Sport
The Berlin Wall Trail by bike: the inner-city stage and two tours for more distance
The Wall Trail runs for about 160 kilometres where the Wall stood until 1989. Here is the inner-city stage with the key places and distances, plus two tours for more distance and what to know about bikes, trains and the memorial steles.
About 160 km once around former West Berlin, according to the Senate
About 9 km inner-city stage from Bernauer Straße to the East Side Gallery
Memorial trail not a designated cycle path; cycling is allowed, with consideration for pedestrians
Free entry Berlin Wall Memorial, open-air site daily 8 am to 10 pm
What the Wall Trail is
Where the Wall enclosed West Berlin until 1989, the Wall Trail now runs about 160 kilometres through the city and, at its edges, through Brandenburg, mostly along the former patrol road of the border troops. The Senate explicitly describes it as a memorial trail rather than a designated cycle path; cycling is allowed, but pedestrians have priority. Since 2019 the trail has been renovated section by section, with works due to run until 2027, and in 2024 a tunnel at the Dresdner Bahn closed the most important gap. In many places, steles with photos and life stories commemorate people who died at the Wall.
Stage 1: city centre, about 9 kilometres
The inner-city stage packs the most history into a short distance. By bike it takes about an hour without stops, on foot a good two hours. The route runs along streets and squares, so patience is needed at traffic lights and among groups of visitors.
01 Berlin Wall Memorial · Mitte
about 6 minutes on foot from Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
On Bernauer Straße stands the most important memorial site to the Wall, with a preserved section of the border installations, a viewing tower and the documentation centre. According to the Berlin museum portal, the open-air site is accessible daily from 8 am to 10 pm, and the documentation and visitor centres Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm; entry is free. This is where the stage begins.
02 Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz · Mitte
about 2.8 kilometres from Bernauer Straße, then about 0.8 kilometres to Potsdamer Platz
At the Brandenburg Gate the Wall stood just west of the gate, and in many places a double row of cobblestones in the ground still marks its course today. At Potsdamer Platz, then wasteland in the death strip, a few Wall segments stand with information panels.
03 Checkpoint Charlie · Mitte
about 1.1 kilometres from Potsdamer Platz
The best-known border crossing was reserved for foreigners and diplomats. The guardhouse on Friedrichstraße is a replica, and it is usually very crowded here. A quieter alternative is in Skip X, try Y.
04 East Side Gallery · Friedrichshain
about 4.4 kilometres from Checkpoint Charlie, about 12 minutes on foot from Warschauer Straße station
Along the Spree on Mühlenstraße stands the longest surviving section of the inner Wall, painted in 1990 by artists from many countries. This is where the stage ends, and the Oberbaum Bridge takes you on to Kreuzberg.
Stages 2 and 3: for more distance
- Hennigsdorf to Tegel: about 16.5 kilometres in the north according to a cycling guide, with woods, water and plenty of quiet. Here you notice how far the border also ran through the countryside.
- Wannsee and Glienicke Bridge: in the southwest between lakes and villas to the bridge where agents were exchanged during the Cold War. More in Babelsberg.
Good to know
- Renting a bike: rental bikes and apps are in Sharing in Berlin. For the long loop, a proper rental bike with gears is worth it.
- Bikes on trains: for stages on the edge of the city, take the S-Bahn or regional train there, which requires a bike ticket, more in Understanding the BVG.
- At the steles: the memorial steles commemorate people who died here. Stopping briefly to read them is the best way to pass by.