It’s Sunday morning and you’ve run out of breakfast foods, so you take a walk to your neighborhood grocery store only to find that the lights are off and the doors are locked. It’s closed. A quick search shows that the next nearest market is closed as well. Where can you find groceries on a Sunday in Berlin?

This experience is all too familiar for recent arrivals in Germany. Many businesses in Germany are closed on Sunday and public holidays, a tradition that is unfamiliar to many of us coming from foreign countries.

READ ALSO: Why are shops in Germany closed on Sundays – and will it ever change?

In fact, Germany has some of the strictest laws for opening hours in Europe, including the mandatory closure of most grocery stores on Sundays. For this reason, German residents inevitably get accustomed to doing a bit of extra grocery shopping toward the end of the week, and before holidays, to ensure they’ll have enough food to last.

But if you forget to plan ahead, you don’t need to limit yourself to cafe brunches and Späti snacks. In Berlin there are some shops selling groceries on Sundays. So you can still probably find the ingredients you need, even if you have to go a bit out of your way for it.

Here are some places where you can find groceries on a Sunday in Berlin.

Train station supermarkets

Certain supermarkets in Germany are allowed to open on Sundays, and even on public holidays, Christmas Eve, or New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. (Although you might want to double check before stopping by on a holiday, as opening times on holidays vary by location.)

Most of the name brand supermarkets that are allowed to be open on Sundays are located in train stations, especially a city’s main station and other major transport hubs.

Being Germany’s biggest city, and also a multicultural hub, Berlin naturally has the most options for Sunday shopping. According to Berlin’s official website, you can find groceries on a Sunday at all of the following train stations.

Note that many petrol stations also have a ‘REWE to go’, which is a built-in mini supermarket, often including fresh foods and produce.

BER Airport – Rewe located in Terminal 1 is open every day of the year.

Berlin Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) – Rewe located on the first floor.

Friedrichstraße – The Edeka City-Markt here is open every day of the year.

Gesundbrunnen – This Denn’s location is open Monday to Sunday from 8 am till 10 pm.

Lichtenberg – Edeka is located on the first floor of the main hall.

Ostbahnhof – Penny and Rewe both have stores in the basement of this station that are open seven days a week. (Take the escalator down from the main entrance). 

Ostkreuz – A small Denn’s BioMarkt offers organic products, coffee and snacks.

Südkreuz – Edeka is open until 10 pm every day of the week.

Zoologischer Garten – Ullrich offers groceries, drinks, household goods, and magazines.

Asian and ethnic markets

If you are in the mood for a more worldly experience, you’ll be pleased to learn that a number of Asian markets and other ethnic grocery stores are also open on Sundays. These shops are also worth a try if you live far from the main train stations, and need some basic items like meats, eggs or produce.

Đồng Xuân Center, on Lichtenberg’s Herzbergstraße, is home to hundreds of local grocers and businesses, many of which are open on Sundays until 8 pm. The Vietnamese markets here sell specialty products from across Asia, like Japanese miso, Korean ramen or Vietnamese coffee. But they’ve also got you covered for more basic needs like fruits, vegetables, meats, rice or tofu.

Should you get hungry while you shop, Dong Xuan is a great place to order bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwiches) or phở (noodle soup).

Beyond Dong Xuan, there are a few Asian markets open for business in Berlin’s other neighborhoods. A few that are worth a try include:

Asia Markt at Osloer Strasse – Open from 11 am to 9 pm on Sundays.

Nguyen Asian Market – Located near Spittelmarkt station in Kreuzberg. Open from 10 am to 4 pm on Sundays.

Go Asia Supermarkt at Potsdamer Platz – Tucked into the Potsdamer Platz station, this small grocery store is open from 8 am to 8 pm on Sundays, according to the latest available information.