Hotels near Berlin Wall Memorial

The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse is the most honest place in the city to understand the 28-year division of Berlin. A 1.4 km stretch of original Berlin Wall, watchtower, death strip, and escape-tunnel sites is preserved exactly as it stood until 9 November 1989. The free outdoor exhibition documents the 140 people killed trying to cross.

The Documentation Centre includes a viewing tower over the death strip and exhibits on Conrad Schumann's leap, the tunnel network, and East German border policy. The Chapel of Reconciliation, rebuilt where its 19th-century predecessor was dynamited by the GDR in 1985, stands inside the former death strip.

Pro Tip: Skip Checkpoint Charlie if your time is tight - this is the real Berlin Wall site. Open Tuesday to Sunday, free entry. The Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station has a permanent exhibition on its years as a 'ghost station' under the divided city.