Ringbahn series · Part 1
The Ringbahn: what to see at every station
The Ringbahn is Berlin's cheapest city tour. In an hour it circles the inner city, past backyards, harbors, prefab blocks and villas. We went through all 27 stations and tell you for each one what there is to see, where to change trains and where you can happily stay in your seat.
Lines S41 clockwise, S42 anticlockwise
One loop 27 stations, around 37 kilometers, about an hour
Ticket AB is enough; for stops along the way, the 24-hour ticket
Start At any station, the ring has no terminus
The Ringbahn series
How the ring works
Because of its shape, Berliners call the Ringbahn the "dog's head". It marks the boundary of fare zone A, and everything inside counts as the inner city. After the Wall went up the ring was cut, and only since 2002 have trains run in a continuous circle again. There is no terminus, you simply get on anywhere. For a full loop with stops, take the 24-hour ticket, because a single ticket is only valid for two hours in one direction and not for round trips; more in Understanding the BVG.
The classic
The double-decker bus
Hop-on hop-off through Mitte, with headphones and lots of other tourists.
Kieznah tip
One loop, eight stops
Hop off at our favorite stations on a 24-hour ticket: Treptower Park, Ostkreuz, Prenzlauer Allee, Schönhauser Allee, Gesundbrunnen, Westend, Heidelberger Platz and Tempelhof. That way you see Berlin as it really lives.
We go through the stations clockwise, like the S41, starting at Südkreuz.
South and southwest
01 Südkreuz · For changing trains
Long-distance trains stop here, and right next door the old Schöneberg gasometer rises above the EUREF campus. Take the S2 or S25 one stop to Priesterweg and you are at the Natur-Park Südgelände.
02 Schöneberg · Worth getting off
Between the tracks lies the Rote Insel, a small neighborhood with cafés and history. Marlene Dietrich was born in 1901 in what is now Leberstraße.
03 Innsbrucker Platz · For changing trains
This is where the U4 starts, Berlin's shortest U-Bahn line. One stop on is Rathaus Schöneberg, where John F. Kennedy said "Ich bin ein Berliner" in 1963.
04 Bundesplatz · Worth getting off
This is where the Volkspark Wilmersdorf begins, a long green strip heading west. Within walking distance in Friedenau is the Stubenrauchstraße cemetery with the graves of Marlene Dietrich, Helmut Newton and Ferruccio Busoni.
05 Heidelberger Platz · Worth getting off
Below you is one of the city's most splendid U-Bahn stations with a vaulted hall, above you the Rheingauviertel. In summer the wine fountain pours at Rüdesheimer Platz, more in our neighborhood walk.
06 Hohenzollerndamm · Just ride through
A quiet residential area in Wilmersdorf. Lovely to live in, but there is little for visitors to discover.
07 Halensee · Worth getting off
This is where the Kurfürstendamm ends, a lot more quietly than at Breitscheidplatz. If you stroll east from this end, you see the Ku'damm the way residents know it.
West and north
08 Westkreuz · For changing trains
A crossing of the Ringbahn and the Stadtbahn. From here the S7 takes you into the Grunewald and to Teufelsberg.
09 Messe Nord/ICC · Worth getting off
The radio tower, which Berliners call the "Langer Lulatsch", turned one hundred on 3 September 2026 and is open to visitors again after its renovation; check times before you go. Next to it stands the silver ICC, closed since 2014 and still a sight.
10 Westend · Worth getting off
Ten minutes on foot is the Klausenerplatz neighborhood, and beyond it Charlottenburg Palace with its park and the museums opposite.
11 Jungfernheide · For changing trains
Change here for the U7 and regional trains. A good 25 minutes' walk to the north lies the Volkspark Jungfernheide with its water tower, a park where almost only locals go for walks.
12 Beusselstraße · Just ride through
On the edge of Moabit, mostly industry and the wholesale market. Best to stay on the train.
13 Westhafen · For changing trains
Berlin's largest port, with old warehouses along the canal that you can see well from the train. Change here for the U9.
14 Wedding · Worth getting off
A few minutes on foot is the silent green Kulturquartier in the former Wedding crematorium, now a venue for concerts, exhibitions and cinema. Next to it lies an urn cemetery, quiet and green.
North and east
15 Gesundbrunnen · Worth getting off
Right by the station is the Humboldthain park with its flak tower. On top a viewing platform, inside the tours by Berliner Unterwelten.
16 Schönhauser Allee · Worth getting off
A little way down the street is the Mauerpark with its Sunday flea market and, in the warmer months, often karaoke in the amphitheater. On the way you pass the Gethsemane Church, a site of the peaceful revolution in 1989.
17 Prenzlauer Allee · Worth getting off
Right next to the station stands the Zeiss Major Planetarium under its silver dome, opened in 1987. A good plan for rainy days.
18 Greifswalder Straße · Worth getting off
In the Ernst-Thälmann-Park stands one of the GDR's largest monuments, Thälmann's huge bronze head. Further south begins the Bötzowviertel.
19 Landsberger Allee · For changing trains
Here you will find the velodrome and the swimming hall in the Europasportpark, both half sunk into the ground. If you are going to a race or a concert, this is your stop.
20 Storkower Straße · Just ride through
Apartment blocks and businesses. Ride on.
21 Frankfurter Allee · For changing trains
Change here for the U5. One stop east, at Magdalenenstraße, is the Stasi Museum in the former headquarters of the State Security.
East and south
22 Ostkreuz · Worth getting off
One of the city's biggest interchanges and a good starting point: around it lie the Victoriastadt, the Rummelsburger Bucht and, a bit further, Boxhagener Platz.
23 Treptower Park · Worth getting off
Perhaps the loveliest stop on the ring: the Spree riverbank, excursion boats, the Soviet War Memorial and the Archenhold Observatory with its "sky cannon", considered the longest movable refracting telescope in the world. Nearby, the Spreepark reopens in 2027.
24 Sonnenallee · Worth getting off
The street is full of Arabic bakeries, snack bars and greengrocers. Come hungry and wander.
25 Neukölln · Worth getting off
Ten minutes to the Körnerpark, and a bit further on the Bohemian village in Rixdorf with cobblestones and a smithy.
26 Hermannstraße · Worth getting off
Walk through the Schillerkiez to the Herrfurthstraße entrance of Tempelhofer Feld.
27 Tempelhof · Worth getting off
A little way up Tempelhofer Damm stands the old airport building. The THF Tower has an exhibition and a roof terrace overlooking the field, plus tours of the building. Check times at thf-berlin.de.