Self-Guided Walking Tour of Berlin with Audio Insights

The monumental buildings in this district follow one another and are similar. Here you have the entrance to the German Historical Museum, known as Zeughaus which means Arsenal.

In front of you are a set of royal residences dating from the 18th century: the Kronprintz Palace and the Princesses' Palace, now the Opera Café.

The famous Unter den Linden Avenue, literally meaning “under the linden trees,” extends from the Brandenburg Gate to the castle bridge behind you.

Here you are in one of the most beautiful squares in the capital, renamed in 1947, in honor of one of the founders of the German Socialist Democratic Workers' Party: August Bebel.

This is a magnificent symbol of religious tolerance. St. Edwig's Cathedral, which you have in front of you, is the episcopal seat of the archdiocese of Berlin and one of the most important Catholic places of worship in Germany.

Here you are on the Gendarmenmarkt, the police market square in French. Grandiose and harmonious, it is described as the most beautiful in the capital. Some even say that it is the most beautiful place north of the Alps!

As you have noticed, one of the major interests of this place lies in the resemblance between the two churches that balance it. However, they were not built at the same time.

Since you are going down Charlotte Street for several hundred meters, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the queen hidden behind this name.

Here, at the corner of the street, you can see the beautiful Art Nouveau facade of the Michaelsen Palace.

This ultra-colorful block, which contrasts sharply with the rest of the neighborhood, is the work of the Italian architect Aldo Rossi: the Schützenstraße neighborhood.

You would pass by without seeing it, as the Peter Fechter memorial is sober. And yet, he is one of the most famous victims of the Wall, if not the most symbolic.

There it is, the famous Checkpoint Charlie. It is one of those images that you probably already had in mind before arriving in Berlin.

On your right, you have the project The Wall, Asisi Panorama Berlin which invites you to relive, thanks to hundreds of retouched and scaled photographs, the daily life of Berliners in the 1980s.

You arrive at the site of the former headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, whose ruins were razed after the war.

You've certainly heard of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, considered, at least at one time, to be the German version of Times Square.

Before I learn a bit more about the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, which you see in front of you, I wanted to tell you a word about Hitler.

Be mentally prepared because the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe is emotional.

You are on the huge Alexander Square, one of the most iconic places in Berlin. It was named so in 1805, for the visit of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, during his visit to the King of Prussia.

Like most other visitors, if you have come this far it is above all to see the magnificent Brandenburg Gate, symbol of German reunification and the last historic gate still there today!

During your visit to Berlin, be prepared to encounter numerous memorials dedicated to the various communities persecuted by the Nazi regime.

So here is a building steeped in history. The Reichstag Palace has played an important role in the history of Berlin.

The white crosses that you discover on the railings are there in memory of the people who lost their lives trying to cross the wall.

The beautiful building with ultra-modern architecture that you see on the other bank is part of the parliamentary complex of the German federal government.

The Spree, which separates the German capital in two, alone embodies the tumultuous history of the city it passes through. It was on its banks that the first city was created in the 13th century, and it later served as a natural border between East and West Berlin.

You arrive at the Tränenpalast, the Palace of Tears in French, a highly symbolic place of the German division. After the construction of the Berlin Wall, Friedrichstrasse station found itself entirely in the Soviet sector.