> Berlin in 1 Day DIY Walking Tour Route Map <
Distance: 7 km (about 4.5 miles); Duration: 2-8 hours
Berlin in 1 Day DIY Walking Tour Directions
[These are very thorough walking directions – you shouldn’t be getting lost in Berlin when following this guide. However, I definitely recommend that you follow the Google Streetview route of the entire Berlin DIY Walking Tour first, from the comfort of your own home before you head to Berlin, as this will allow you to better visualise the entire route before you arrive].
START. Berlin Hauptbahnhof Train Station [MAP]:
With your back to the central Berlin Hauptbahnhof Train Station (sometimes referred to as just Berlin Hbf), walk towards the traffic lights ahead of you/slightly to your left;
Pedestrian Crossing [MAP]:
At the end of the crossing, you will see the start of the pedestrian Gustav-Heinemann-Brücke (slightly to your left).
At the end of the bridge, continue in the same direction until you see the main path through the grassy Spreebogenpark split in two. Follow the path on your LEFT (which diagonally crosses the Spreebogenpark). [MAP].
Just before the end of this diagonal path, a smaller path diverges on your RIGHT. At the end of this path, you will again reach the pavement. Turn RIGHT, and you will see a pedestrian crossing at the corner;
Pedestrian Crossing (Otto-von-Bismarck-Allee) [MAP]:
After the crossing, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD (in the same direction that you were heading as you crossed the road). You will now be walking down the left hand side of Annemarie-Renger-Straße.
Cross both lanes of the smaller Paul-Löbe-Allee, until you reach the pavement by the grassy Platz der Republik.
Instead of entering the grassy park, turn LEFT, and head towards the Reichstag Building;
Reichstag Building [MAP]:
Just walk up the steps to the main visitor entrance to Berlin’s Reichstag Building. The accessible entrance is just to the right of the steps, at ground level, behind the hedge (you’ll need to roll almost to the very right hand corner of the Reichstag Building first,and then double back along the side of the building, to reach it though).
Pedestrian Crossing [MAP]:
Turn RIGHT when you leave the Reichstag, and head towards the Pedestrian Crossing (which crosses Scheidemannstraße), and immediately enter the Tiergarten, taking the path on your LEFT (Simsonweg), and continue until the exit (at Ebertstraße – you’ll now see the Brandenburg Gate on the opposite side of the road). As you exit the Tiergarten here, turn to your RIGHT, and walk to the light-controlled Pedestrian Crossing at the corner.
Accessibility: The path through the Tiergarten is rather bumpy. However, there is also a smoother section of earthen path at the edge of the main path. This is fine – in DRY weather. Otherwise, you should simply turn left as you exit the Reichstag, and turn LEFT again, and continue along the pavement of Scheidemannstraße until you see the Pedestrian Crossing at the rear corner of the Reichstag building. After crossing Scheidemannstraße here, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD (along Ebertstraße) until you reach the next Pedestrian Crossing, which takes you across the road to the Brandenburg Gate.
Pedestrian Crossing [MAP]:
At the end of the crossing, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD until you pass through the Brandenburg Gate.
Brandenburg Gate [MAP]:
After passing through the Brandenburg Gate, keep to the right of the pedestrian Pariser Platz (as you will be turning RIGHT after you have passed the Adlon Hotel – now called the Adlon Kempinski Hotel).
Wilhelmstrasse [MAP]:
After passing the Adlon Hotel (the building will be on your right), turn RIGHT into Wilhelmstrasse, and continue to the next junction (with Behrenstraße), where you will find a Pedestrian Crossing.
Pedestrian Crossing [MAP]:
At the end of the Pedestrian Crossing, turn RIGHT, and head along the left-hand side of Behrenstraße until the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe appears on your left.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe [MAP]:
Your ultimate objective is to leave the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe by the corner diagonally opposite to where you have started.
So you have two choices:
Either walk through the stelae (there are a few wider “alleys” too’ which will accommodate those in wheelchairs); or pass around the outside.
If you would rather walk around the outside of the memorial, then you should first turn LEFT, into Cora-Berliner-Straße; and at the end of the street, turn RIGHT, into Hannah-Arendt-Straße, and continue until the next corner, where a Pedestrian Crossing will take you across Hannah-Arendt-Straße.
Ebertstraße [MAP]:
At the end of the crossing, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD, down the left-hand side of Ebertstraße. After about 50 metres, you will see a Pedestrian Crossing on your right, which will take you across to the other side of Ebertstraße.
At the end of the crossing, turn LEFT, and continue down the right-hand side of Ebertstraße (passing Café LebensArt Potsdamer Platz on your right – which is a great place to stop for a drink and snack [not cheap though] – and if it was still standing, the Berlin Wall would pass directly through Café LebensArt Potsdamer Platz).
Accessibility: Café LebensArt Potsdamer Platz is wheelchair accessible, and has an accessible toilet too.
After leaving Café LebensArt Potsdamer Platz, turn RIGHT, and continue along Ebertstraße towards Potsdamer Platz, crossing both Hans-von-Bülow-Straße and Bellevuestraße along the way.
Potsdamer Platz [MAP]:
When you arrive at Potsdamer Platz, you will immediately see three towering buildings on the far side. The Kollhoff Tower, the highest tower (the middle tower) hosts your next destination:
Panoramapunkt!
However, to reach the entrance to Panoramapunkt (the viewing platform & cafe on the 24th and 25th floors of the Kollhoff Tower), you should head for the LEFT-HAND side of the building (on Alte Potsdamer Strasse).
Accessibility: As the Berlin TV Tower is inaccessible to wheelchairs, the Panoramapunkt viewing platform and cafe at the top of the Kollhoff Tower, offers wheelchair users the highest view in Berlin.
After leaving Panoramapunkt, turn LEFT, and return to Potsdamer Platz.
Potsdamer Platz [2] [MAP]:
When you arrive at Potsdamer Platz again, head for the Pedestrian Crossing on the corner just outside the second glass cube (the entrance to Potsdamer Platz S-bahn/U-bahn station).
Pedestrian Crossing [MAP]:
At the end of the crossing, turn RIGHT (so that the S-Bahn station sign is on your left), and walk along the left-hand pavement of Stresemannstrasse for a while (the road bends round to your left), until finally turning LEFT into Niederkirchnerstrasse.
Niederkirchnerstraße [MAP]:
Before you actually start walking along Niederkirchnerstrasse, cross the road at the corner, turning LEFT at the end of the crossing, so that you are walking along the RIGHT-HAND pavement of Niederkirchnerstrasse (the route that the Berlin Wall took here, is indicated by the line of bricks on the surface of the road).
The pavement here ends with a fenced-off preserved section of the Berlin Wall (the other side can be viewed when visiting the Topography of Terror). Turn RIGHT here, where you will then see an entrance to the Topography of Terror) on your left.
Topography of Terror [MAP]:
Turn RIGHT as you exit the Topography of Terror building, and leave the site via the eastern exit on Wilhelmstrasse, where you will immediately see a Pedestrian Crossing.
Pedestrian Crossing [MAP]:
After crossing Wilhelmstrasse here, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD – along Zimmerstrasse, and turn RIGHT at the very first turning (Friedrichstrasse) where you will see Checkpoint Charlie immediately in front of you.
Checkpoint Charlie [MAP]:
After seeing Checkpoint Charlie, return to the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse (by the KFC), where a Crossing will take you across Zimmerstrasse in the direction you need.
Crossing [MAP]:
There are no lights/street markings at this “crossing” (so take care). However, there are dropped kerbs on either side should wheelchair users require them.
At the end of the crossing, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD (along the RIGHT-HAND side of Friedrichstrasse). Continue until the very first junction (with Schützenstrasse).
Crossing [MAP]:
As with the previous “crossing”, there are no lights (or road markings) at this crossing. At the end of the crossing though, immediately turn RIGHT, and head along Schützenstrasse, turning LEFT at the very first junction (into Charlottenstrasse).
Charlottenstrasse [MAP]:
Continue north along the LEFT-HAND pavement of Charlottenstrasse until you reach Mohrenstrasse (crossing Krausenstrasse, the main Leipziger Strasse and Kronenstrasse along the way).
When you reach Mohrenstrasse, you will immediately see your next destination diagonally opposite you: the delightfully domed Deutscher Dom (one of three must-see Berlin attractions which combine at the Gendarmenmarkt – the others being the Berlin Konzerthaus and the equally-stunning dome of the Französischer Dom – the mirror image of the Deutscher Dom).
Deutscher Dom [MAP]:
In the direction that you have been walking in, you will arrive at the rear of the Deutsher Dom (just outside Stadtmitte U-Bahn station).
Walk around to the main entrance at the front of the Deutscher Dom (which contains the German Bundestag‘s exhibition on parliamentary history – “Wege, Irrwege and Umwege” roughly translated as “Paths, Wrong Tracks and Detours”).
The exhibition spans five floors, and is accessible too – using accessible lifts).
When you leave the front of the Deutscher Dom, head north to the Berlin Konzerthaus.
Berlin Konzerthaus [MAP]:
While major construction work is taking place to renew the entire Gendarmenmarkt, the Berlin Konzerthaus can be accessed via Charlottenstrasse.
Accessibility: As the Charlottenstrasse entrance to the Konzertjaus is normally the accessible entrance anyway, accessibility is not affected. And as the refurbishment of the Gendarmenmarkt will result in an accessible space of 14,00 square metres, the current construction work is definitely a price worth paying.
Französischer Dom [MAP]:
Continue walking north as you leave the Konzerthaus, and you will immediately see the domed Französischer Dom.
If you’re feeling energetic, climb the 284 steps to the viewing platform at the top – for stunning Gendarmenmarkt views, and Berlin views in general.
After leaving the Französischer Dom by the main/front entrance, head to the corner of Markgrafenstrasse and Französischer Strasse. And cross Französischer Strasse here. Be careful here though – there are no lights/road markings yet (hopefully, there will be following the renovation of the Gendarmenmarkt area).
After crossing Franz. Strasse here, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD, along the LEFT-HAND pavement of Markgrafenstrasse, until the very first junction (with Behrenstrasse).
At the end of Markgrafenstrasse, turn RIGHT, cross Markgrafenstrasse, then continue STRAIGHT AHEAD, along the RIGHT-HAND pavement of Behrenstrasse. Be careful here too. Again, there are no lights/crossing markings here.
After passing the luxurious Hotel de Rome, you will see the stunning St. Hedwig’s Cathedral on your right, and the Babelplatz will be on your left (across the road).
Cross to the Babelplatz here (viewing the Book Burning Memorial – a sunken bookless library), and head for the far right corner (at the end of the Berlin State Opera building).
Turn RIGHT here (onto Unter den Linden – yet again), and walk a few metres to the front/main entrance.
Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper) [MAP]:
After viewing the Berlin State Opera, continue along this right-hand side of Unter den Linden until you pass over the western branch of the River Spree, via the ornate Schlossbrücke. This will take you onto “Museum Island” (Museumsinsel).
Schlossbrücke[MAP]:
Immediately after crossing the Schlossbrücke, turn RIGHT, and head to the main entrance of the Humboldt Forum.
Humboldt Forum [MAP]:
Turn RIGHT after visiting the Humboldt Forum, and return to the right-hand pavement of Unter den Linden, again following it in the same direction as before (east-ish), until you see the first crossing on your left – just before Unter den Linden passes Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom).
Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) [MAP]:
At the end of the crossing, continue STRAIGHT AHEAD (left-ish) through the Lustgarten. Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) will be on your right, and the impressive Altes Museum will be directly ahead of you.
Altes Museum [MAP]:
Continue along the eastern side of the Altes Museum (this is the step-free route around the Altes Museum), on Am Lustgarten street.
At the end of the street/the Altes Museum building, turn LEFT onto Bodestrasse (you will see the colonnade that surrounds the Kolonnadenhof in front of the Alte Nationalgalerie – don’t cross yet, you’ll be there shortly).
Continue along the LEFT-HAND pavement of Bodestrasse, until the end of the rear of the Altes Museum building (BEFORE you reach the western arm of the Spree again).
Turn RIGHT here, and cross to the modern Visitor Centre (passing through the modern colonnade – the visitor’s entrance will be on your left). From there, you will be able to access the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie and, once it reopens after renovation, the Pergamonmuseum).
Your Berlin in 1 Day DIY Walking Tour now ends.
To return to your hotel using public transport, simply return to Museumsinsel U-Bahn station (line U5) outside of the Humboldt Forum – this is a simple 5-minute walk.
Berlin Guide Books & Berlin Maps
Powered by Waterstones
If this Berlin DIY Walking Tour information has helped you in any way, please consider making a small donation via Ko-Fi or BuyMeACoffee.
Your support enables me to create and maintain even more of these informative DIY Walking Tour/accessibility articles; the Access Map; and the Street Library.
Thank you SO much for your very kind support – and have a great time in Berlin!