Berlin is a moving feast. Berlin is a sprawling German city with a diverse population, world-class museums and world-class restaurants.
Many guided tours will help you learn more about this fascinating history. You can choose from walking tours, eating and drinking tours, biking tours, or even driving around in the retro Trabant cars of the communist era. I love walking tours because they are accompanied by a local who can answer all your questions and give you insider information.
This is my list of the top walking tours in Berlin. Make the most of your stay in this amazing capital.
Best Overall Tour
Insiders Third Reich and Cold War Tour
This tour will show you the main sights of Berlin and tell you about its turbulent history. It’s the best value for travellers on a budget who want to learn about Berlin’s violent past and complicated history. It’s a must-do!
Best Free Tour
New Europe
The free walking tour takes you around the most important sites in Berlin, including the Memorial to the Murdered Jewish of Europe, Hitler’s former bunker and a section of the Berlin Wall. It also includes Checkpoint Charlie. This two-hour tour will give you an introduction to the history of Berlin during the 20th century. Remember to tip the guide at the end.
You can make the most out of your stay in Berlin by taking a walking tour.
1. Original Berlin Tours
Join us at the Fountain near the Park Inn on Alexanderplatz for a free and fun tour of Berlin. These walking tours are limited to groups of ten or less, so you can have direct access to your guide. You will visit the Reichstag and the Berliner Dom as well as Checkpoint Charlie and other World War II battle sites. Each guide is responsible for deciding the itinerary, so there’s no way to know what they will take you. You’ll still learn a great deal, no matter what.
2. Secret Tours
Secret Tours is eager to share Berlin’s secrets. You can choose to visit Teufelsberg – a Cold War-era US Army base that was used for wiretapping in the area of former West Berlin – or Charite – the strange and wonderful century-old hospital. Walking tours through the courtyards and backyards of Mitte apartment blocks are also available. This is an experience you wouldn’t get on your own. This is the place to go if you are looking for something special and niche.
3. Trabi Safari
Tired of walking through the city? Trabant, or Trabi as they are called in Germany, is the perfect vehicle to hop into. The diminutive cars were popular in Germany during the Communist era. The cars’ bodies were made of plastic. They are now a symbol of nostalgia for the former East Berlin. This tour company allows you to drive through Berlin in a Trabi while learning about the history and the sites. You get to drive your own Trabi during the tour.
4. Alternative Berlin Tours
This free walking tour will show you a different side of Berlin if you have heard all about Hitler and Bismarck. The guides will tell stories of squatting in the 1980s and 1990s, techno clubs, the fall of the Berlin Wall and punk culture. The tours last about three hours and end at a “beach bar”, where you can enjoy a beer together with your guide.
5. Fork and Walk
This tour company offers guided tours for foodies like myself, as well as vegans. Berlin is one of the best cities in the entire world when it comes to vegans. If you choose the “Trends and Classics” tour, you can sample the famous currywurst as well as schnapps or local beers, German pastries and more. Bring your appetite along!
6. Berliner Unterwelten
The underground is the setting for these fascinating walking tours. It’s not just a metaphor. You can literally walk under the streets of Berlin. You’ll see Cold War bunkers and World War II-era tunnels. You will also be able to admire the remnants of Germany—the utopian city that Hitler wanted.