The History of Berlin: WWII PRIVATE Walking Tour With Locals

Recommended by 97% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Berlin, Germany

4 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover Berlin's past and present on this private half-day sightseeing tour. First, learn about the city’s dark past while you visit top landmarks including Museum Island, the Reichstag Building, and Checkpoint Charlie. Depending on the personalized route you choose with your local host, other highlights may include the Palace of Tears, Brandenburg Gate, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Learn more about Berlin’s WWII history on a private tour
Skip the group tours and explore at your own pace on a more personal tour
Private tour, exclusively for your party: a personalized experience
Benefit from the undivided attention and insider tips of a local host

What's Included

Private guide
CO2 Neutral: all tours carbon emissions are offset

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Entrance to attractions not included (we will visit them from outside)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Oranienburger Str. 36, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Your host will meet you outside the Main Entrance of ehemaliges Kaiserliches Postfuhramt

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Meet your private guide on Oranienburger Strasse in West Berlin and set out to explore the city at your own pace. Pass by the New Synagogue, pausing to admire its striking Moorish architecture, then walk to the nearby Palace of Tears, a former border point between East and West Berlin. Learn more about the divided city during the Cold War years as you explore the exhibition and hear the harrowing tales of how residents attempted to flee from Russian-occupied East Berlin into Allied-occupied West Berlin.

Next, stop to take photos of the grand Brandenburg Gate, one of the city’s most significant historic monuments, and walk through the moving Holocaust Memorial, a poignant reminder of the city’s dark past. A visit to Hitler’s bunker offers more information about Berlin’s WWII history and the rise of the Nazi party.

Stroll around Bebelplatz, home to some of Berlin’s most impressive architecture, and cross over to the UNESCO-listed Museum Island.

Your tour ends back at the starting point.

Please note: This tour is private and the itinerary can be customized to suit your interests and preferences.

Museum Island

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Reichstag Building

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Checkpoint Charlie

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Berlin

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin - Centrum Judaicum (Pass By)

Brandenburg Gate (Pass By)

Palace of Tears (Pass By)

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Pass By)

Bebelplatz (Pass By)

Wilhelmstrasse (Pass By)

Fuhrerbunker (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9

based on 209 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Excellent guide very...

Nestor_A, Aug 2025

Excellent guide very engaging and passionate. Loved this tour, fascinating and very interesting, highly recommend!

Totally recommend this tour!

Barry_H, Jun 2024

Extremely worthwhile Berlin experience. Seth is an outstanding guide who brought the history of Berlin during the wars into clear focus. The 4 hours went quickly as we explored Berlin’s many known and less known places of historical relevance. Seth throughout the tour explained the significance of places with thorough knowledge and welcomed all questions. So pleased we did this tour.

History of Berlin WWII and Cold War Tour

Reena_D, Feb 2024

Our guide Seth was wonderful. He was so knowledgeable about all things Berlin weaving stories of WWII and the Cold War throughout the four and a half hours of our tour. Thank you Seth for a memorable day

WWII Tour in Berlin

GUADALUPE_K, Oct 2023

Sara, our tour guide was great! Made the whole tour very interesting. Answered all our questions. Very knowledgeable of WWII.

Fantastic personal tour of Berlin

Sarah_T, Oct 2023

Excellent guide - Seth Brilliant guide, taught us so much about Berlins history And a lovely chap. It was just my husband and I and Seth so he tailored the tour to what we asked to see.

Great value tour with knowledgeable guide

Mark_W, Sep 2023

Very informative and flexible. Really friendly guide who added significant levels of knowledge to the tour. Great value. Lots of walking (15,000 steps for those who count) but plenty of chance to stop and take refreshment. Probably not good for small children unless the guide is notified in advance.

Great experience and solid Berlin education

Jeff_F, Aug 2023

So many things to see in Berlin and it was done at the right pace with the right details for us. Our tour guide was great and fun as well.

Awesome guide

Michael_B, Jul 2023

The guide was very knowledgeable and fun. She took us all over Berlin unfortunately on mondays the museums were closed but we got to go to several other interesting sites. At the end she recommended a couple restaurants for us to try for dinner. She did a great job!!!

Exceptional Way to Explore Berlin

Cathy_R, Jun 2023

Guide (Pablo) showed us all the key highlights of the city along with some hidden gems. He offered so much more than the basics & was perceptive of our goals & needs.

Post tour review

Arthur_E, Apr 2023

Post review of the WWII tour. Tour centered on east Berlin and buildings renovated or not and more on architecture and governments throughout the decades. Did not see Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, checkpoint Charlie or memorial of Holocaust.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi there, at Withlocals we want our guests to have the best experience of their trip so we are very disappointed to find out about your negative tour experience. As we cannot directly get in touch with you from here, please email us at info@withlocals.com and we will make sure to follow up on this issue. We are looking forward to your email. Thank you in advance. Have a great day, Withlocals

History comes to life

Karen_D, Oct 2022

Viewing Berlin from the top of a palace was beautiful. Love the history lessons. I’m happy Berlin has tried to restore buildings damaged in the war. Very knowledgeable guide.

Awesome tour

PATRICK_A, Oct 2022

Guide Sara was good explanation about the Berlin city and the WW-2. She walk and show me everything what they mentioned in the tour. I recommend this tour

Great insiders history of Berlin

Amy_G, Sep 2022

Boyd was amazing. Knowledgeable and friendly. So many little nuances that we wouldn’t have been able to see on our own. Highly recommended.

Amazing, informative & highly recommend

mark_c, Sep 2022

Sara was an amazing guide, the private tour meant we could go at our own pace & ask as many questions as we wanted. Sara was a wealth of knowledge & I highly recommend this tour with her. Mark & Amy Australia

Miha was very...

Keith_L, Jul 2022

Miha was very knowledgeable on his history, also very friendly and fun to be with. The walk around Berlin was never boring.

Great Berlin Guide!

Patrica_V, Jun 2022

Sara was wonderful! She was not only informative, but gave insights into the post WWII history, with a look back into things that led up to it, that helped to fill in the bare bone facts. She was charming, just the right touch about little stops, a coffee break, appropriate bathroom stops, etc. I was so impressed and would use her on a return trip! She went out of her way for me, and it was appreciated.

Very educational.

Pam_P, Jun 2022

Boyd provided an informative tour about Berlin during the Holocaust/WWII and the Cold War. He helped put into perspective the effects each of these events had upon the people of Berlin.

Insightful tour

Catherine_D, Jun 2022

Amelia was a pleasant and interested in her subject matter. She did her best to help us get out of the tour what was most of interest to us.

Boyd, the guide with the bike on foot :)

jean_d, May 2022

we had the pleasure to have a superguide!!! His name is BOYD.. if you want a guide who shows you the nicest places and tells you the story behind with love and great passion => ask for him! Thanks Boyd for this great trip back in time... you are our Biggest Friend in Berlin..

Fantastic! Highly recommend Sara!

drforkids, May 2022

Sara was phenomenal! Her energy, passion and amazing knowledge allowed us to submerge ourselves in the history of Berlin and the ‘behind the scenes’ ongoings. Highly recommend!!

Awesome

paularbrown44, Apr 2022

Fabulous tour with a very knowledgeable and personable guide - Boyd. He bought the city to life, explaining its complex history. Our only comment would be that it would have been good to have had a short tea (or beer!) break part way through.

Insightful tour from Miha

Tingsong_H, Apr 2022

Miha was amazing and knowledgeable, answered all my questions about different parts of the city. He even knows wheres the best place to take pictures. We had sometime remaining and he brought us to the gestapo camp.

Amazing Berlin tour

Ivani_P, Apr 2022

Tour was amazing! My guide gave me a history class while we walked around so many places I would never imagine to go on my own. He was very nice, explained everything in a very clear way, made me realize so many details in the building, the mix between past and modernity. It was a half day tour, but it seemed all day. Guide was also nice to meet me in a more convenient place.

Sara was amazing!!! She...

Julie_R, Mar 2022

Sara was amazing!!! She was knowledgeable, energetic and fun. I would highly recommend her!!! She answered all questions we had and custom made our experience!

Amazing tour!

zrzppz6pyq, Mar 2022

Michele gave an awesome world war 2 tour. She was very very knowledgeable and made the tour super engaging and interesting. Michele was super friendly and really easy to talk to. The tour was four hours and not once did it feel like it was going too long or I was bored. It was an amazing way to see Berlin and also learn a lot about this history. Would definitely recommend.

Excellent tour.

Brona_K, Jan 2022

Boyd was an Excellent guide and his knowledge was superlative. He thought us a lot and also helped us decide where we should visit further on our own.

A great historic deep dive

Igor_D, Dec 2021

Amelia was a wonderful and knowledgeable guide, who adapted the tour to my interests. During the tour she also pointed out places to visit that I wouldn't have discovered otherwise. Highly recommend.

Watch carefully when an operator has 5 stars - check the guide's name and find a pattern

ricardopocasleitao, Nov 2021

Unfortunately my wife and I didn't connect with the guide assigned to our tour (which was not the 5 star Miha that shows up in most reviews - so if you book this tour, I strong recommend you ask the guide that is 5 star all over the reviews not the other one that has only 1 five stars review). Our guide was on time, but did not seem professionally. Facts: 1) she spoke several bad words (fuc.., cra.., dame...); 2) all other tours we did in Berlin in Nov/2021, at the beginning of the tour, the guide outlined the plan for the tour, she didn't and we started to walk without knowing what we would see; 3) she was concerned about bitcoins and her boy friend as she was texting and making such comments for nearly 5 minutes. 4) it was not 20 euros tour, we paid for a private tour (only me and my wife) so we expected the guide would at least introduce herself and ask our names (I know our names are in the app and she knew it, but a basic European etiquette was not there). Maybe this guide is a good person, but she definitely should not be a guide for WWII History. We stopped the tour after 15 minutes.

Response from Host, Nov 2021

Hi there, I am Mark from Withlocals and I am part of the quality and support team. At Withlocals we really want our customers to receive the best experience of their trip so we are very disappointed to find out about your negative experience. As we cannot directly get in touch with you from here, please email us at info@withlocals.com and we will make sure to understand why this happened, to see that you are at least compensated for this bad experience or to offer you a better experience instead. We really look forward to your email! Thank you and please accept our apology on behalf of Withlocals! Have a great day, Mark @ Withlocals

Highly recommended

Jose_A, Nov 2021

Excellent experience. Miha is really good, knowledgeable and friendly. We had a great time. Berlin has so much more to see, thanks to Viator and Miha we discovered a lot 👌

Fun and informative

carolyn_w, Oct 2021

Betty is a really informative guide. We covered a lot of Berlin and Betty is wealth of knowledge on Berlin . Our sons ( aged 27 and 21) in particular really enjoyed the trip and appreciated Betty’s fun narrative .