Berlin by bike: Getting on two wheels is the perfect way to see the German capital
It’s the hippest European city renowned for its independent spirit – and there is one thing every tourist should do to get the best out of Berlin.
Whether you’re there to try your luck at debaucherous nightclub Berghain or soak up the epic history that spans the Kingdom of Prussia to Stasi headquarters, there is one essential thing to do in Berlin; get on your bike.
With its flat, wide streets and bike-friendly lanes, the German capital is a dream for cyclists.
Add in the fact that some of the most enticing attractions are spread out, making for a potentially exhausting day on foot, and you have plenty of reasons to take to two wheels.
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The city has plenty of bike tours available, or make like a Berliner and jump on a share bike and get pedalling. Here are the best bits to check out.
THE BERLIN WALL
Superfans can ride the full length of the 160km Berlin Wall that divided West Germany from the East German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1961 to 1989. Or if time is short, check out how the inner wall zigzagged through the central city, dividing family members and neighbours from one another when it went up overnight in 1961.
Check out Bernauer Strase where simple tiles mark the spots brave groups of student tunnellers armed with spades dodged Stasi microphones and risked death to tunnel under the earth to reach their loved ones in the East.
An open-air exhibition contains a memorial for the 130 people (at least) who died trying to cross, while a museum has a viewing platform over a recreated watchtower and death strip that provides a chilling insight into the once-divided city.
Elsewhere, remaining sections of the wall have been converted to outdoor galleries including the East Side Gallery – one of Berlin’s most famous sites and the longest open-air gallery in the world.
It stretches for 1.3km and is home to Dmitri Vrubel’s famous “Fraternal Kiss” mural depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East Germany’s Erich Honecker locked in a passionate embrace.
You can also visit the famous Checkpoint Charlie crossing between East and West that was the scene of an American and Soviet confrontation in October 1961 and later featured in James Bond films.
SEAT OF POWER
Follow the brick path that marks where the wall once stood to the remarkably open Reichstag building and Bundestag next door to see the seat of German power.
The Reichstag’s glass dome roof has great views over the city and is free and open to visitors who register in advance. The more modern government buildings next door feature buildings deliberately set in what was East and West Germany, forcing politicians to cross to meet each other in the middle.
While you’re there, check out the impressive Brandenburg Gate nearby that has become a symbol of unity after people from East and West flocked there to party the night the wall came down in November 1989. In November 2019 it was used as the site for a huge concert and outdoor art installation featuring messages of hope from 30,000 Berliners to mark the 30th anniversary of the event.
The huge Tiergarten park next door is perfect for cycling and features lakes, statues and woods that could be straight out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale – perfect for summer shade or woodland winter rides.
TEMPELHOFER FELD
This former military airport in the trendy Neukolln area is some way from the central city but is a fascinating space that has been converted into a huge park and museum.
The enormous complex is the largest monument in Europe and has a dark past. It was home to a midsummer festival at the time of the Nazis and was once used as Berlin’s only official concentration camp.
Now, it’s mostly visited by families on bikes, tourists and hipsters with a few beers from their local off-licence. Parts of the buildings are still incomplete, and official tours run at the site.
STASI HEADQUARTERS
The chilling Stasi headquarters at Normannenstrase, in the city’s east, are well worth a visit to check out the home of the East German secret police and glean an insight into the brutal and repressive state surveillance regime that dominated the GDR for decades.
The site is an active archive where teams are working to painfully piece together documents that were shredded by Stasi operatives when the Berlin Wall came down. Personal files that are not open to the public but available for Germans to request their own information are also painstakingly catalogued.
It includes a museum home to the preserved office of Erich Mielke, the GDR’s former minister of state security, and explains how the enormous service recruited its informants and used the information to make their subjects’ lives a misery.
JUST CRUISE
In addition to layer upon layer of world-beating historical sites, Berlin is renowned for its independent vibe, hipster scene and edgy night-life that attracts creative types from all over Europe and the world.
This spirit of freedom, combined with the city’s dramatic past, has created a mistrust of authority and a live-and-let-live attitude that makes it one of the most unique places on the planet, according to one local who was drawn to live there 20 years ago.
So put down your phone, turn off Google Maps and get lost in the inspiring creative mishmash that is modern-day Berlin. You won’t regret it.
Victoria Craw travelled to Berlin as a guest of Visit Berlin and did a bike tour of the city with Berlin on Bike
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