Berlin Wall Cycle Path

Visit Sanssouci Palace and marvel at the summer residence of Frederick the Great, the Russian Colony Alexandrowka, the Dutch Quarter, and the former Bohemian Weavers' Quarter. Explore the famous Babelsberg film park, enjoy a Potsdam excursion by boat, and explore the many parks that await your visit.

You'll start by cycling to the famous Glienicke Bridge, where the USA and the Soviet Union exchanged spies during the Cold War. After passing Cecilienhof Palace, where the Potsdam Conference decided on the division of Berlin and Germany into occupation zones in the summer of 1945, you'll continue cycling to Wannsee and then Sacrow. From Sacrow, you can take the ferry across the Wannsee to Kladow.

At Groß-Glienicker See, you will discover an original section of the Wall, and as you approach the gates of Spandau, you'll come across Fort Hahnenberg, which was built in 1888 to protect the armament centre of Spandau. Afterwards, you can look forward to exploring the citadel town of Spandau, which boasts a charming old town worth seeing.

In the morning, you will cycle through the Spandauer Forst, formerly a restricted area in the GDR, which was designated as a "Nature Reserve of European Importance" in 2000. Along the Nieder-Neuendorfer-Kanal, which is now almost overgrown, it's worth taking a detour to witness the enormous thousand-year-old oak trees. Continue your ride past the Laßzinsee lake until you reach the banks of the Havel River.

The Nieder Neuendorf border tower built in 1987 and now a listed building, served as a monitoring station for this section of the border during the GDR era and also acted as the command post for 18 other border watchtowers. Today, the tower houses a documentation centre on the division of Germany and the border installations. You can conclude your beautiful day of cycling in Hohen Neuendorf.

Today, the Wall Cycle Route takes you through the "Tegeler Fließtal" nature reserve, a rustic marshland. It is worth making a detour to Lübars, the only preserved village in Berlin's urban area. Along the disused tracks of the Heidekrautbahn and past the Märkisches Viertel district, cycle towards Berlin Mitte.

Discover the Börsebrücke and Bornholmer Straße, famous as the site of the first border opening on 9 November 1989, the Bernauer Straße memorial where, on 13 August 1961, refugees tried to escape from the houses on the border strip through the windows, and the Invalidenfriedhof, over which the Wall ran. Marvel at the new Berlin Central Station and the Parliament and Government Quarter. You will reach the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's magnificent boulevard "Unter den Linden," and Potsdamer Platz - no man's land in GDR times. Overnight stay in the centre of Berlin.

Passing the "Stasi" headquarters, you cycle to Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstraße, which was one of the most famous Berlin border crossings between 1961 and 1990. The checkpoint was only allowed to be used by Allied military and embassy personnel, foreigners, employees of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany, and GDR officials.

After only a few kilometres, you reach the Spree River with the East Side Gallery on Mühlenstraße, where in 1990 artists from all over the world painted the 1.3 km long remainder of the Hinterland Wall with impressive pictures. Over the Oberbaumbrücke (18th century), you cycle to the Landwehrkanal, Heidekampgraben, and Teltowkanal to Neukölln and Schönefeld.

On the southern edge of Berlin, the route leads via Gropiusstadt to Marienfelde, which, until 1990, served as a collection and transit camp offering help to over 1.3 million GDR refugees. Today, there is a memorial and a museum here. As soon as you get in the saddle, you'll enter a 110-hectare restricted military area where the US Army trained in armed house-to-house combat until the early 1990s.

Then, follow the beautiful Teltow Canal and the Königsweg to the former Dreilinden checkpoint. Cycle back to Potsdam along the shores of Lake Griebnitz.

After breakfast, your eventful cycle tour on the traces of Germany's young history comes to an end. Spend extra nights in Berlin or return home.