BERLIN : Self Guided Street Art Tour

Berlin is splashed with art and murals, many of which are politically themed. Featuring the East Side Gallery, with its rich history and cultural significance it's a must-see when in Berlin.

In this post, you'll find a self-guided tour of what is just a small portion of the street art and murals around Berlin. This route starts in Holzmarktstrauße (Holzmarktstrausse), goes past the East Side Gallery and ends in Kreuzberg. It is approx 3km and would take roughly 40 minutes to walk without stopping but we took about half a day to explore on foot - searching for art, grabbing lunch and having a beer by the river.

As is the nature of street art - appearing quickly and often disappearing at the same pace - you will likely find different street murals along the route.

Fantastic for taking photos of:

Urban areas, street art, street photography, riverside

Photography Kit:

Canon 5D Mk3 and 24-70mm lens

Doors along Holzmarktstrauße

MAP

The walking route:

Getting To Holzmarktstrauße

We started the route on Holzmarktstrauße. Coming from Zoologischer Garten station in the west side of the city, we hopped on the train to Berlin Jannowitzbrücke station, in the Mitte district. Jannowitzbrücke station is a public transport interchange with bus routes, S-Bahn and U-Bahn. You could get off at either Warschauer Straße and Ostbahnhof railway stations instead for the East Side Gallery, if that section is your main point of interest. You could also do the route the other way round, starting in Kreuzberg. We walked the route but there are also guided walking tours and bikes to hire to do a similar route.

Top Tip - Download Offline Maps

Download Citymapper to check the best way to get to get to your chosen starting point, it also gives you the cost of each route. You'll need internet signal to do this.

To see a map without internet connection, have the area map of Berlin downloaded for offline use on Google Maps.

To do this, I recommend doing whilst you have WiFi to save on data:

Open Google Maps

> Chose the area you'd like to download e.g. search for Berlin

> Open the information section of Berlin where you can see options for Directions, Save, Share and the see photos + a description of the city

> Click the three vertical dots in the top right hand corner next to the magnifying glass icon

> Click the 'Download Offline Map' option

> Zoom in or out to chose the area of the map you'd like to download

> Click 'download'.

Are tips like this helpful to you? Drop me a message if so, and let me know which other tips you'd like to know!

Stop One - Holzmarkt 25

First up, Holzmarkt 25. This is a marketplace along the River Spree with outdoor seating, a restaurant, a bar, shops and stalls. The industrial exterior and shipping containers stacked high and repurposed into shops, splashed with eye catching artwork. A great place to grab a coffee and chill by the river.

The East Side gallery is a 15 minute from here.

Post-coffee, head south-east, following the main road Stralauer Platz on to Mühlenstraße.

There wasn't much around this area aside from sizeable buildings home to large hotel chains and offices. Duplicated along the dual carriage way, repetitive grey exteriors starkly contrast with the artistic urban grittiness you're soon to find. You may wonder if you're heading in the right direction towards the bohemian heart of Berlin and the answer is yes. Keep truckin'.

The further down the road we were, the more graffiti, murals and street art we started to see, this subtle introduction lets you know you're on the right track.

Buildings in Holzmarkt 25 painted in bright coloured rectangles. Below the painted building are plants covering the outside windows

A painting on a wall of a blue gorilla shouting, with text written at the bottom saying

A large building with many windows has a painting of a large basketball on the side. The basketball looks as if it has been thrown into the wall and cracked it

A painting of a blonde woman wearing a blue dress. She is painted twice, both faces facing towards each other. In front of the painted woman is a sign that says

Photo of two empty poster cases on a wooden fence. The fence is painted black, green, red and orange. On one of the poster frames someone has written in capital letters

Stop Two - East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery is a 1.3km stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall, painted on by artists from around the globe after the fall of the wall in 1989. It is the longest open-air gallery in the world and has protected memorial status.

When we visited (September 2020) the murals appeared to have been restored relatively recently as there was minimal vandalism visible. There have historically been problems with vandalism and people picking at the wall :(

There were no barriers up in front of much of the wall, however I've since read that there are metal railings now in place to protect the artworks.

We opted for responsible tourism with the look-but-don't-touch approach, respecting the preservation of the wall and artwork.

Opposite is artwork at the East Side Gallery by artist Schamil Gimajew titled Worlds People. The sun was shining and people were sitting by the river chatting, eating, laughing. Poignant I thought, to be looking through the gate from one side of the wall to the other. Free to be on either side. A recognition of the privilege we hold, which just over 30 years ago, people risked their lives to have.

Below are a selection of the artworks we saw.

Below is a selection of some of the artwork as seen at the East Side Gallery. The rest I'll save for you to see on your trip to Berlin - enjoy your time there and soak up each moment!

East Side Gallery

In total, there are murals by 118 artists from 21 countries on the East Side Gallery.

There's much joy in seeing the East Side Gallery with your own eyes. Thought-provoking murals, politically themed splashes of cover adorns the remnants of the Berlin Wall. It is a stark reminder of our world history as many of us strive throughout our lives to ensure division stays in the past.

You don't need a ticket to see the East Side Gallery. It's free to see the murals along the walls and the artworks are all outside. To learn more about the history of the Wall, visit The Wall Museum which is near the Oberbaum Bridge on the bank of the River Spree.

Image of the Dove of peace, carrying a chain in its mouth which is attached to a hand with a peace sign. The hand is in jail. From the East Side Gallery by artist Andrej Smolák. The sun shines through the lens creating flare.

East Side Gallery: Mural by artist Andrej Smolák

Image from the East Side Gallery by artist Kani Alavi titled It ́s Happened In November. A man in a red top stands facing away from the camera admiring the painting. The painting is of many faces rushing through a wall with a blue, sea-like background

Artwork by Kani Alavi titled It ́s Happened In November.

Artwork at the East Side Gallery by artists (L-R) Jolly Kunjappu, Susanne Kunjappu-Jellinek, Mary Mackey. The main image shows 4 peoples faces who each have different skin colours.

Artists (from left to right) Jolly Kunjappu, Susanne Kunjappu-Jellinek, Mary Mackey

Dancing to Freedom by Jolly Kunjappu

Artist: Schamil Gimajew titled Worlds People

A man in a red top and jeans stands next to famous mural on the East Side Gallery. The artwork is of two men kissing and is by Dmitri Vrubel

Artwork at the East Side Gallery by artist Dmitri Vrubel titled My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love

Artwork by Cesar Olhagaray

Artwork by Sándor Győrffy

Sonic Malade painting by Greta Csatlos