The Best Free Tours To Take In Berlin

Berlin has a wealth of monuments, museums and iconic landmarks that span hundreds of years of history. If you’re travelling on a budget and wanting to take a tour, rest assured that visiting this rich city is still possible. Here’s our pick of the best free and pay-what-you-feel tours in town.

Reichstag Dome Audio Tour

Take yourself on a tour of the epic dome that forms part of Berlin’s parliament (Bundestag). It’s free to visit this impressive glass and steel structure, with an informative audioguide at no extra cost to enjoy as you climb the dome. Booking a slot online however, is essential – make sure to wait for your booking confirmation before crossing the threshold.

Discover Berlin’s iconic landmarks

Berlin beyond the tourist attractions

Berlin is both a tourist city and a home for thousands of people from within Germany and from abroad, resulting in a mishmash of creativity and pocketed subculture. Alternative Berlin Tours offers tip-based tours with passionate and informative guides on a range of interesting cultural and artistic facets, that go beyond the regular tourist circuit.

Some of the incredible worlds you can be exposed to on an Alternative Tour include Berlin’s artist squats and multi-cultural neighbourhoods, street art, community farm or art projects, skateparks, daytime raves and flea markets. Tours run daily at 11am, 1pm and 3pm and last for three hours. No booking is needed, just show up to the meeting point at Alexanderplatz.

Trace Germany’s dark history

The Berlin Concentration Camp Memorial Tour tour offered by Free Berlin Tours takes visitors on a trip through Germany’s tragic past. This tour takes place just outside of the city at Sachsenhausen, the first camp ever built and where 50,000 people were murdered under the brutal Nazi regime. The tour is given in English and is suitable for both school groups and individuals.

The gates of the memorial at Sachsenhausen

Uncover Berlin on a bicycle

Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 11am, an opportunity awaits to to join a free bike tour of Berlin. The Free Berlin Bike tour offered by Original Berlin Tours is a great way to check out the city’s most famous landmarks. The tours are very sociable, so if you’re travelling Berlin alone, they’re a great way to meet other travellers. Bring your own bike or rent one there for €10 (US$11.91).

Tour the wild side of the city at night

If you like to drink and meet other people from around the world who enjoy a similar outlook, then a free pub crawl of Berlin’s most debauched drinking holes is for you. The city is known for its non-stop night time activities, so getting on a free tour that takes you to the heart of hedonistic Berlin is part of the experience. If you’re staying at a hostel, there will no doubt be a pub crawl offered at the front desk.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.