Sometimes, the best way to see a city is to get out of the car, or off the bus, and really SEE IT. Problem is, in a large city like Berlin, you can walk your feet off trying to get from one place to the other. Jobina Bardai has the perfect solution! She wrote up these fantastic bike tours in Berlin that take you step by step (or pedal by pedal) on sightseeing tours through the streets of Berlin. I’ve biked in Munich, in the Black Forest, and around NRW. Now I’m ready to try Berlin! You can follow her description…go off on your own… or take a guided tour. Berlin is an easy city to navigate by bicycle. You can even buy a ticket to take your bike on the train! And there are Berlin Bike Rental shops throughout the city, so it’s easy to rent a bike in Berlin.
Prefer going with a guide? Choose a Berlin bike tour! There are plenty of different guided Berlin Bicycle Tours available! Few hours or half day, group or private, loads of different itineraries, and there are even electric bikes! Rent a bike or go on a set tour. Choose the right bike with this road bike size chart to find the most comfortable bike for you. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a list of just a few.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a percentage from sales at no cost to you
Freedom is a Bicycle in Berlin
Take a look at the different tours Jobina describes in her post… try one, or all of them!
By Jobina Bardai
There is no better way of getting under the skin of a city like Berlin than by bike – all the locals do it and the terrain is marvelously easy to handle. There are dedicated cycle lanes, plenty of green space and traffic is surprisingly sane for such a major capital city.
This city has seen it all – the Nazi regime, the Russians, Communism, the Cold War and the Berlin Wall. But despite the weight of its dark history, there is an air of energy and vitality in this new Berlin. An eclectic city brimming with art, architecture, film, theaters, cutting edge design and a raging nightlife, Berlin is emerging as a top European destination.
With that much history and sights to cover, jump on your own two wheels! Start on the Unter den Linden, the heart of the historical Mitte district and the grand avenue of East Berlin. Its wide tree-lined streets mix history, culture, memorials and sidewalk cafes. You’ll find Berlin’s most important buildings of Prussian and German history from the 18th century to the present.
Around the Brandenburg Gate
From here take a left at Frederichstrasse to Checkpoint Charlie, the former border crossing point between East and West Berlin. Stop in the museum and be inspired by the ways that East Berliners got to freedom in the West by hot air balloon, underground tunnels, and even in a kayak tied to the rooftop of a car.
Down the road is the Topography of Terror, where the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS were during the Nazi regime of 1933 to 1945. The excavated interrogation rooms and the second-largest remaining segment of the Berlin Wall share this site, and the imposing Luftwaffe (Air Force) building is across the road. The site’s history is told through an engaging pictorial display that also includes thrilling images of the Wall coming down.
Coast back westward along Unter den Linden, which will lead you to the famed Brandenberg Gate located in the middle of charming Pariser Platz. Twenty years ago when the Wall was going up, East Berliners frantically pedaled across the square towards freedom in West Berlin. Once the Wall was up, Brandenberg Gate was surrounded by barbed wire fencing and you’d likely have been shot trying to get through. Luckily, there is no longer fear or anxiety here now – just the careless freedom of being on two wheels, passing easily through this unified city.
Take a left out of Brandenberg Gate, and stop for a moment at the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe. The large field of 6-foot steles commemorates the 6 million Jews and others who perished in the Nazi concentration camps. It’s a silent and powerful tribute.
Continue in the same direction to Potsdamer Platz, full of shiny high rises and the youth of Berlin. The newly-opened Dali Museum is in the glistening Sony Center. This is all a sharp contrast to the picture display showing the Potsdamer Platz of post-WWII, when it was a no-mans land fenced off by terrifying barbed wire and armed guards.
Coast back the way you came and head towards the Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament. This is another fantastic mesh of old and new, with the pre-war building topped by a stunning glass dome. From the lawn of the Reichstag, you can see the crowds walking along the spiral staircase of the dome, enjoying the expansive views of the city.
Pedal through Tiergarten
Next, lose yourself in the splendid woods of the Tiergarten. There are perfect bicycle paths, overhanging trees to shade you from sun and rain, and lovely pockets of flower gardens. The Café Am Neuen Seen, on the edge of the park’s largest artificial lake, is Berlin’s most popular beer garden, and also serves lovely warm meals and cooling ice creams for the weary bicyclist. Summer brings beach bars complete with sand, the locations of which you can find out from the tourist office.
Kurfurstendamm and the Shopping District
Pedal out of the park towards the Kurfurstendamm, the main street of West Berlin. You’ll immediately notice the difference between capitalist West Berlin compared to the graceful architecture of Unter den Linden in the East. The Ku’damm, as it is known, is Berlin’s longest avenue for strolling and a lively scene with street artists around Breischeldplatz. There are also chic boutiques and department stores like KaDeWe. Stop at the famous Kaiser Wilhelm Church, destroyed by bombs during WWII, but preserved as a memorial to the horrors of war. The new church next to it, with its dark blue mosaics, is lovely in the early evening.
Museum Island and the Spree
Another possible route, also starting from Unter den Linden, heads east instead. Museum Island is on your left, with five museums and over six thousand years of world history. Across the Spree river is Scheunenviertel, the former Jewish quarter and now a funky area with lots of bars, restaurants and outdoor terraces. On Oranienburger Strasse, you’ll find the Neue Synagogue, which survived Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) of the Nazi regime. In true Berlin fashion, the same street is also home to Kunsthaus Tacheles, a bombed-out department store that now houses an arts center, a café, cinema, and performance and exhibition spaces.
Bicycling is a relaxing way to get around, more fun than a bus tour, cheaper than the metro, and you’ll cover much more than on foot. Berlin also offers many bicycle tours with excellent guides, including the New Berlin Tour, the Inside Tour and the Fat Bike tour. If you decide to strike out on your own, most hostels offer bike hire, and the hotels can point you in the right direction for a bike shop. You can also take your bike on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn underground lines- you just need a ticket for the bike.
Rent/Reserve your bike in Advance… or while in Berlin HERE
Berlin Wall Trail Cycling Guide: Cycling Guide
Find the Perfect Berlin Bike Tour
Go with a guide, and you won’t need a map!
Want to ride, but want to go with a guide? There are quite a few reasonably priced bike tour packages to choose from…
Take a few hours, or a half day ride. Small group or private. Tours that hit Berlin’s highlights… Berlin Wall Tours, even Alternative Berlin sites that are off the tourist path. Whatever suits you, you are certain to find the right tour. There is even an Electric Bike tour, so you don’t have to work so hard!
Bike Tours in Berlin Germany
Berlin Highlights 3-Hour Bike TourViatorBerlin Highlights Small-Group Bike TourViatorThird Reich and Berlin Wall History 3-Hour Bike Tour in BerlinViatorAlternative Berlin Bike Tour – Off the Beaten Tracks in Small GroupsViator
Berlin: E-Bike Tour of the Berlin Wall and Mitte HighlightsGet Your Guide
&
3-Hour Alternative Berlin Bike Tour: Vibes of BerlinViatornbsp;
Evening Rides
Ride Berlin by Evening… and maybe take the food tour!
Berlin Street Food Tour by BikeViatorBerlin Evening Bike TourViator
Rickshaw Rides!
Let someone else do the pedaling…
Rickshaw Sightseeing City Tours Berlin – Rikscha ToursViator
Party Bikes!
Grab some friends… a few beers… and travel in fun style!
Beer Bike & Party Bike Highlights Berlin City Tour including pick-upViator
Hello! I absolutely love you blog and, as someone who is preparing to study abroad in Germany, I have shared it with my whole graduate program. I had some specific questions though. I am going to be student-teaching in Hamburg and I do not know what is considered professional dress in Germany. I would love your opinion on this or even a link to a blog post on dressing in Germany.
Thank you!
You can’t go wrong with nice (not faded or torn) jeans, a top and a jacket. Make sure your shoes are nice looking, clean and polished (they do have a thing about shoes)
I found this on a bulletin board about what to wear while teaching at a language school in Germany.
“Keep in mind too, that some people just like to look smart–looking like a million bucks doesn’t necessarily have to look “overdone” as long as you leave the heels, pearls and briefcase at home. Wear sheer black hose if you must, although a professional amount (starting a couple of inches below the knee) of well-shaved and lotioned bare leg should be perfectly acceptable as well.
Wear flats, minimal or casual jewelry, and bring your stuff in a bag, you’ll be fine.
A couple friends of mine who teach Business English have said they dress rather more formally than they would even for a nice dinner, but they are also teaching in firms. The boys wear suits, the girls wear business casual (blouses and skirts or slacks, sensible but feminine shoes–usually flats, but sometimes heels). I am a bit too tattooed and pierced for in-firm classes but have taught Business English in language schools.
If you’re teaching in a language school there is a good chance that whether you wear your “too casual” clothes or your “too dressy” clothes, as long as you look crisp and put-together and maintain a professional demeanor, it is not really going to matter much one way or the other. I have also never heard of the stereotype that Americans often come overdressed; on the contrary, actually, Europeans sometimes complain that Americans always look as if they’re on their way to a swap meet.
Skirts and blouses with modest shoes, jewelry, hair, and makeup will be fine ”
hope that helps