Berlin Walking Tours
Walk and experience more…
Walking tours give you a deeper insight into a specific topic. You see, learn and experience more when you conquer Berlin on foot.
A walking tour lasts 2 hours and can take place in almost any weather.
We offer tours on the following topics:
1. Berlin Wall
From Checkpoint Charlie along the former path of the Berlin Wall via Potsdamer Platz and Holocaust Memorial to the Brandenburg Gate.
Here you will learn about the construction of the Wall, why, when and how it was built. What it meant to the people living in a divided city and how the wall finally came down.
What happened on Potsdamer Platz in the “Golden 1920s”, during the Second World War and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. We discuss the Holocaust Memorial and clarify why the Brandenburg Gate was and continues to be THE symbol of Berlin.
2. Bernauer Strasse
The official memorial site of the Berlin Wall documents the path of the Wall on Bernauer Strasse very precisely. Here is the only place in town where you can still see both of the Berlin Walls and an original watchtower. This is where people from the east jumped out of their windows into the west. Here was the scene where Konrad Schuman, a young military guard from the east, jumped over the barbed wired border line into the west of Berlin.
The exhibition of the memorial site is very well documented and covers the subject vividly.
3. New Berlin
Potsdamer Platz, the third city center of Berlin, with its architecture of the 21st century. In the 1920’s, Potsdamer Platz was the most important center of Berlin and also the busiest square in Europe.
With its vibrant nightclubs it was a heady, exhilarating place. After the heavy destruction in the Second World War and the division of the city it fell into oblivion and half of it became “no man’s land”.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the area turned into a “superstar” and big investors created a completely new city center in just a few years. Piano, Rogers, Moneo, Kollhoff, all architects of worldwide reputation and fame, have re-designed this center.
4. Kreuzberg
The district of Berlin Kreuzberg was nicknamed “Little Istanbul” because of its vast number of Turkish inhabitants. It belongs to Berlin just like the Brandenburg Gate! But not only the Turkish, also many young people, students, and the “alternative” scene made Kreuzberg their home as well.
Oranienstrasse, the heart of the district has much to offer off-mainstream: record stores, comic book stores, second hand stores, doner kebab snack bars, cafes, pubs, bars, as well as Turkish hair dressers, specialized in beard care — men only! Multicultural and colorful, definitely a must see!
5. Government District
Federal Chancellery, Reichstag and the New Government Quarter. The Reichstag was the first parliament in Germany and therefore, always the symbol of democracy. This federal government building, however, was too small for the government of today, so in the years of 95-99 the New Government district developed directly around the Reichstag. The Federal Chancellery, called the “washing machine” is still the legacy of Helmut Kohl, but he never moved in. This tour deals with the history of the Reichstag from the Weimar Republic to Nazi Germany up to the present.
6. Historic Berlin
Unter den Linden – the great historical boulevard of Berlin! We start the tour at the Brandenburg Gate, stroll to the statue of “Old Fritz” which leads to Forum Fridericianum. From Humboldt University, we continue to Gendarmenmarkt close by. We see the re-construction of the City Palace just opposite the Museum Island. With its five museums, it is the cultural heart of Berlin. Here she lives, the most beautiful woman of Berlin, Nefertiti.
Following this tour, we suggest a visit to the Egyptian Museum, with the bust of Nefertiti, the highlight, at the Neues Museum.
7. Berlin Mitte
The Hackesche Courtyards, beautifully restored after `89, are like a city within the city. Art galleries, shops, designer stores and top class restaurants, bars and cafes. This is an area where you can stroll around an entire day. Don’t forget to check out the courtyards of Berlin, this is where you might discover hidden gems. Berlin designers have their shops here: hats, bags, eyewear, candy factories and the highest density of shoe stores in Germany can be found in this area. Mitte is the SoHo of Berlin. Auguststrasse, for example, is the artistic mile of Berlin. Oranienburger Strasse is the place for nightlife, including the fancy ladies offering their services here…
This district was also traditionally the Jewish quarter of Berlin. The synagogue in Oranienburger Strasse, once the largest in Germany, is now in service again.