Walking Tours, Berlin

Walking Tours, Berlin

Berlin has written off its tumultuous, divided past to evolve into a modern, dynamic city with museums, theatres, pubs, green parklands, bridges and delightful streets. East and West Berlin continue to remain distinct areas with individual charms, and a walking tour of Berlin is a great way to experience the different facets of the city.

Berlin Mitte is the historic heart of the city, with the most attractions, shops and restaurants. Take a walking tour to explore the historic Unter der Linder leading to the Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial which throws light on the lives of people who died in the Nazi concentration camps, Potsdamer Platz, Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus, the former Air Ministry building which now seats the Finance Ministry, the Topography of Terror Museum, Gendarmenmarkt, Museuminsel, Rotes Rathaus or Red Town Hall, TV Tower, Reichstag, and Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The Museuminsel or Museum Island on the Spree river is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to 5 world-renowned museums: Pergamon Museum, Bode-Museum, Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, and Altes Museum. Also on the island is the majestic Neo-Renaissance building of the Berliner Dom Cathedral.

The verdant Tiergarten Park in Mitte is an excellent spot for relaxation, with the Siegessäule (Victory Column), the Bismarck-Nationaldenkmal, Soviet War Memorial, and Bellevue Palace all in the vicinity.

Only remnants of the original Berlin Wall remain today, and a guided tour of this area will give you an understanding of the political and cultural differences as well as similarities that existed across the wall. Berliners may have moved on, but still preserve relics of their history to serve as memorials. The Checkpoint Charlie Museum documents the historical significance of the Checkpoint Tower that was used to patrol the “no man's land” of the Berlin Wall between the east and west. The museum also offers an interesting collection of stories from escapees and those who helped them across the border. The Jüdisches Museum, one of the largest Jewish history museums in Europe, celebrates their contributions to German society, art, science and technology while touching upon their victimization. For a more extensive history, visit the Deutsches Historisches Museum, which covers Berlin's story from its humble origins as two farm towns straddling a river up to the modern city it is today.

Berlin has a rich history, from the time it became the Prussian capital in 1701, through the era of the German Empire till World War I, then Weimar Republic till 1933 followed by the Third Reich of Nazi rule which led to World War II, the subsequent Cold War era of a divided city, and final reunification. Get an in-depth understanding of the details of Berlin’s past on a World War II walking tour through important sites such as the Memorial Church and site of Hitler’s Bunker. Explore life in East Berlin during the GDR era on a Cold War walking tour through sites such as the Berlin Wall Memorial, Karl-Marx-Allee, Gethsemane Church and East Side Gallery. Learn about how Jews have rebuilt their lives post World War II on a walking tour of Scheunenviertel and see the New Synagogue on Oranienburger Straße which houses a museum, Old Cemetery, former Old People’s Home, and the site of the 1943 Women’s Protest against the Holocaust.

Discover the Berlin of today through its coolest districts, sub-cultures, art, graffiti, urban development and nightlife on an alternative walking tour of Berlin.