The neighbourhood (Kiez) features both renovated and unrenovated old buildings and gap-filling new buildings. The main shopping street of southwest Charlottenburg is Wilmersdorfer Straße, home to a shopping mall, department stores, smaller shops and cafés. Between Stuttgarter Platz and Schillerstraße, Wilmersdorfer Straße is designed as a pedestrian zone. On the nearby Karl-August-Platz there is a farmers market every Wednesday and Saturday.

The northern part of Wilmersdorfer Straße is the founding part of Charlottenburg and still features many single-storey buildings from the 17th century. The area is characterised by a high number of old buildings and small neighborhood shops. The Schloßstraße with its museums is quiet and leads to Charlottenburg Palace and its adjacent park.

The Klausenerkiez, also called Danckelmannkiez, is home to many well-preserved old buildings, most of which have been renovated. This area is popular with families. There are many playgrounds and schools, organic community gardens and even a goat farm. The neighborhood is also a designated traffic-calmed area and offers many local recreation opportunities such as the Charlottenburg Palace gardens and the Lietzenseepark nearby.

Witzleben is the area around lake Lietzensee and is bordered by the Stadtbahn, the Ringbahn, Kaiserdamm, Windscheidstraße and Suarezstraße. Thanks to the green oasis that is Lietzensee and its surrounding park, Witzleben is a sought-after residential area.

The southwest of Charlottenburg around Stuttgarter Platz and Adenauerplatz is a rather modest and quiet residential area with a mixture of old and new buildings. Many young families live here. There are a few green spaces, playgrounds, small shops and cafés. Stuttgarter Platz, or "Stutti" for short, offers some options for a casual night out. There are a number of restaurants and bars, esspecially in the western part of the neighborhood.

Kalowswerder, around Mierendorffplatz, is an island bordered by the river Spree to the south and west, the Charlottenburg connecting canal to the east, and by the railway line and the Westhafen canal to the north. The Mierendorffkiez is characterised by a mixture of old buildings and social housing as well as a gas and power station. On the banks of the Spree, the Österreichpark with its sunbathing lawn, park benches, playground, sports field, and rose garden is a popular spot to relax and socialize.

The neighborhood around Helmholtzstraße and Franklinstraße in northeast Charlottenburg mainly consists of modest old buildings. The Technical University of Berlin is located here. The area between Landwehrkanal and Spreebogen is home to Spreestadt Charlottenburg, a new urban development for commerce and housing located on a former industrial estate. At 250,000 square meters, the site is three times the size of Potsdamer Platz.