Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away
TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish
Private tourOnly your group will participate
Overview
Berlin's Luisenstadt district played a key role in shaping the city we know today, yet surprisingly little of it survives. On this self-guided audio tour, you'll follow the route of a vanished 19th-century canal that once cut through it, linking the River Spree in Berlin-Mitte with a busy inner-city harbour in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Along the way, you'll discover how this waterway later became part of the Berlin Wall border strip—and how local residents reclaimed it after decades of division. The tour begins beside the former canal - transformed into a chain of gardens - just a short walk from the Spree. From there, you'll stroll along Bethaniendamm, past Sankt-Thomas-Kirche, tracing the canal's forgotten course through Oranienplatz. The walk ends at Urbanhafen, the harbour where the canal once joined the Landwehr Canal. Today, it's a favourite local gathering spot, full of lazy sunbathers, hobby musicians, inflatable flamingos and the best seats for a Berlin sundowner.
What's included
Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
App for Android and iOS
Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start
Smartphone and headphones
Transportation
Food and drink
Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
What to expect
Pass by
Discover the remarkable story of a Turkish guest worker who planted onions at the Berlin Wall, creating a hidden Kreuzberg garden that survived in its shadow. Marvel at how this small act of quiet resistance endured through decades of division.
Pass by
Stroll past Sankt-Thomas-Kirche as you trace the canal's forgotten course through the neighbourhood. Learn how this stretch of Berlin, including one of the city's oldest hospitals nearby, escaped large-scale demolition thanks to local activists and squatters in the 1970s and 80s.
Engelbecken
Pass by
Visit Engelbecken, the only stretch of the old canal that still contains water, home to more than a tonne of fish and an occasional rogue swimmer. Take in this rare survivor of a waterway that otherwise vanished from Berlin's map long ago.
Pass by
Discover Waldemarbrücke, which marked the border between East and West Berlin after 1961. Learn why 6,880 glowing balloons floated above the former Wall route here in 2014, marking 25 years since its fall.
Pass by
Pass this stretch of Erkelenzdamm, where a murdered Jewish family were symbolically rejoined again nearly 70 years later. Reflect on this quiet, personal act of remembrance along the former canal's course.
Pass by
See how landscape architect Erwin Barth transformed the drained canal into this public park. Discover the poignant detail that Barth even designed his own final resting place within it.
Pass by
Explore the industrial courtyards of Elisabethhof, where grand pianos, telegraph equipment, and even a top-secret Nazi cipher machine were once produced. Learn how a simple human mistake helped crack this code system, even more sophisticated than Enigma.
Meeting and pickup
Meeting point
This tour starts at Luisenstadt. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
End point
Tour ends at Urbanhafen
Additional information
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
