How to visit the Berlin Wall

The best known and most prominent symbol of the Cold War was the famous Berlin Wall, which divided the capital of Germany for almost 30 years with its approximately 155 kilometers long.

Several decades have passed since its fall and, although little remains of the old barrier, you can still visit different museums, memorials and guided tours in Berlin that serve to get an idea of the magnitude of this structure that divided Europe.

Visiting the Berlin Wall is among the best things to do in Berlin during your days in the city. In this article I tell you about the options available to explore the history of the wall and its important repercussions.

The best way to explore the historical side of Berlin is by the hand of a local expert guide as offered by tour operators who organize tours in the city.

This type of tour will allow you not only to visit the Berlin Wall, but will give you a more comprehensive view of the entire history of the Cold War and the political and social context that led to the erection of the wall.

It is one of the most demanded experiences in the city, so you will find local tour operators that offer the tour in different formats. These include walking tours or bike tours of Berlin; group or private tours; and other models to serve as many travelers as possible.

During your visit, keep in mind that Berlin is one of the main capitals of Europe, a cultural, financial, artistic and architectural reference for this continent and the rest of the world.

Besides being one of the most influential capitals, it has an exciting and chaotic history in equal proportions.

What will I see on these tours?

Considered one of the best historical tours of Berlin, the tours leading to the Berlin Wall are usually framed as Cold War related tours.

While it is true that the itinerary of the tour may vary depending on the contrasting company, it is also true that regardless of the tour format, most include, among others, visiting one or more of the following attractions:

• Touring the former Cold War train stations.
• Visiting the Death Strip Area
• Visiting the East German Watchtower
• The iconic Berlin Wall Memorial
• The Chapel of Reconciliation

Useful Information.

• Price: May vary depending on the format of the tour, between 20 € or 30 € per participant.
• Schedule: This type of excursion is generally carried out in the morning.
• Duration of the tour: The tour takes between 3 or 4 hours to complete. I recommend reserving at least half a day for the experience.

If you decide to take the tour on your own, the Memorial is a monument not to be missed. The popular tourist attraction is included in some of the city's tourist passes, such as the Berlin Welcome Card.

It is a monument in which it is worth stopping calmly to enjoy the different spaces that make it up. The first thing you will find is a segment of the Berlin Wall still standing next to one of the emblematic watchtowers.

The Documentation Center shows the details related to the construction of the wall and the situation that led to the division of the city.

Finally, you will find the Chapel of Reconciliation, inaugurated in 2000 on the remains of an old church located in the middle of the Death Strip and destroyed in 1985.

How to get to the Memorial

The Memorial is very close to the S-Nordbahnhof station, in the Mitte district. You can reach this area of Berlin by various means of transport including the Metro (lines S1 S2 S25 S26), the bus (line 247) or the Berlin streetcar (lines M10, 12 and M8).

Useful Information

• Price: Around €13 for a standard adult ticket.
• Opening hours: Closed on Mondays. The center is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
• Duration: You will need between 45 and 60 minutes to tour the facilities.

Berlin Hohenschönhausen is an important memorial and museum opened in 1994 where in former years was the main political prison of the communist regime. The site formed a very important part of the system of political oppression that East Germany established during the Cold War.

Unfortunately, much of the documents and evidence of the prison's operation were destroyed by the authorities after the fall of the wall, so many of the stories it houses come from eyewitness accounts, survivors and documents recovered from other institutions.

The Memorial has audio guides in different languages and the option of guided tours every day at 10 am and 4 pm. The itinerary that takes the group inside the former prisons is only offered in German and in limited groups, so pre-booking is a mandatory requirement.

Visit the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial website for reservations.

How to get to Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial

This important memorial is located in the Lichtenberg district in northwest Berlin. The nearest station is Freienwalder Str., 5 minutes away from the Memorial.

To reach the Memorial you will find numerous public transportation options available in Berlin. The most popular are the Berlin subway (line U5), the public bus (lines 256 and 259) and the Berlin streetcar (line M5).

Useful Information

• Price: Around €6 per participant.
• Hours: Open to the public from Monday to Sunday from 09h to 18h.
• Duration: I recommend spending 2 to 3 hours touring the different spaces.

The most famous border crossing point of the Berlin Wall is also one of the best museums in Berlin and a must-see tourist attraction. Created in September 1961, the site was the scene of numerous confrontations.

Upon arrival at Checkpoint Charlie you will find a commemorative plaque commemorating the former border crossing, a work by famed artist Frank Thiel, as well as the Checkpoint Charlie Wall Museum.

This exhibition is filled with photos and models recounting the most creative and unusual escape attempts that took place during its more than two decades of operation.

How to get to CheckPoint Charlie

CheckPoint Charlie is located in one of Berlin's central areas, Friedrichstrasse. Getting to this area of the city is very easy. You can take the streetcar (lines RE2 and RE7), the Berlin subway (lines U2 and U6) or the city bus (Lines 147, M29 and M48).

The nearest station is U Kochstr./Checkpoint Charlie, just a 3-minute walk from the entrance.

Useful information

• Price: The adult entrance ticket costs about 15 ¤; for accredited students the price is about 9.50 ¤; children and young people under 18 pay about 7.50 ¤.
• Hours: Open to the public every day from 09h to 22h.
• Duration: There are many curious and interesting objects to see at CheckPoint Charlie so I recommend reserving about 2 hours of itinerary for this visit.

Considered the largest open-air gallery in the world, is a space dedicated to art and culture where you will also find the largest section of the wall currently preserved.

Here you will find a stretch of wall with more than 1 kilometer long in which more than 100 artists of muralism and graffiti from all corners of the world captured their talent.

The collection of famous murals honors the German people's struggle for freedom and their longed-for desire for peace. In other words, there are plenty of reasons to visit!

How to get there

Due to its location in the heart of Berlin you will find numerous ways to reach the museum. For example, Warschauer Straße station is a 12-minute walk away and is one of the best connected stations in the center.

Getting to the station is very easy: you can take the Berlin Underground (lines U1 and U3); the city streetcar (line M10); or the bus system (lines 248, 347, N1, S5).

Useful Information

• Price: Access is free for everyone.
• Hours: Open to the public from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
• Duration: 40 minutes is usually enough time to visit this attraction.

Tränenpalast was, in former times, the entrance hall to the subway in Friedrichstrasse and during the division of Berlin here the GDR troops were stationed, as it was the last station to West Berlin.

Since 2011, a reputable museum with a well-documented permanent exhibition has been operating in these premises, where you can enjoy fragments of interviews, photographs, documentaries and a varied collection of objects detailing life during the years of the division.

Free guided tours are available for groups of at least 10 people and reservations are required. See the official website for more information.

How to get there

Getting to the Palace of Tears is very easy, as it is located just 2 minutes from Friedrichstraße station, one of the most important shopping streets in the heart of Berlin.

You will find several means of transportation available. Some of the most popular are the subway (lines U5 and U6), the city bus service (lines 100,147 and S7) and finally the Berlin Tram (lines RE2 and RE7).

Useful Information

• Price: Admission is free.
• Hours: Closed on Mondays. The opening hours from Tuesday to Friday are from 09h to 19h; Saturdays and Sundays from 10h to 18h.
• Duration: I recommend reserving at least 1 hour to explore this installation and the exhibitions.

On your walks through the streets of Berlin you will notice that a few watchtowers are still standing in the city. One of the most famous is the Schlesischer Busch in Alt-Treptow Park.

You'll also find a few meters of wall, but the most interesting part is that the inside of the tower now houses a number of temporary or traveling art exhibitions.

No matter what time of year you decide to visit the city, you'll always find something new to see here.

How to get there

The legendary Watchtower is located in the Alt-Treptow Park in south-central Berlin. On arrival you will find a beautiful expanse of land on the banks of the Spree River in the town of the same name.

With the following means of transportation you will find routes whose stops are in the vicinity of the Alt-Treptow Park: The Berlin subway (line U12), the public bus service (lines 165 and M29) and the Berlin streetcar (line M10).

Useful information

• Price: Free of charge.
• Hours: Open to the public from Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 1 am.
• Duration: Spend 2 hours touring the park and facilities.

The name MauerPark literally translates into English as Wall Park, alluding to its link to the Berlin Wall and the Death Strip. Here you can find remnants of the Berlin Wall that graffiti artists have taken for the expression of their art.

It is one of the most beloved and crowded parks in the city: a weekly flea market and open-air karaoke sessions are held here.

If you go to Berlin in summer you can also find free concerts and performances.

How to get to the park

The park is located in Prenzlauer Berg, in the western part of the city. Getting here is very easy and you will find in the city several means of transportation to choose from.

Among the most popular and recommended are the subway (lines U2 and U8), the city streetcar (line M10) and finally the public bus service (lines 142 and 247).

Useful Information

• Price: Free of charge.

• Hours: Open 24 hours.

• Duration: I recommend touring the entire park with its different facilities. 2 hours of itinerary is usually enough for this visit.

Rated as Berlin's most modern square, it was also one of the public spaces most affected by the construction and subsequent fall of the iconic Berlin Wall.

Although most segments collapsed in 2008, you can see in this place six sections still standing placed at the entrance of the subway station. The remains of the wall are interspersed with information points that are worth stopping to read.

How to get there

Due to its privileged location, in the very center of the old part of Berlin, getting to this part of the city is extremely easy and you will find numerous transportation options available in the capital.

The most recommended are the Berlin subway (line U2), the city streetcar (lines RE3, RE4 and RE5) and the public bus (lines 200, M29, M41, M48 and M85).

Useful Information

• Price: Free of charge.

• Hours: Open to the public every day from 10 am to 8 pm. During the winter months in Berlin the opening hours are reduced to 18h.

• Duration: If you only go to see the remains of the Berlin Wall, 20 minutes are enough.