Barrier-free city tour through Berlin
Sightseeing in Berlin without barriers
Big buildings and small neighbourhoods. Experienced tour guides and certified shipping companies. Urban by bus, quaint by steamboat or up to date by Segway: our partners offer attractive excursions for barrier-free tourism.
Berlin is accessible - and can therefore also be experienced in a wheelchair-friendly, audible or tactile way. For example, with one of the many offers for disabled-friendly city tours: Comfortable on a city tour by bus or wheelchair-accessible on an individual neighbourhood tour. The boat tours with our partner shipping companies take you to new shores. They have been tested for accessibility and are suitable for disabled travellers. Guests with walking disabilities, visual impairments and blind people in particular benefit from the bike taxi tours, as the rickshaw drivers don't just pedal for you - the stories they tell also allow you to see the capital with different eyes. Berlin can be fully appreciated from the true-to-scale tactile models or from one of the barrier-free vantage points at lofty heights. Plenty of good reasons to take a closer look at the Berlin attractions.
What can you find on this page?
- Accessible boat tours
- City tours for everyone
- Wheelchair-accessible tours - on water and on land
- City tours for blind and visually impaired guests
- Segway tours for guests with limited mobility
- Seeing Berlin from above
- A trip into the countryside
1. Accessible boat tours
See Berlin from a different perspective - you can do this on an accessible boat tour. Guided in many languages, the ships and steamers of our partner shipping companies will take you on a daily cruise through Berlin's city centre or into the surrounding area. All boat excursions listed here at visitBerlin have been tested for accessibility according to the 'Travel for All' system.
Star and Circle Cruise
The "MS Moby Dick" can transport 12 guests with wheelchairs at the same time - including six guests with motorised wheelchairs. What else can you rely on? The staff on all ships in the fleet have a lot of experience in looking after guests with disabilities.
2. city tours for all
Simply let others drive: See Berlin with different eyes or simply explore it in comfort - you can do this by travelling through the city by bus, rickshaw or bicycle taxi.
A classic city tour by bus is a great way to get to know Berlin's attractions in comfort, especially for guests with limited mobility. Hearing-impaired people benefit from offers that use audio devices on the buses so that they can individually adjust the volume of the accompanying texts.
Centre tours for wheelchair users:The Berlin Treptow-Köpenick Tourist Office offers neighbourhood tours for wheelchair users, blind, visually impaired and hearing-impaired visitors. An audio guide, which you can borrow from the tourist information centre on Schlossplatz Köpenick, will guide you through Alt-Köpenick.
Listen to Berlin's snout and breathe in the Berlin air - why not travel through Berlin with the bike taxis from Velotaxi. Two things come together here: The drivers love their city and will tell you lots of anecdotes about the capital and its inhabitants. But above all, they can do one thing for blind or visually impaired guests: describe things very well.
Just get in, lean back and listen: Berlin Rickshaw Tour is a partner of visitBerlin and offers city tours on the following topics, among others: The most beautiful between the TV tower and the Reichstag, Through the government district to Potsdamer Platz, Where the Wall once stood, Tiergarten tour, Around the Hackesche Höfe, Kreuzberg. Always worth a trip, Lights of the big city, Berlin westwards, Charlottenburg.
All guests with disabilities who can imagine taking part in a regular guided tour of Berlin or cycling through Berlin on their own with a hire bike will find a wide range of offers here.
3. Wheelchair-accessible activities - on water and on land
We have two more tips specifically for wheelchair users:
Wheelchair holidays - also possible on a boat
Holidays without a handicap - that's what Rolly Tours' tours specially designed for wheelchair users offer. Accompanied tours take you through the waters of Berlin, but also into the surrounding area. As you can also charter the boats, they have wheelchair-friendly door widths, free access to the outside area and steering position as well as a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.
Kieztouren für Rollstuhlfahrer:innen
Stairs up, stairs down? Guaranteed not on this tour: visitBerlin and Sozialhelden e.V. have used the online tool Wheelmap.org have put together a neighbourhood tour through Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Mitte for guests in wheelchairs. There is fresh air, delicious food, great views, art, culture and colourful nightlife. Your excursion in a wheelchair will be a stepless neighbourhood experience with added value!
4. City tours for blind and visually impaired guests
This makes sense: To help you get to know the capital, the Allgemeiner Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverein (ABSV) supports you during your visit to Berlin with helpful tips.
- On request, the ABSV can arrange culture-interested companions for visiting an event.
- Blind and visually impaired visitors to Berlin can also take advantage of the ABSV's cultural and leisure activities, which include guided tours. Here you can find the current dates.
- "Erlebnis Berlin" is the name of the first acoustic travel guide especially for blind and visually impaired visitors to Berlin. It offers detailed directions to various sights and allows you to discover the city independently. You can listen to or download the audio files free of charge at www.bfuerb.de.
Tactile experience of Berlin and the surrounding area:
- The Botanical Garden gives blind or visually impaired visitors the opportunity to experience the diversity of the plant world through their senses in a scent and touch garden.
- In the Modellpark Berlin-Brandenburg, around 80 sights are exhibited on a scale of 1:25, most of which can be scanned.
- On the plenary hall level of the Berlin Reichstag there is a model on a scale of 1:100. Together with an audio guide, a journey through the Berlin Reichstag becomes a comprehensive experience.
- A bronze tactile model of the old town of Köpenick on a scale of 1:1500 is located at Luisenhain opposite the town hall.
- In the pleasure garden of Berlin Museum Island is a bronze tactile model on a scale of 1:450
- A talking tactile model of Berlin's city centre on a scale of 1:2000 is located in the entrance area of the Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing, Am Köllnischen Park 3. An RFID scanner provides information on 140 points. (Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm)
- A bronze tactile model of Park Sanssouci on a scale of 1:1,000 can be found in the visitor centre near the Historic Mill in Potsdam.
- A tactile model of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs can be found in the Kleisthaus, the headquarters of the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons. The address is Mauerstraße 53.
5. Sightseeing by Segway
Segway tours for visitors to Berlin with limited mobility are offered by the tour operator "Betreute Erholung und mehr Meer Leben GmbH". The Freee F2 model is an innovative electric wheelchair based on the well-known Segway scooter. In a group or individually, this sightseeing tour takes you through the capital.
6. See Berlin from above
Viewing Berlin from a vantage point is a sublime sight. If you want to get an overview of the city, we have the following tips for you:
- The quickest way to take in the Berlin sky is from the Panoramapunkt at Potsdamer Platz to the 24th floor. The fastest lift in Europe not only takes wheelchair users to the viewing platform, where they can enjoy the panoramic view over a cup of coffee.
- You can also enjoy a wonderful view from the Bell Tower of the Olympic Stadium. Inside the building there is also an exhibition on the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The path to the entrance and some exhibition areas are partially barrier-free. There are no steps up to the viewing platform or the exhibition area in the Langemarkhalle.
- Attention! For safety reasons, the Berlin TV Tower at Alexanderplatz is not accessible for wheelchair users and people who are dependent on assistance or walking aids. The reason: in an emergency, the escape route leads down a staircase with a thousand steps. However, the TV tower is accessible for visually impaired people with guide dogs.
7. A trip into the countryside
The Gärten der Welt in Berlin-Marzahn is ideal for a short country walk within the city. The park has been awarded the "Berlin Barrier-Free" label. There is level access to the individual gardens as well as barrier-free toilets. Wheelchair users have free admission.
The Britzer Garten is also a great place to relax and enjoy the greenery. The lake landscapes, themed gardens, seasonal flower exhibitions such as the Tulipan tulip exhibition in spring and the dahlia exhibition in late summer invite you to linger. Wheelchairs can be hired from the entrance on Mohriner Allee. To be on the safe side, call +49 30 700 906 510 in advance to reserve a wheelchair. In addition to wheelchair-accessible toilets, there are also signs in tactile language
If you have any questions?
Just come and see us! visitBerlin promotes barrier-free tourism and will be happy to advise you.
All Berlin Tourist Info Centres are certified according to "Reisen für Alle"
- Berlin Tourist Info im Hauptbahnhof
- Berlin Tourist Info im Brandenburger Tor
Don't let the step put you off - our service team will provide you with a ramp immediately. - Berlin Brandenburg WelcomeCenter at Berlin Brandenburg Airport
- Berlin Tourist Info in the Humboldt Forum
You can find the respective opening hours here.