Looking for unusual things to do in Berlin? Ready to venture beyond the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Pergamon Museum? (All of which are great, by the way.) Here are five unique experiences in Berlin that remain largely under-the-radar but are worth a visit— especially if you’re interested in historical Berlin.
After four visits to the city— twice as tour leader— I think these sites deserve top honors on the list of unique things to do in Berlin. The nearest public transportation stops are listed, where possible, to help you find your way easily.
The Bendler Block
U-bahn: Kurfürstenstrasse or Potsdamer Platz
S-bahn: Potsdamer Platz
Movie fans will love the Bendler Block, also known as the German Resistance Memorial Center. In 1944— in the very rooms that now house the museum’s exhibits— rebel Nazi officers plotted and coordinated a failed coup against Hitler. The 2008 Tom Cruise movie, “Valkyrie”, tells the whole story. Key scenes were filmed here.
Spoiler Alert: The schemers were executed in the courtyard through which you enter the free museum. Be sure to see the memorial plaque on the wall at the spot where they died. (Watch “Valkyrie” first. It makes standing on the very spot of the executions both moving and spine-tingling.)
The center is located on Stauffenbergstraße— named for Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who was a key participant in the plot. (He’s played by Cruise in the movie.) It’s an easy 15-minute walk from Potsdamer Platz and offers a free and very worthwhile audioguide in English. You’ll discover there was far more German resistance to Hitler than most people realize.
For more information and to plan your visit, click here.
Berlin Underground Tours
Follow the company’s directions for the specific tour you select.
This organization offers several fascinating, roughly 90-minute tours (in English, if requested) of unusual, mostly underground sites in Berlin. (Literally, underground.) Options include a genuine WWII bunker, a partially destroyed flak tower, and a Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelter. Or visit the only genuine escape tunnel dug under the Berlin Wall that can still be visited today.
I took my students to a combination tour of the nuclear fallout shelter and the WWII bunker. (The combo is no longer listed on the website, though.) EVERYONE in our group of twenty people liked it. The tour oozed history and was as authentic as you can get— these are the actual bunkers, not recreations.
We saw lots of WWII-era fixtures, furniture, signs, foodstuffs and other supplies along the way. Our guide did an outstanding job of explaining how things worked and what conditions were like during the bombing raids. And it was sobering to see the preparations for nuclear war.
To select and book the tour that appeals to you, click here. Be sure to plan ahead, since tour dates and times vary by season.
The Once-Secret Stasi Prison
From Alexanderplatz S-bahn station, take Tram M5 to the Freienwalderstraße stop, then a 10-minute walk to the end of Freienwalderstraße.
Officially known as the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, this stark former prison was used by the East German secret police, or Stasi. Tours (available in several languages) are led mostly by former political prisoners and take you through all parts of the prison. It still looks as it did during the Cold War.
A stop here is vital to understand what life was like during the Communist regime. The ex-inmates’ stories of their time here are unsettling but fascinating. And the history lessons are unbeatable from a human rights perspective, in particular. My students and I considered this tour another highlight of our trip to Berlin. (Read more about our visit here.)
There’s also a permanent exhibition where visitors can learn more about the larger political context in which Communism, the Stasi, and the prison existed.
For more information and to plan your visit, click here.
Stasimuseum
U-bahn: Magdalenenstraße
S-bahn: Frankfurter Allee
This museum, in the general vicinity of the Stasi prison, was the headquarters of the hated Stasi. On display is a wide assortment of spy equipment and Communist-era relics. You can walk into the director’s suite, the situation room, and other areas once off-limits (and unknown) to most East Germans.
They’re all preserved exactly as they were found when the people stormed the building after the Berlin Wall— and the regime— collapsed. You feel as though you’ve stepped back in time. In reality, you have.
I think it’s well worth a stop if you have any interest in genuine “Communist kitsch” or how the Stasi operated. Tip: Watch the movie “The Lives of Others” or read the book “Stasiland” by Anna Funder before you visit. Either one will give you a feel for what life was like under the Stasi.
You can walk though the museum on your own or arrange a guided tour, including in English. For more information, click here.
Grenzpuren am Flutgraben
U-bahn: Schlesisches Tor
S-Bahn: Treptower Park
Today this building houses art studios. In the former East Germany, it was a state-owned factory— one side of which was incorporated into the Berlin Wall. Tours show visitors where the windows along that side of the building were bricked in. And how the building’s façade was shaved smooth to remove potential toeholds and handgrips for those trying to escape to the West. Still visible are graffiti written by the East German guards and the remains of surveillance systems and sentry points.
Nothing else like it exists, to my knowledge, anywhere in Berlin. Similar places have long since been destroyed or renovated to erase unpleasant memories. It’s not a scenic place, but it is authentically historical. To inquire about current times for tours in English, click here.
The best part is across the street— an intact watchtower once used by East German border guards to prevent escapes over the Wall. For a voluntary donation, you can climb to the top for an eerie glimpse of what it was like to keep an entire population prisoner.
Embrace Explorative Travel
The city is chock full of popular tourist sites— choosing a couple of unusual things to do in Berlin will set your trip apart from the ordinary!
Planning to visit Bavaria, too? Check out my article about the Eagle’s Nest near Berchtesgaden.
