A fantastic tour with a wonderful opportunity to hear personal experiences from our tour guide,…read moreJens. He lived through unification and was so knowledgeable about the history here in Berlin & Potsdam. We spent 7 delightful hours seeing and hearing about the rich history. We could not been happier and we can't recommend this tour more. So hop off those large tour buses and hop on to a personal and extraordinary adventure.

Amazing experience. Jens was very knowledgeable. The bus provided the perfect lens to view the…read morecity. We only had one day in Berlin but this allowed us to see so much and learn about the history. Highly recommend.

**STREET ART WORKSHOP & TOUR**…read more WHERE: Met at noon (plenty of time to grab breakfast beforehand) at Alexanderplatz TV TOWER next to entrance of Starbucks. However, the tour ends at the workshop in Lictenberg. DURATION: 3.5-4 hour tour and workshop. COST: 18 euros per person and can book online. PART 1 ======= Took the back streets and discovered some of the latest, greatest, and oldest examples of street art, graffiti and mural art. Our guide, a street artist/expert on the scene, showed us some of the best: - stencil art - throw ups - mural art - tagging - ad busting - heaven spots - burners; and - installations while teaching us who was who and their motivations behind their artwork. PART 2 ======= We then visited their workshop in a former abandoned margarine factory in Lictenberg we were instructed how to stencil and spray paint. Yes, we took our piece home as well. So much fun. PRO TIPS: - Make sure to tip your guide. - Purchase an AB transport ticket for this tour. HIGHLY RECOMMEND for those who like street art, graffiti, and history of Berlin.

Firstly, I am not a tour kind of person. I will begrudgingly go on a tour when it's something in…read morewhich I have a strong interest and I have no option to see it on my own. My friend Jennifer recommended Alternative Berlin as a great way to see some of the counter cultural sites in Berlin, places that would take weeks or months of living in Berlin to find on your own. I decided to suck it up and go along since I was only going to be in town for 3.5 days. Alternative Berlin has several tour options. I did the Real Berlin tour, which is an extended version of their free walking tour. They also have a street art workshop (combined tour and DIY tutorial), a twilight tour and an alternative pub crawl. Our guide Dora spoke Italian, German and English, but conducted the tour in English. Dora was fluent on the historical and cultural aspects of the city. We visited several squats and art complexes, learning about the transformation of the structures over the years. Dora also pointed out some of the more colorful bars in the area and took us to the Turkish neighborhood of Kreuzberg. All in all, it was a great intro to Berlin. HELPFUL HINT - Pick up a day public transit pass ticket in advance as you'll be riding the trains between sites. - Bring money for lunch/snacks. - The meeting spot, the Starbucks, is somewhat obscured from view until you are close. It's in the small complex of businesses directly at the base of the Alexanderplatz TV Tower.

I did the Berlin Highlights and Iconic Sites tour with Ru in late September. Ru was a good mix of…read morekeeping things educational but used humor when appropriate. It's clear he loves his adopted hometown and was full of recommendations for things to explore on our own, and kept the tour moving at a good pace. There's so much to learn and Ru was honest that we were just scratching the surface, but I got a lot out of the tour.

It takes a great guide to make a great tour. I took two tours with Insider (Explore Berlin and…read moreThird Reich Berlin), and both were guided by Hannah. She is one of the best tour guides I've yet encountered and I've taken a hell of a lot of tours. She speaks very clearly (we're both native speakers of American English, so that helped as well), projects her voice well, and almost always speaks with clear intention. I never felt she was wasting our time with too much detail or circular talking; the pacing of the route and stops worked very well. She did a great job managing the group, making clear where we were going and where we should stand to see and hear everything while not blocking pedestrian traffic. She encouraged questions and made the experience interactive, which kept us fully engaged the whole time. At no point was I bored or wondering when the tour would end; in fact, I was surprised at the end of both tours that 3 hours had already flown by. Hannah did a great job of demonstrating the modern relevance of history and exploring the conflicting interests and biases of the people involved in historical events. A lot of this history is very heavy, particularly on the Third Reich tour, and she gave it all the gravity and respect it deserves. I highly recommend these tours, especially for history-lovers.

Everything worked smoothly for us. In fact, the driver was patient with me and allowed us to get on…read morethe bus even though I hadn't gotten the actual tickets yet. We drove slowly at times due to traffic. Narration was pretty brief but thorough. We first sat in seats that had funky audio but it was easy to move to a functional audio seat. Drop off and pick up locations worked well for us. We use hop-on buses as much as we can and I certainly recommend this company!

So these tour companies are pretty similar, but I had to give a single star because of…read moremisinformation. They advertise stops which are unavailable. It takes 2.5 hours for a circuit and only runs one direction. It is a hop on and off format. I only wanted to get off for two stops, East Gallery and Charlotten Schloss. The later is supposedly only on weekends. What? This was not disclosed anywhere, and worse was the manner in which one of the vendors replied. Guess they already had a captive customer. It would be too much effort to file a formal complaint so I YELP. My brief research with the competition. Be Berlin has an app to trek buses. Another company breaks it off into 2 separate routes so you don't have to go a full 2.5 hours if you want to stop in a certain quarter. However, maybe due to the yellow color I noticed this bus more often than the others.

Our tour guide, Maggi, did a great job showing us around Berlin. This was my second bike tour ever…read moreand it just confirmed it is an activity I will have to seek when visiting a city that is bike-friendly. They have bathrooms, drinks, and sunscreen at their HQ. I would highly recommend! 3hours went by so quickly. Maggi also gave us enough time for bathroom breaks, walking around, and taking pictures.

Really great bike tour of some of the important historical sites in Berlin. Our guide Sam had an…read moreextensive and detailed knowledge of the history and culture, and delivered it with passion and humor. Well done, we highly recommend!

One of the best walking tours I have ever been on. It's around 4 hours long, which feels a bit…read moredaunting on paper, but by the end I was wishing for it to have another few hours. Berlin is a city that you could have 4 days and barely cover the basics, so I am so impressed with OBW for squeezing so much history, culture, and art into 4 hours. The tour covers many different areas and eras of Berlin, and I think it is a must do for any first time visitors to Berlin. Really helped me find my footing of Berlin's history, culture, and geography.

Our three-hour Walking Tour of Berlin with Glen on the hottest day of the summer was absolutely the…read morecoolest activity in which we engaged during our whirlwind four days in the City. From the moment Glen introduced himself, he shepherded our group from site to site, finding us shady spots whenever he could whilst sharing his voluminous historical, cultural, and cultural knowledge of Berlin and Germany. He also used multimedia very effectively to explain the sites and sights. His knowledge of Berlin and Germany is matched perhaps only by his love and respect for both--the latter of which was particularly manifest when he explained the book burning site, the location of Hitler's bunker, and the Holocaust memorial. Not only do my partner and I recommend the Original Berlin Walking Tour, but we also strongly recommend you ask to be in a group led by Glen.

It was somewhat different from what I was expecting but it was also better than what I was…read moreexpecting. You know how it is when you're travelling on your own or as a couple in a new country. You don't know much of the language or the culture and you've only been there a few days. Then you meet up with, say, a friend of a friend, and that person takes you out for an afternoon or evening. It is quite a treat: (i) You don't have to worry about understanding the language because your host can translate. (ii) You don't have to figure out which places to go or what to order when you get there because you've got a local expert. (iii) You don't get lost en route -- you don't even have to pay attention to where you are or how to get back. (iv) You can quiz your local host for advice on what to do and what to see and what to eat while you're in town. Our evening with Dirk was like really lucking out in finding a friend's friend who happens to be an expert in local food and ale and who speaks great English and who is not only a native of the city but local tour book writer and journalist. There were three of us plus Dirk for the evening adventure. We met at a designated place and time (6 pm) and then walked to the Covered Food Hall where we sampled some cheeses and meats at one of the stalls. Next was a stop for some delicious ale (I have no problem believing Dirk's assertion that it is at the best beer in the city). Then we travelled by U-bahn to a cozy restaurant in the Mitte where we enjoyed a typical sausage and sauerkraut dinner, followed by dessert and coffee. The food was tasty but the element that made the evening five-star was sharing the meal and conversation with two interesting and congenial people who we wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting otherwise. Note: We did Dirk's "Berlin Food Tour" rather than the "German Food Tour". However, because I don't see the Berlin Food Tour as a separate entry on Trip Advisor, I'm adding my review here. The Berlin Food Tour costs a few euros less than the German Food Tour.