The North of Berlin consists of the boroughs of Spandau, Reinickendorf, Pankow and the districts Wedding and Gesundbrunnen. The area was urbanized in the 19th century through the industrialization of Berlin. Before that most districts were small towns. In the early 20th century it was the working-class area with heavy industry where Siemens was founded (today even a small part of Reinickendorf is called Siemensstadt, due to the location of the company). Today it's become more residential but big industrial complexes are still seen in some areas. Ortsteil

Understand

Spandau is the westernmost borough (Bezirk) of the German capital city of Berlin. The district lies conveniently in a green area with the nearby Spree and Havel rivers. Once a town in its own right, Spandau is one of the oldest areas in the Berlin region and still retains much of its own unique character, having been spared the worst of the Allied bombing in the Second World War that so devastated the rest of the city. The center of the district is formed by a dense network of medieval streets and a market square, still retaining a large number of timber-framed buildings. Spandau was the site of the military prison in which Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess was imprisoned after the 1946 Nuremberg trials until his death in 1987. The prison was then demolished.

Reinickendorf is a borough in the northwest of Berlin. It consists of the localities Tegel, Reinickendorf, Märkisches Viertel (70s built apartment blocks area) and some small, village-like areas. In general, it is a very green district with much water and the neighborhoods have a typical small town cityscape. In addition to the airport there are some minor sights interesting for tourists (especially architecture in Tegel).

Pankow is a borough of Berlin. In 2001 the three former districts of Prenzlauer Berg, Weissensee and Pankow were combined to form the new Pankow district. The former Pankow on the other hand is a very green, middle-class district with a laid-back atmosphere and some minor sights for tourists. Weißensee, too, is a largely residential district. Prenzlauer Berg is dealt with in East Central.

Wedding and Gesundbrunnen are parts of the Bezirk Mitte but not of the Ortsteil Mitte. There are between Reinickendorf and Mitte.

Get in

Spandau is the terminal station for a couple of public transport lines (especially the backbone line U7). Some long distance and all regional trains stop at Spandau.

By public transport

The main backbone for the western parts is the U-Bahn line U7 with the major stations Zitadelle, Altstadt Spandau and Rathaus Spandau. The S-Bahn lines S3 and S75 end/starts here as well.

The BVG (the public transport company) runs a public ferry between Kladow and Wannsee which is primarily designed for commuters.

To get into Pankow, get out at S-Bahn/U-Bahn station Pankow.

By plane

Airport Tegel is located in the southwest of Reinickendorf, 15 minutes distance from the center of Tegel. From the airport you can get into the center of Berlin with the bus lines TXL, 109 and X9 or into the center of Tegel by bus 128 (change at Kurt-Schumacher Platz to U6 to Alt-Tegel). From the center of Berlin take the U-Bahn line U6 to Alt-Tegel, or the S-Bahn line S25 to station Tegel if you want to get into the center of Tegel. U-Bahn line U8 and S-Bahn lines S1 and S25 go through Reinickendorf; main stations are Alt-Reinickendorf (S 25) and Rathaus Reinickendorf (U8).

By train

Train station Berlin-Spandau with ICE

Berlin-Spandau and Berlin-Gesundbrunnen (in the district Gesundbrunnen) are stops for many long-distance trains and all regional trains. Both stations have interchange to various S-Bahn, U-Bahn and buses.

See

Spandau

• Zitadelle Spandau (Spandau Citadel), tel 354 94 42 00, open Tu-Fr 9AM-5PM, Sa-Su 10AM-5PM, entry €2.50 (concessions available) - a fortress built between 1560-1590 to Italian design on the site of a 12th-century castle.
• St Nikolai Kirche - a splendid 15th century Gothic church with many fine accoutrements.

Reinickendorf

• Schloss Tegel: (Adelheidallee 17-21) A remarkable medium sized classical castle by the famous K.F. Schinkel built 1820 to 1824, also called "Humboldtschlösschen", because Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt (and their family) lived here once. Still privately owned, guided tours Mondays from May to Sept.
• Dicke Marie. Not far away from Schloss Tegel (at the "grosse Malche") you can take a look at the oldest tree in Berlin, an oak which has been growing there since about 1192 (so it's actually older than Berlin itself). 
• IBA-Bauten at Tegeler Hafen (U-Bahn station Alt-Tegel) During the International Building Exhibition 1984 to 1988 a bunch of remarkable buildings were set around the old Tegeler Hafen. Architecturally diverse, the most important is the Phosphateliminierungsanlage (Gustav Peichl). Also some buildings by Charles Moore are interesting.
• Borsigwerke and Borsigturm Ex-industrial buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century, nice clinker-architecture and the first (mini) highraiser of Berlin, the Borsigturm, 65 m high, built 1922-24. The area houses now offices, a shopping mall and some places for entertainment. Get out at station Borsigwerke (U6).
• Lübars One of the most authentic and oldest villages (1247) in the outskirts of Berlin, it looks the same way it did some hundred years ago. Take S-Bahn 1 to Waidmannslust and then bus 222 to Alt-Lübars.

Pankow

• 1 Schönhausen Palace (Schloss Schönhausen), Tschaikowskistraße 1. A pretty restored Baroque palace (restoration completed in 2009). 
• Soviet War Memorial (Schönholzer Heide). 

Gesundbrunnen

• 2 Berlin from below (Berliner Unterwelten), Brunnenstraße 105 (at Gesundbrunnen station). Several daily tours 10AM-4PM in different languages. Go on guided tours below Berlin to the WWII bunkers, flak towers, cold war defence shelters, etc. 

Do

Schloss Schönhausen in the Ortsteil of Niederschönhausen, Pankow

• Swimming, watersports and boat trips on one of the biggest Berlin lakes, the Tegeler See.
• Greenwich Promenade (10 minutes walk from U-Bahn Alt-Tegel). Relaxing lake-side strolls on a path named after Reinickendorf's twin town of Greenwich, London. Please refer to it as 'Greenvitch Promenaid'. 

Buy

• There is a nice shopping mall located in Tegel, called Borsighallen. It's converted locomotive assembly halls turned into a typical medium sized Berlin mall with every shop you'll need. Additionally there is a cinema and other entertainment stuff.

• 1 Markthalle Tegel (two minutes from U-Bahn Alt-Tegel). M-F 8AM-7PM, Sa 8AM-4PM. Indoor food market. Fantastic fresh foods at local prices, including bakers, deli counters, and greengrocers. 

Eat

• Brauhaus Spandau, Neuendorfer Straße 1, ☏ 030 353907-0NOCC, fax: 030 353907-11NOCC, info@brauhaus-spandau.de. Mo: 16:00-24:00 Tu-Th,Su: 11:00-24:00 Fr,Sa: 11:00-1:00. mains from 8€. (updated Nov 2015)

Sleep

• Casa Schmuck (Bed and Breakfast Berlin), Wilhelmstr. 114, Berlin D-13593. Maybe the sweetest little bed and breakfast place in Berlin. Outside the center in Spandau, close to lakes and rivers, to the Olympic Stadium and the convention center. The lady running it is real nice! 

• 1 Smart Hostel, Hotel and Apartments, Genter Str. 53 a/b (U Seestr.), ☏ +49 30 454 86 454, fax: +49 30 454 86 500, office@smarthostel-berlin.de. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 11:00. 5 minutes away from U Seestr. 

• 2 Hotel & Hostel Altstadt Spandau Berlin, Wasserstr. 4 (U Altstadt Spandau), ☏ +49 30 54813021, fax: +49 30 353 93 213, hello@hostel-spandau.de. 5 minutes away from U Altstadt Spandau. from 15€. 

• Homestay accommodation (Unterkunft in Berlin), Immanuelkirchstr. 34, Berlin D-10405 (Tram M2: to Knaackstr from Alexanderplatz), ☏ +49 30 48496466, info@unterkunft-in-berlin.de. Prebooking nessesary, minimum stay two nights. Single €35, double €44, triple €51. 
• 3 Hettler & Lange Hotel und City-Camping, Gartenfelder Strasse 1 (take U7 to Haselhorst, then bus 133, get off at Gartenfeld stop; then continue for another 300m in the same direction, and turn right just before the bridge), ☏ +49 30 33 5036 33. A nice campsite and small hotel next to the river. The amenities are quite basic, but clean and sufficient. Not suitable for people who need absolute silence for a good sleep - but the noise from the nearby Tegel airport is not very hard to get used to. €13-25.