Things to do in

Government District, Berlin

Discover some of the key landmarks of Berlin on a sightseeing boat tour. Enjoy a relaxing river cruise on the Spree to take in the sights at the heart of this bustling city.   Depart from Friedrichstraße or Nikolaiviertel. Your 1-hour sightseeing tour will take you past the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), through the new Regierungsviertel (Government Quarter), all the way to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures). After turning at the Lutherbrücke (Luther Bridge), keep a look out for Schloss Bellevue (Bellevue Palace), the "Beamtenschlange" (civil servant housing), and the Siegessäule (Victory Column). Marvel at Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), Museumsinsel (Museum Island), and the Nikolaiviertal, the oldest residential area in Berlin. Arrive back either Friedrichstraße or Nikolaiviertel to finish the tour.

On this guided tour of the parliament and government district of Berlin, you will get acquainted with some of Germany's political history. Begin your journey at the parliament and government district. Cross the historical sector border and get interesting information on the Reichstag building and its complicated location at the Berlin Wall. Next, climb the dome of the Reichstag to learn more about the tasks and duties of the Bundestag. Hear the fascinating story behind the Reichstag building, its transformation into a modern landmark designed by Lord Foster, and about the interesting ecological concept Foster's work was built upon. Experience Berlin from above, enjoy the city's skyline, and learn more about the history of the city.

Discover the center of Berlin via its major waterway, the River Spree, on a 2.5-hour boat cruise. See the main sights of the city from the water and feel the heartbeat of the bustling city. Start your roundtrip sightseeing tour on Friedrichstrasse and pass by the Federal Chancellery to reach Bellevue Palace, overlooking the Beamtenschlange (civil servant accommodation) and the Victory Column. Enjoy informative audio commentary as you see Berlin Central Station and the Interior Ministry before continuing on to Charlottenburg Palace. From there you will cruise past the Westhafen Canal, the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal, the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Hamburger Bahnhof. You will then cruise back to Friedrichstrasse.

Explore Berlin's top sights on a convenient hop-on hop-off bus ticket. Listen to facinating stories about the city with live commentary. Have the freedom to jump on or off throughout the validity of your ticket. Visit top areas like Tiergarten, Gendarmenmarkt, and Potsdamer. If, for example, you start your tour at Kurfürstendamm, you will pass the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and reach KaDeWe, one of Europe’s largest shopping centers, through Tauentzienstraße. Next you continue on to Lützowplatz and the embassy district at the Tiergarten and over to the Philarmonic and the West Berlin Kulturforum. The next stop is the historically significant Potsdamer Platz. In the 1930s, it was one of the most public squares in Berlin. After the Second World War, this was no man’s land, where the Berlin Wall divided the city. Today, seeing the vibrant life and the newly erected towers reminiscent of New York’s urban canyons, you will hardly believe that for years there was nothing here other than the Berlin Wall, spring-guns and GDR soldiers. Also, the Legoland Discovery Center is on Potsdamer Platz. From there, continue to Berlin’s other important historical sites. In the Niederkirchner Straße you can find the city parliament, the Martin-Gropius-Bau, a museum with changing exhibitions, the Topography of Terror, which exhibits the history of the Nazis and of the Jews’ suffering under the Nazis, as well as the Ministry of Finance, which was once the Nazi Ministry of Aviation. From there you drive on to Checkpoint Charlie, one of the former border crossings between East and West Berlin. A permanent exhibition looks back at the Cold War period. On Friedrichstraße you come across one of the nicest spots in Berlin, the Gendarmenmarkt, with two similar buildings, the German and French Cathedrals. The Konzerthaus Berlin is in the middle of the square. After the Gendarmenmarkt it’s on to Alexanderplatz and the TV Tower. The stop for these sights is the Neptune Fountain. This used to be the Berlin City Palace. Here you will also have the opportunity to go shopping. The next stop is Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, in front of the Radisson Hotel. From here you can transfer on to a boat if you wish to experience Berlin by boat as well as bus. Also, the Aquadom, Sealife Berlin and the Berlin Dungeon are located at this stop, as well as the Berlin Cathedral, which holds the sarcophagi of the Hohenzollern family. From here you can also admire the golden dome of the New Synagogue on Oranienburger Straße. The “Hackeschen Höfe” are only a few minutes away. Next you'll go over the glamorous street Unter den Linden to the Museum Island, Bebelplatz, Humboldt University and to the stops Unter den Linden 36 (Friedrichstrasse) at ZDF Capital City Studios and Unter den Linden 74, where one of Berlin’s most important attractions is located: Madame Tussauds Berlin. From here the ride continues to the Brandenburg Gate. On the way you will see the UK, Russia, France and US embassies, followed by the Holocaust Memorial. The stop there is at Platz des 18. März. The road leads on past the Reichstag and the government district. You will soon reach the new Hauptbahnhof. From here you have the world-famous view of the German Chancellery, the Reichstag and – as a special surprise – Berlin’s “Fujiyama”. Finally you will cross Berlin’s ‘green lung’, the Tiergarten. This park is bigger than New York’s Central Park. The tour then brings you past the Congress Hall to the stop at Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the President of Germany. From here you can also see the Siegessäule with the golden Victoria statue at the top. On the way back to Kurfürstendamm you will see, for example, the old Hauptbahnhof of former West Berlin, the Technical University and much more. The stops: 01 - Kurfürstendamm 231 (in front of Karstadt) 02 - KaDeWe (main entrance) 03 - Lützowplatz (opposite Hotel Berlin) 04 - Philharmonic / Kulturforum 05 - Potsdamer Platz (at Kolhoff-Tower) 06 - Potsdamer Platz / Linkstraße 07 - Topography of Terror 08 - Checkpoint Charlie (at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum) 09 - Gendarmenmarkt, Markgrafen- / Taubenstraße 10 - Alexanderplatz, Red City Hall, Neptunbrunnen (not in service during the Christmas market from Nov.- Jan.) 11 - Karl-Liebknecht Str. 5, (to the boat) 12 - Museumsinsel 13 - Humboldt University 14 - Unter den Linden 36 / Friedrichstraße 15 - Unter den Linden 74, Madame Tussauds Berlin 16 - Brandenburg Gate, Ebertstraße 17 - Reichstag, Scheidemannstr. 18 - Hauptbahnhof, exit Rahel-Hirsch-Straße 19 - Haus der Kulturen der Welt 20 - Bellevue Palace 21 - Bikini Haus, Budapester Straße 22 - U-/S-Bahn station Zoologischer Garten

Join a guided walk through the government district. Visit the plenary chamber and dome of the Reichstag building and gain insight into the history of the district on this 60-minute walk along the River Spree. See the old government buildings as well as the modern government and parliament buildings built after 1995. See Jakob-Kaiser-Haus, Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus, and the Federal Chancellery. Pass through the security check to get into the Reichstag building. Listen to an interesting talk in the plenary chamber, and learn about German parliamentary history as well as interesting details about the Reichstag building itself. Hear about the history and architecture of the building as well as the reconstruction by British architect Sir Norman Foster that transformed it into one of the most modern and innovative parliament buildings in the world. Step onto the roof terrace and witness the glass dome of the Reichstag building. From here, enjoy the breathtaking views of Berlin. Stay up on top of the Reichstag for as long as you like, as long as it is not after closing time at midnight.

Discover the highlights in the government district on a German-speaking tour. Berlin guides tell exciting stories about the German capital. Modern architecture, important monuments and the Federal Chancellery are on the route. At the entrance to the Reichstag building, there will be an ID check and security check. There the guide ends the tour. The visitors' service from Parliament welcomes all guests there. In the plenary hall below the dome there is a German-language presentation from the visitor service. Afterwards there are breathtaking views from the roof terrace and the dome of the Reichstag. Visiting the Reichstag is free. From the dome there are the best sights of the city from great perspectives. The modern architecture is an absolute highlight of Berlin.

Discover the beauty of central Berlin from the water on a panoramic cruise on the Spree River. Explore the sites along the River Spree. Purchase a drink onboard and sail with a drink in hand. Hop aboard at the activity provider's centrally-located launch site. Settle into the comfortable seat of your choice. Enjoy the boat's glass roof which can be retracted in fine weather or the boat's heating system which keeps you cozy on chilly days. Have access to amenities like restrooms. Capture pictures of Museum Island from the water on both sides. Pass through the reconstructed historical heart of Berlin, the Nikolai Quarter. Take in the hip vibe of Friedrichstrasse and the elegant architecture in the Government Quarter. Dive into the sights along the way with the provided audio guide or a Liveguide in German and English. Return to your launch point at the end of your tour. 

Glide through the streets of Berlin on a city bike tour. Follow your guide through the bustling capital and admire passing landmarks, including Prenzlauer Berg, Museum Island, and the Berlin Wall. Start in the painstakingly restored Kulturbrauerei in the trendy Prenzlauer Berg district. From there, ride to the most important highlights and hidden corners in the city. The tour takes you through the Government District, past Berlin Central Station, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Holocaust Memorial. Pass by the famous Berlin Wall, the Gendarmenmarkt, and the Museum Island. Ride at a relaxed pace and during the brief stops, listen to your guide's explanations. Learn the diverse stages of the history of Berlin, from Prussian pomp and ceremony to the rapid changes after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Experience Berlin on an environmentally friendly boat tour on the emission-free solar catamaran "Suncat 46" and glide silently on the Spree through the capital. The solar ship combines the exclusive ambience of a yacht with environmental friendliness. Let Berlin's highlights pass by in a relaxed way. The tour starts directly at the Oberbaumbrücke at the harbor of the Solarwaterworld AG, in Friedrichshain Kreuzberg or at the Fischerinsel/Historischer Hafen in Berlin Mitte. Experience the highlights of the cityscape in an exclusive atmosphere. On the approx. 2,5 h tour we pass all sights of the city that can be seen from the water and spoil you with information, drinks and snacks. We pass the imposing Oberbaum Bridge, glide past the world-famous East Side Gallery and head to our next and only stop at the historic harbor on Fischerinsel in the Nikolai Quarter. Immediately after that comes a highlight of the trip, the locking of the Suncat 46 through the Mühlendammschleuse. The next leg takes the solar ship further west down the Spree. Here, the world-famous cultural heritage Museum Island and the government district of Berlin with the Reichstag and the Federal Chancellery are revealed. Not much further, the main train station becomes visible, Berlin's architectural showpiece. The catamaran continues westward to the House of World Cultures, or as Berliners say: to the "pregnant oyster" there the ship turns around and travels the route back to the port of Solarwaterworld and then to Fischerinsel. There is no sound system on the ship, as is usual for city tours. You will learn everything worth knowing via audio guides. It is available in German, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian. No loud engine noise will disturb you while exploring Berlin by water. The Solar Catamaran is barrier-free.

Admire Berlin's waterways from a unique perspective aboard a luxury solar catamaran cruise sailing down the Spree River. Start your trip at the bridge Jannowitzbrücke where you can get views of hidden clubs like "Kater Blau" and the last original part of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery. Pass the Oberbaumbrücke and head towards Treptow Park. Here you can see a very green part of Berlin. Enjoy scenic views of the harbor of Treptow and the small island "Insel der Jugend". After, relax on your way back to Jannowitzbrücke.