Berlin's Museum Island: A Self-Guided Audio Tour
- 0.8–1.7 hours
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
- Private tour
Highlights
Discover Museum Island at your own pace in the company of best selling author Rory MacLean. Start at the Schlossplatz – Berlin's original seat of power, its Westminster and St Paul’s, its White House, Smithsonian and Pentagon . Take in the rebuilt Schloss, from where in 1914 Kaiser Wilhelm sent a million men to their deaths at Verdun, Ypres and Passchendaele. Discover why five magnificent museums – which trace the development of civilizations throughout the ages – make Museuminsel such a celebrated UNESCO World Heritage site. You can start the walk at your convenience. Audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smart phone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline. If you've got an hour and want to understand why Europe owes so much to the Age of Enlightenment – this is the tour for you!
Inclusions
What's included
- VoiceMap Application
- Lifetime access to the 'A Walk through Time on Museum Island' tour
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
What's not
- Smartphone
- Transportation
- Food/drinks
- Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route
Itinerary
The tour takes you on an easy walk from the Lustgarten and Berliner Schloss into the roots of both Prussian militarism and the Enlightenment (by way of the inspirational lives of Frederick the Great and architect Friedrich Schinkel). Start the tour in the app, put your phone in your pocket, and let your guide direct you through the streets. The total walking distance is approximately 1 km and takes about an hour without stopping, but you can pause anytime. Most people will opt to finish with a visit to one of Museum Island's five museums or coffee and cake at the superb German Historical Museum café. The narration is crisply mastered by a professional audio engineering staff, creating an engaging experience that is suitable for all ages that can wear ear buds.
We start our tour in the Lustgarten, a square that for centuries was Berlin's seat of power.
Hear the rich history of the Schloss and how it has been both treasured and vilified at times.
We'll cross the famed Schlossbruecke and point out the features that celebrate Prussia's militaristic philosophy.
Your guide will paint a picture of the architects vision to keep the history of the original building alive.
You can pause the tour anytime to enter the German Historical Museum or the other institutions near and on Museum Island as you pass them.
Learn the story of how many of the Altes Museum's great murals were lost in 1944, and listen to the words of a young 1850's factory worker as he describes his emotional first impression of the museum.
Cancellation
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Reviews
3.7
- 52
- 40
- 30
- 20
- 11
Ratings come from 3 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Please start at the fountain in the middle of the Lustgarten, the Moderner Brunnen. Before arrival, install the VoiceMap app and use the code provided on your ticket. This is a self-guided audio tour that you can start, pause, or restart any time and complete at your own pace.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- VoiceMap Audio Tours
- Wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- This tour is wheelchair friendly.
- Your redemption code for downloading the tour is included in your booking confirmation.
How it compares in Berlin
- Its from-price is 97% below the median of the 287 city tours we list in Berlin.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 144 of 287.
About Berlin
Berlin is Germany's creative, open-minded capital, where landmarks of a turbulent history stand among art, green parks and legendary nightlife.
The Brandenburg Gate is the city's symbol, close to the glass-domed Reichstag and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Fragments of the Berlin Wall survive, most strikingly at the East Side Gallery, a long stretch covered in murals, and at the Bernauer Strasse memorial, while Checkpoint Charlie marks the most famous former crossing point.
Top-ranked sights in Berlin: Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor), Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial), Checkpoint Charlie.
Special offers in Berlin
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
