Berlin Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour

The Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden

Built in 1791 as a triumphal entrance to the Prussian capital, the Brandenburg Gate stood in no man's land for almost three decades while the Wall divided the city. Today it is the symbol of reunified Germany and the first stop most visitors want to see. The Quadriga, the chariot on top, was taken to Paris by Napoleon and returned in 1814.

From the gate, the grand boulevard Unter den Linden runs east past the State Opera, Humboldt University and Bebelplatz towards Museum Island. Hopping off here lets you walk the boulevard and rejoin the bus further on. Allow an hour to see the Brandenburg Gate, the nearby Holocaust Memorial and the Reichstag on foot.

Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall story

Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known crossing point between East and West Berlin, used by foreigners and Allied personnel. In October 1961 American and Soviet tanks faced each other here for sixteen tense hours. A replica guard hut and the famous sign now mark the spot, and several museums nearby tell the stories of escapes.

The Berlin Wall is the thread that runs through any Berlin sightseeing tour. The 48-hour package lets you choose a two-hour panoramic Wall tour with a stop at the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße, where a preserved section of the border strip shows exactly how the Wall worked. The self-guided digital tour adds more stories at your own pace.

Museum Island, Alexanderplatz and the historic centre

In the east of the city, the bus reaches Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site with five major museums, and the Berlin Cathedral with its green dome. Across the river, the Humboldt Forum occupies the rebuilt Berlin Palace. A few minutes further lies Alexanderplatz, dominated by the 368-metre TV Tower, the tallest structure in Germany.

This is the best area to hop off for longer: spend a morning in the Pergamon or Neues Museum, then walk through the Nikolaiviertel, the city's oldest quarter. On the Berlin hop-on hop-off tour the audio guide explains how East Berlin rebuilt this district as the showcase of the German Democratic Republic.

Kurfürstendamm and West Berlin

The western part of the route follows the Kurfürstendamm, the elegant shopping boulevard that was the shop window of West Berlin during the Cold War. At its end stands the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, whose bomb-damaged tower was kept as a memorial beside a modern blue-glass chapel.

Nearby are the Tiergarten park, the Victory Column and Potsdamer Platz, rebuilt after 1990 as a district of glass towers. Riding both routes in one day gives you a clear picture of how the two halves of Berlin grew so differently. The best time to start a Berlin bus tour is mid-morning, when the first rush of passengers has eased.