Currywurst
A grilled sausage cut into slices and smothered in tomato sauce with curry powder, nearly always with fries. It's Berlin's snack of snacks, and Konnopke's has been serving it under the elevated U-Bahn tracks since 1960.
Where to try it
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Free walking tours in Berlin
Empires, walls and ghosts in a city that never stops reinventing itself.
- 3 themed routes
- 18 stops
- Audio guide
Berlin has been the capital of Prussian kings, of an empire, of a dictatorship and of two rival Germanies, and each era has left its mark just a few steps from the last. Between monumental gates, fragments of the Wall, baroque crypts and centuries-old taverns, the city is best told on foot. Three free routes to explore it at your own pace.
Choose your free tour
One city, three walks.
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the essentials.
History
From the Reichstag to the Wall: the century that split Berlin
A parliament in flames, tanks face to face and a city divided for 28 years, told on the very spots where it happened.
Mysteries & legends
Hidden Berlin: mummies, ghosts and the Pope's revenge
A white lady, a crypt of mummies, a dance of skeletons and a cross of light on Europe's most atheist tower.
Essentials
Essential Berlin: from Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz
Berlin's grand boulevard from end to end: the gate, the royal squares, Museum Island and the heart of the East.
The map
The whole city on foot.
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
History
Mysteries & legends
Essentials
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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A day in the city
What to see in Berlin in one day
Link the three routes and you will see the best of the city on foot, for free: the essentials in the morning, history in the afternoon and legends as the sun goes down.
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Morning
Essential Berlin: from Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz
- Brandenburg GateBerlin's great symbol and the perfect starting point: this is where Unter den Linden begins.
- BebelplatzAn elegant square with a window in the ground revealing empty bookshelves.
- Lustgarten and Museum IslandAn entire island devoted to art, presided over by Prussia's first public museum and a giant granite bowl.
- Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)The Hohenzollerns' grand imperial church, with a crypt where nearly a hundred members of the dynasty rest.
- Hackesche HöfeEight linked courtyards, Art Nouveau tiles and, next door, a story of courage.
- AlexanderplatzThe square named after a tsar, which inspired a novel and saw East Germany's biggest demonstration.
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Afternoon
From the Reichstag to the Wall: the century that split Berlin
- ReichstagThe building that saw a republic born, a democracy burn and another rise again under a glass dome.
- Brandenburg GateA gate of peace that ended up imprisoned by the most closely guarded border in the world.
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeA field of 2,711 concrete blocks that explains nothing… until you walk into it.
- Topography of TerrorWhere the Gestapo and SS had their headquarters, there's now a museum and an original stretch of the Wall.
- Checkpoint CharlieThe border crossing where Soviet and American tanks stared each other down in 1961.
- GendarmenmarktThe square that Huguenot refugees, a philosopher king and Schinkel turned into Berlin's most beautiful.
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Early evening
Hidden Berlin: mummies, ghosts and the Pope's revenge
- Berlin Palace (Humboldt Forum)The Hohenzollern palace was blown up, replaced and rebuilt; its ghost, so tradition says, never left.
- St. Nicholas' Church and the NikolaiviertelThe oldest church in old Berlin guards the city's great riddle: nobody knows when it was born or what its name means.
- Parochial Church (Parochialkirche)Beneath this baroque church lie dozens of Berliners who were mummified by accident.
- Zur letzten Instanz and the medieval wallOne of Berlin's oldest taverns leans on the last remains of its city wall… and on a couple of legends.
- St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche)A Dance of Death painted after the plague, and a stone cross recalling a murder.
- TV Tower (Fernsehturm)The great symbol of atheist East Germany reflects a cross in the sunlight that Berliners dubbed “the Pope's revenge”.
Where to eat. Try Currywurst at Konnopke's Imbiß.
What to eat
Flavours of Berlin
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
Eisbein
Cured pork knuckle simmered until the meat falls off the bone, served with sauerkraut, pea purée and mustard. A hearty dish from old Berlin cooking, perfect for cold days.
Where to try it
Königsberger Klopse
Meatballs poached in broth and served in a creamy white caper sauce, usually with potatoes. They come from old Königsberg, but in Berlin they're a home-cooking classic.
Where to try it
Bulette
Berlin's answer to the burger: a large, flattened patty of minced meat, fried and eaten hot or cold with mustard and potato salad. The name is usually linked to the French Huguenots and the French word “boulette”.
Where to try it