this little paradise.

Laid out in the 19th Century, the park features a white brick palace that the Prussian King Frederick William II built for his mistress, as well as bursts of roses and a collection of exotic birds, including dozens of free-roaming peacocks. Designed for proposals—or at least romantic picnics—this is a place for lovey-dovey couples and nature lovers.

For world travelers: The Gärten der Welt in the Erholungspark Marzahn

Like the Pfaueninsel, the off-beat Erholungspark Marzahn (€3, S-bahn: Marzahn & Bus 195;
U-bahn Hellersdorf & Bus 195) isn’t easy to reach. But because it’s nestled in one of the city’s most off-beat and least-visited districts—the Plattenbau-lined district of Marzahn—the journey adds to the adventure. When else will you have an excuse to check out a post-Communist, eastern Berlin suburb?

Despite its somewhat unpleasant surroundings, the Erholungspark and its Gärten der Welt (gardens of the world), is an oasis of tranquility—and worldliness. In addition to the largest Chinese garden in Europe, which was designed in partnership with Berlin’s sister city, Beijing, and includes a tea room, the park boats authentic Japanese, Balinese, Middle Eastern, Korean, and Italian Renaissance gardens. Get lost in the labyrinth—but beware:  It’s not as easy to navigate as it looks.

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Here are six of our favorite freebies in the German capital:

The Reichstag

The official seat of the German Parliament, the Reichstag affords you (at no cost!) one of the best views of the city from its famous dome and roof terrace. Wait times can be hefty, so we’ve found it’s best to visit at night (the building stays open until midnight, although the last entry is at 10 PM). Take a quick elevator ride to the top and snap a bunch of photos. A free brochure, available as you enter the building, offers a pictorial guide to the Berlin skyline. (So, that’s the new train station!)

Brandenburg Gate

This majestic gate, called “the trademark of Berlin” by the local authorities, was built by King Wilhelm II in 1788. The Gate has seen a lot. It has survived conquests, bombings, and oppressive regimes. The monument sits at the end of the mighty Unter den Linden, and has recently received a city-sponsored cleaning. We think the best time to view this beauty is at night, when its majesty shines under soft lights.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie, the name for the passport control for visitors going between East and West Berlin, is today a major tourist draw. There’s no charge for hanging out next to the original booth once manned by Soviet and American soldiers. Located along busy Friederichstrasse, today guards smile, pose for photos, and answer questions from tourists. Across the street, several creative vendors charge €5 for a “legitimate” stamp for your passport. Ah yes, nostalgia… (Watch out for the Segueways—see photo above.)

The Wall

There are two good spots to see what’s left of the infamous Berlin Wall. The East Side Gallery (in Kreuzberg), where artists like Keith Herring have painted over old pieces of the Wall as part of a public exhibit, is the cheerier of the two locations. This part of the Wall bursts with color, celebrates freedom and shows off the graffiti talents of many Berliners and friends of Berliners. For a more somber and realistic take on the Wall, visit the piece that’s still up near the Topography of Terror exhibit (below), in Mitte near Checkpoint Charlie.

Topography of Terror

OK, it sounds ominous (and well, it is), but this exhibit—in Mitte—is one of the most comprehensive one-stop shops for facing the magnitude of World War II, Berlin’s role in it, and the Holocaust. Placards with black and white photos show Hitler’s rise to power, the resurrection of the Wall, and many more key historical moments. Explanations and timelines accompany the photos and follow a clear path that leads you parallel to old S.S. Nazi police baracks. It’s a tad creepy, if you really let your mind go there. But, well worth a visit.

The Holocaust Memorial

The newly-opened “Monument to the Murdered Jews in Europe,” designed by architect Peter Eisenman, opened in 2005 and consists of 2,711 concrete slabs arranged on sloping ground. Walking through the enormous memorial can be somber, disorienting, and dizzying. An underground information center is open daily (except Monday). The outdoor monument is open and free to the public at all times.

Cheap eats

Berlin is full of cheap eats. You can hardly walk down the street without bumping into a bargain-priced doner-kabap. In any case, save a couple of euros for a good currywurst and Beck’s beer at the end of the day. You’ll need a breather after a day of intense sightseeing.

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