Shopping Hours
Berlin is the first federal state of Germany, where shops can decide themselves, when to open and close. Shops can open during weekdays around the clock, on Sundays in Advent from 1 till 8 pm and on six further Sundays during the year.
Due to federal liberalisation, shopping hours are theoretically unlimited.
Nevertheless, many of the smaller shops still close at 8 p.m.
Most of the bigger stores and nearly all of the malls are open additionally until 9 or 10 p.m. from Thursday to Saturday.
Sunday opening is still limited to about a dozen weekends per year, although some supermarkets located at train stations (Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, Friedrichstrasse, Innsbrucker Platz and Ostbahnhof) are open also on Sundays.
Many bakeries and small food stores (called Spätkauf) are open late at night and on Sundays in busier neighbourhoods (especially Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain).
Stores inside the Hauptbahnhof central station have long opening hours (usually until about 10 or 11 p.m.), also on Sundays.