The Berlin issue
Riding Berlin's Highlights by Bike in December
In winter Berlin's guided highlights ride leaves once, in the morning, so the whole day takes its shape from that. Plan the warm stops around it and leave out what you do not need.
By Robin van der MeerThe slow way through a fast city
Berlin's bike tours thin out in winter. From 1 November to 31 March the Highlights of Berlin ride leaves at 10:00. There is no afternoon departure, so the day has to be built around one morning start. It runs about three hours, costs from €35, and finishes on a square with a Christmas market on it.
The one December departure
Fat Tire Tours Berlin runs that ride, and it runs through the winter. The €35 covers the bike, a helmet, a bike bag, a map and the guide. You can add an e-bike, though e-bike riders have to be at least 14 and around 160 cm tall.
You meet at Panoramastraße 1A, on the paving at the foot of the TV Tower on Alexanderplatz, 15 minutes before the start. Tours go ahead rain or shine, so dress for a cold grey morning.
You ride past Checkpoint Charlie, a piece of the Wall still standing and Bebelplatz. The route then follows Unter den Linden to the Reichstag and on to the Brandenburg Gate, and comes back east past Museum Island. Winter places fill up steadily, so book rather than turn up on the day.
If three hours sounds short, the same shop sells a 5.5-hour city ride from €69 with a beer-garden lunch stop, and a street-art ride from €40.
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Other starts and other prices
Berlin on Bike starts in the Kulturbrauerei courtyard at Knaackstraße 97, through the brick archway, a few minutes' walk from Eberswalder Straße on the U2. Its highlights ride covers 12 to 15 km in 3.5 hours. Adults pay €35, students €27 and children up to eight €9. An e-bike is €20 extra. A tour needs four bookings before it goes ahead.
The catch in December is the calendar. Only a limited public programme runs in winter. The shop is open 10:00 to 15:00 Monday to Saturday, and the English tour leaves at 10:30. Check the dates before you plan around it. If you are locked to one December morning and cannot absorb a cancellation, ride with the operator that publishes a winter timetable.
Berlin Bike Tour is the one with the motor. Its four-hour e-bike ride costs €41 and takes a maximum of eight people, leaving Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10:00. It starts at Bornholmer Straße 75 in Prenzlauer Berg, at the border crossing that opened first on 9 November 1989. From there it works south through Mauerpark and the Nordbahnhof ghost station to Alexanderplatz.
Stops that need your own ticket
The Reichstagsgebäude dome is on every one of these routes, and no guide can take you inside it. Entry is free, but you have to register online in advance and bring photo ID for the check at the visitor entrance. The dome and roof terrace are open daily from 8:00 to midnight, with last admission at 22:00. Both close all day on 24 December and from 16:00 on 31 December.
No bikes are allowed among the stelae at the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, so the ride stops at the edge. The field itself is open at all hours and free, and you are asked to walk through slowly and quietly. The underground information rooms open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and close from 24 to 26 December. Allow an hour, or 90 minutes with the €3 audio guide.
Warm stops near the finish
Berliner Weihnachtszeit am Roten Rathaus sits on the square the tour meets on, so in December you ride out of a Christmas market and back into one. It is free to walk around, open from 12:00 on weekdays and 11:00 at weekends until 22:00. It closes on Christmas Eve and finishes on 3 January. Skating on the rink around the Neptune Fountain costs €5, skates €3.
The Berliner Fernsehturm is directly above the meeting point. The deck is open 10:00 to 23:00, shorter on Christmas Eve, from €20. The standard ticket gets you past the ticket desk, not past the lift queue, so take an early slot. On a flat grey day, skip it, because the panorama is the whole product.
For a view at pocket money, the Humboldt Forum roof terrace at Schloßplatz costs €3 and looks over Museum Island and across to the Brandenburg Gate. It opens Wednesday to Monday, 10:30 to 18:30, and closes on Tuesdays and on 24 December. Several exhibitions downstairs are free, so it is an easy place to warm up. Snow or ice can close the terrace at short notice.
Where a December afternoon goes
Topographie des Terrors stands on the ground the Gestapo and SS headquarters occupied, at Niederkirchnerstraße 8, a short walk from U-Bahn Potsdamer Platz. It is free and open daily from 10:00 to 20:00, which makes it the obvious afternoon stop once the light goes. Do the indoor rooms first, because the exhibition trench outside is an unheated read in winter. The special show on what Germans knew about the Holocaust runs until 31 January 2027.
To see how the border worked, go to the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer on Bernauer Straße, on the U8. The open-air strip is free and open daily from 8:00 to 22:00. The two indoor centres open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. Avoid Monday, when the indoor halves are shut and you get the outdoor strip alone.
WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt is the one market right on the riding route, and the only one that charges. Entry is €2, and free on weekdays between 11:00 and 14:00. It is open 11:00 to 22:00, later on Friday and Saturday. Food is served in heated tents, so come back on foot after the ride to eat properly. It closes on 31 December.
If you want to keep riding, the East Side Gallery follows the Spree at Mühlenstraße for about 1.3 km of painted Wall, free and open at any hour. Go in daylight, as the painted side faces an unlit road and it is dark by mid-afternoon.
Booking and closures
Christmas Eve shortens or shuts almost everything here, and the rest of the week runs normally. Book the morning bike ride and your Reichstag slot in advance, and remember the Humboldt Forum terrace closes on Tuesdays.
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Before you go
What time does the Berlin highlights bike tour leave in December?
At 10:00, and that is the only departure. The 14:30 start runs from 1 April to 31 October, so between November and March there is only the morning ride. Arrive at Panoramastraße 1A, under the TV Tower, 15 minutes early.
Does the tour run in cold or wet weather?
Yes, they run rain or shine, so dress for a cold grey morning. The ride takes about three hours with stops.
What does it cost and what is included?
From €35 per adult, which covers the bike, a helmet, a bike bag, a map and the guide. An e-bike costs extra, and e-bike riders have to be at least 14 and around 160 cm tall.
Can I get an e-bike and a small group in December?
Yes. The four-hour e-bike ride starts at Bornholmer Straße 75, costs €41 and takes eight riders at most. It goes on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10:00, and from mid-October to March that 10:00 start is the only one.
Does the bike tour get me inside the Reichstag dome?
No. The dome is free but you have to register online in advance yourself and bring a photo ID. It is open daily from 8:00 to midnight, with last admission at 22:00, and closed on 24 December.
