The Berlin Wall Memorial runs along both sides of Bernauer Strasse, and features both an indoor exhibition, and part of the actual Berlin Wall itself. And wheelchair access is easy in both parts of the Berlin Wall Memorial.

On one side of Bernauer Strasse, is the outdoor Berlin Wall Memorial (where both the Window of Remembrance and the Chapel of Reconciliation can be found).

First though, you should head to the indoor Berlin Wall Memorial exhibition housed in the Documentation Center on the opposite side of the road (Bernauer Strasse 111). This is a 3-story building with a viewing platform which overlooks the preserved section of the actual Berlin Wall on the opposite side of Bernauer Strasse (including the “Death Strip”, and a reconstructed watch tower).

A wheelchair accessible lift will take you up to the viewing platform. The lift can only be operated with a Euro Key though (the European version of the RADAR Key – but RADAR Keys don’t work here). You are welcome to use your own Euro key if you have one – or you can borrow one from the front desk if you leave ID as a deposit (SO REMEMBER TO TAKE ID WITH YOU).

Visiting the Documentation Centre first, will give you a better understanding of where you are, and the importance of what you are looking at, when you later visit the actual preserved Berlin Wall on the opposite side of Bernauer Strasse.

The Documentation Center also includes the “1961 – 1989. The Berlin Wall” exhibition.

The exhibition, contains numerous objects, biographies and audiovisual media, and is documents the history of Berlin’s division (covering 420 square meters of the Documentation Centre – all step-free!). The political and historical situation that led to the Berlin Wall’s construction in 1961 is explained – and the reasons behind the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 (which led to the reunification of Germany).

The exhibition also includes the “Archive of Memory”, where Berliners speak of their experiences of living in the shadow of the Wall for the 28 years that it brutally divided Berlin.

Admission is free, both here in the Documentation Centre, and also at the Berlin Wall Memorial across the road (German Federal law forbids institutions or people to profit from the sale of tickets to access sites relating to either the Holocaust or WWII – donations are very welcome though).

There is a wheelchair accessible toilet in the basement (reached by the wheelchair accessible lift). And numerous lockers.

The Documentation Centre also has a small cafe (although the food menu is rather limited).

On the opposite side of Bernauer Strasse, a monument has been erected to commemorate where the wall once stood, the memory of the divided city, and the victims of Soviet tyranny. In places, steel pillars now replace what was once a concrete curtain.

The Chapel of Reconciliation and the excavated foundations of a former apartment building, whose façade formed part of the border wall here until the early 1980s, can also be seen. The Window of Remembrance (which contains the names, dates and photos of the victims of the Berlin Wall) can also be found here.

Both the Documentation Center / Visitor Center and the outdoor exhibition on the memorial grounds on Bernauer Strasse are closed on Mondays. The Documentation Center / Visitor Center is open Tuesday to Sunday (from 10am to 6pm). The outdoor exhibition area is accessible from 8am to 10pm.

Checkpoint Charlie is nearby.