Quick Details
15% Winter Discount on Private Bike Tours
Until 14th March 2025, we’re offering fewer public tours – but it´s the perfect time for a private Berlin ride. Book your own guide and get 15% off with the code: winter15onbike
Alternative Berlin Tour on Bicycle
Hop on a bike & Embark on an Alternative Tour of Berlin
Embark on a cycling adventure through the transformed neighborhoods of Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg, and Friedrichshain with our ‘Alternative Berlin’ bike tour. Experience the famous and infamous aspects of Berlin’s cultural diversity, vibrant nightlife, and numerous lively subcultures shaped since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Commencing in the former hub of East Berlin’s opposition movement, Prenzlauer Berg, now a chic and affluent district, the tour explores charming streets adorned with fantastic cafes, restaurants, and trendy shops.
The journey continues to the trendy Friedrichshain, home to the famous East-Side-Gallery, a large artwork on the former Berlin Wall, the iconic Berghain techno temple, and one of Berlin’s street art hotspots, the RAW-Gelände.
In Kreuzberg, discover exciting and colorful neighborhoods teeming with young and creative individuals. Whether exploring lively streets, the vibrant Markthalle Neun, the intriguing Görlitzer Park, or the Bethanienhaus, Kreuzberg offers a diverse array of experiences.
Alternative Berlin Tours: A Colorful City of Contrasts
Since the fall of the Wall in 1989, Berlin has undergone profound changes. The squatter movement shifted from West Berlin’s Kreuzberg to the East Berlin district of Friedrichshain, giving way to new clubs, art hubs, and creative spaces on vacant lots and abandoned places.
Berlin became an open city, where sudden shifts in power and economic instability allowed for unprecedented possibilities. Despite limited financial resources, Berliners had a surplus of ideas. The 1990s saw a kaleidoscope of artists, techno enthusiasts, punks, migrants, squatters, and newcomers from around the world shaping the city’s unique identity.
However, the flip side became evident around 2010 as Berlin gained popularity, attracting investors and affluent individuals. This led to increasing gentrification, transforming Prenzlauer Berg into a luxury renovated hipster district and driving up prices in Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. Today, these neighborhoods represent a colorful mix of pre-war and modern architecture, creative and chic elements, diversity, and gentrification.
Cycling Through Berlin’s Underground Scene
As we pedal through vibrant streets and beautiful squares, we showcase imaginative street art, guide you to fantastic weekly markets, and share stories about typical Berlin free spaces, like the treehouse on the Berlin Wall, Holzmarkt 25, Yaam, or the RAW-Gelände.
This alternative bike tour in Berlin ensures you won’t miss courtyards, street art, creative projects, trendy spots, and the diverse club culture that makes Berlin truly unique. Your guide provides insider tips on excellent restaurants, hip shops, and, with a bit of luck, reveals how to gain entry to the best clubs. Together, we revel in Berlin’s creative side, its colorful residents, and everything that makes Berlin the liveliest place in the world. However, we also address the social issues affecting Berlin, shedding light on how creatives and locals are combating rising rents and defending their spaces against investors and businesses.
Tour These Alternative Berlin Hotspots
Our Alternative Berlin bike tour takes you to hotspots providing glimpses into the city’s colorful life, including:
- Trendy streets in the former working-class neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg
- The beautiful boulevard of communism (formerly Stalinallee)
- The East-Side-Gallery
- Oberbaumbrücke (Berlin’s most beautiful bridge and former border crossing)
- Cycling along the Spree river
- Exploring street art and murals in Wrangelkiez or RAW-Gelände
- Relaxing in Görlitzer Park
- Discovering Klein Istanbul & extraordinary shops and bars around Oranienstraße
- Exploring Bethanienhaus – from a hospital to a squat to a cultural hotspot.
Good to know:
Our guides adapt the Kreuzberg bike tour flexibly to weather conditions, participants’ interests, demonstrations or road closures, and occasionally their own preferences. Changes and deviations are always possible.
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The Alternative Berlin Bike Tour starts at the Kulturbrauerei (means “Culture Brewery”) in the Prenzlauer Berg district. The brewery grounds have several entrances, the best way to get to us is through the archway at Knaackstraße 97. From the underground station Eberswalder Straße (underground line 2, three stops north of Alexanderplatz) it’s a 200-metre walk.
For private tours with your own bikes, the start can be arranged individually. Delivery of our bikes for your private bike tour is also possible for an additional charge – but this is usually only worthwhile for larger groups.
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The Alternative Berlin Bike Tour takes place in English, German and Dutch on several days each week during our season from March till November.
The average group size is 8 to 12 people, with a maximum of 15 guests. You can join these public Alternative Berlin tours as a family, a couple, with a few friends or just by yourself.
We also offer private Alternative Berlin city bicycle tours: with these your family, friends or colleagues will enjoy the exclusive attention of one of our bike guides. Private tours can be tailored to suit individual needs, including as many breaks as you might wish for, and bespoke catering stops at places requested, as well as detours to particular sites you might be interested in seeing.
In addition to our “main languages” English, Dutch and German, private tours can also be booked in French, Spanish or Swedish.
For the private Alternative Berlin Bike Tours, we ask for a little more advance notice when booking, to give us time to find the right guide for your group. However, you may also be lucky with a request at short notice, e.g. the day before.
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Kulturbrauerei – uniquely beautiful starting point in the car-free courtyards of a 100 year old former brewery
Daily public bike tours along several routes, in English, Dutch and German
Specially trained guides – knowledgeable and entertaining team of guides
Personal touch – our bike guides are enthusiastic about Berlin and set their own priorities for individual tours
The real Berlin – in addition to Berlin sightseeing, we show aspects of everyday life in the city
Safety – our chosen bike routes favour the use of bike paths and quieter side streets
Well-maintained bike fleet – 21-speed trekking bikes, as well as backpedal or e-bikes
Ideal for families – children’s bikes in various sizes, trailers, child seats, matching helmets
Easy bike tour booking – online, by e-mail or even by phone
Customer friendly and flexible cancellation policy – free of charge up to 24 hours before the start of the tour
After the bike ride, you can go to the museum, restaurant or beer garden on the brewery grounds