Berlin by Boat
A Different Way to Experience Berlin
STORY BY PAUL HUGHES, 2019
As travel writers for more than a decade we have used hop-on, hop-off buses in dozens of cities around the world; it’s the fastest and most economical way to see lots of places and get a great feel for a city.
However, NOTHING is like the hop-on, hop-off BOAT cruise of Berlin! While the Berlin by Boat tours can’t operate in the coldest weather and are only open from late March to early November each year, it is a great experience if you are there at this time.
Although the tours cannot take you to all the most popular tourist attractions like a bus, we climbed aboard near the Berlin Zoo and also got off at one stop to walk to the Brandenburg Gate, Parliament House and Checkpoint Charlie, so some of the main attractions can be covered.
The reason why these tours are so different is that you see the city from the perspective of the river, with all its glory and also some of its natural flaws; it is a unique experience. We even saw the police being interviewed on the water by a television crew!
As travel writers for more than a decade we have used hop-on, hop-off buses in dozens of cities around the world; it’s the fastest and most economical way to see lots of places and get a great feel for a city.
However, NOTHING is like the hop-on, hop-off BOAT cruise of Berlin! While the Berlin by Boat tours can’t operate in the coldest weather and are only open from late March to early November each year, it is a great experience if you are there at this time.
Although the tours cannot take you to all the most popular tourist attractions like a bus, we climbed aboard near the Berlin Zoo and also got off at one stop to walk to the Brandenburg Gate, Parliament House and Checkpoint Charlie, so some of the main attractions can be covered.
The reason why these tours are so different is that you see the city from the perspective of the river, with all its glory and also some of its natural flaws; it is a unique experience. We even saw the police being interviewed on the water by a television crew!
The boats have enclosed tables and comfortable seating on the lower deck as well as open seating on the top deck, which is where you must spend much of your time if you want to maximise the view. However, don’t stand up when passing under some of the bridges, as there it not much clearance!
The Spree River is over 400 kilometres long and fortunately it snakes its way through the heart of Berlin before it reaches the River Havel, then into the Elbe River and all the way to Hamburg and the ocean at Cuxhaven.
There is a circular route through and around the city centre where the Spree runs into the Landwehr Canal, enabling a range of tour boats to each follow one of five routes, which are mapped with different colours and offering a different experience and length of tour. We passed under around 40 bridges on the blue route and in total there are 64 bridges on the different routes.
The Spree River is over 400 kilometres long and fortunately it snakes its way through the heart of Berlin before it reaches the River Havel, then into the Elbe River and all the way to Hamburg and the ocean at Cuxhaven.
There is a circular route through and around the city centre where the Spree runs into the Landwehr Canal, enabling a range of tour boats to each follow one of five routes, which are mapped with different colours and offering a different experience and length of tour. We passed under around 40 bridges on the blue route and in total there are 64 bridges on the different routes.
With the support of VisitBerlin we were hosted by the Reederei Riedel tour group and selected the hop-on, hop-off option because it allowed us to visit nearby landmarks and also experience walking though different parts of the city.
The river cruises have a total of 13 offical ports or stops on the map, although our boat also stopped at some that were not marked. Passengers who don’t want to explore on foot can just sit back and take in the total experience without the hop-on, hop-off ticket. The food and refreshments are excellent and not over-priced.
The river cruises have a total of 13 offical ports or stops on the map, although our boat also stopped at some that were not marked. Passengers who don’t want to explore on foot can just sit back and take in the total experience without the hop-on, hop-off ticket. The food and refreshments are excellent and not over-priced.
We stayed at the Park Plaza, a delightfully comfortable, moderately-priced hotel in the city centre that is just a short walk from the zoo and central railway station, so we jumped on board at Stop number 7, City West Corneliusbrucke which was our closest stop.
The beauty of the hop-on, hop-off ticket is you can get it for 24 or 48 hours. As we had only a few days in Berlin we elected to stay on the blue route, which in itself is about three and a half hours if you don’t hop off. We would have loved to take the evening cruise or even the dinner cruise and to explore the other routes, but just didn’t have the time.
In many parts of Berlin the older buildings are built right on the river’s edge and so form the actual river bank. As the city has rapidly grown since the end of World War 2 and especially following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the juxtaposition of old and new is no more evident than from the river.
It was refreshing to see so many trees and open green spaces because the river and canal course basically circumnavigates the Tiergarten, which is Berlin’s most popular inner-city park and at 210 hectares or about 520 acres is one of the largest urban park spaces in Germany. It is around two thirds the size of New York’s Central Park.
Apart from seeing some of the different architecture styles of the city, and the hundreds of tourists and locals relaxing on the riverbanks and parks, it was also clear to pick where the river crossed from the former West Berlin to East Berlin and to see how much of the former GDR is being renovated with dozens of new buildings under construction.
It was definitely a tour worth experiencing and I would recommend it for anyone visiting Berlin.
To find out more and book your Hop on Hop off Cruise
visit the website
The beauty of the hop-on, hop-off ticket is you can get it for 24 or 48 hours. As we had only a few days in Berlin we elected to stay on the blue route, which in itself is about three and a half hours if you don’t hop off. We would have loved to take the evening cruise or even the dinner cruise and to explore the other routes, but just didn’t have the time.
In many parts of Berlin the older buildings are built right on the river’s edge and so form the actual river bank. As the city has rapidly grown since the end of World War 2 and especially following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the juxtaposition of old and new is no more evident than from the river.
It was refreshing to see so many trees and open green spaces because the river and canal course basically circumnavigates the Tiergarten, which is Berlin’s most popular inner-city park and at 210 hectares or about 520 acres is one of the largest urban park spaces in Germany. It is around two thirds the size of New York’s Central Park.
Apart from seeing some of the different architecture styles of the city, and the hundreds of tourists and locals relaxing on the riverbanks and parks, it was also clear to pick where the river crossed from the former West Berlin to East Berlin and to see how much of the former GDR is being renovated with dozens of new buildings under construction.
It was definitely a tour worth experiencing and I would recommend it for anyone visiting Berlin.
To find out more and book your Hop on Hop off Cruise
visit the website
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