You will miss what makes Berlin, Berlin if you cave and board the bus, instead of putting one foot in front of the other and taking a free tour of Germany’s historic capital au pied.

The Free Walking Tour collects you from your hostel at allocated times and in three hours manages to compress the scintillating history of Berlin and shove it gently down your throat to digest while you burn calories from the brisk walk and clear your head from last night’s session. Its active learning and it is a fantastic experience.

They work on tips alone, a fiver per head seems to be the going rate as opposed to the twelve euro bus audio tour. You join forces with a guide who speaks your  mother tongue, making things a whole lot easier. The route covers all the main locations including the Brandenburg gates, the Reichstag, the holocaust memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the scene of Goebbels book burning etc, etc. Another plus, you are bound to make friends, international friends that you can invite out on the raz that coming night.