Activities and itinerary for a school trip to Berlin

Berlin has everything you could ever need. We are a provider of a Berlin Wall scavenger hunt, and since we are from Berlin ourselves, we have put together an itinerary for a 4-day school trip to Berlin and mixed it with insider tips on where real Berliners like to spend their free time. You will visit the most important sights and learn a thing or two, but above all, you will have a great time in Berlin. 

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As Berlin is very big, it can take 30 minutes by train to get from one place to another. That's why we designed the itinerary in a way where the different events can easily be combined with each other. There is also plenty of free time on each day.

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Day 1: Arrival and city tour

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You arrive in Berlin, check into the hostel or hotel, and then it's time to get a first impression of the city on a bus tour. There are various ways to do this in Berlin. One is a city tour with the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. However, you can also save some money by using the number 100 bus for sightseeing. This regular BVG city bus will take you to the most important sightseeing spots with the ticket you probably have anyway, following a similar route to more expensive excursion buses. Starting at Alexanderplatz, you will pass the TV Tower, travel across Museum Island, pass the Lustgarten and the German Historical Museum, as well as the Brandenburg Gate. From here, the route continues past the Government and the Victory Column to Ku'Damm (short for Kurfürstendamm), the chic neighbourhood where the KDW is located. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is also on this route. The Ku'damm is ideal for individual leisure activities. You can meet up again here later in the evening and then travel back to your accommodation together.

Don't fancy the bus? Do a bike tour to see even more places. You can plan the bus as a backup for a rainy day.

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Here you can see the route of the 100-passenger bus:

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Day 2: Historical and political highlights with SchoolRallye

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Before the second exciting day in Berlin begins, you will of course have breakfast together at your accommodation. Then it's off to the Schoolrallye Spy & Escape Tour in the morning. During the digital puzzle tour, the students get to assist an escape and solve tricky puzzles to save their friend Siegfried Kath from the Stasi agents. The tour travels along the route of the Wall and enables students to gain a new insight into the life in the GDR in an entertaining way. Exciting aspects of GDR history are highlighted. The mission is based on true events, and the protagonist of the game actually existed. During the tour, the groups immerse themselves in the lives of people in Berlin during the Cold War, learn why people wanted to flee to the West, and what difficulties they faced in doing so. At the end of the game, they have to find a real escape tunnel that enabled people to flee to the West in the 1960s.

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The tour ends at the Berlin Wall Memorial, a small museum that - if you still have some energy left - is a great place to deepen your newly acquired knowledge. 

After this educational morning, you can find many nice restaurants with fair prices near the Mauerpark, on Kastanienstraße, where you can go for a cheap meal or take something to go. Then meet at Eberswalder Straße and take the tram for 20 minutes in the direction of Warschauer Straße. 

In the afternoon, take a walk along the East Side Gallery. Here you can see one of the longest preserved sections of the Berlin Wall, which has been painted by artists from all over the world. Stroll along the wall and discuss what it might have felt like to have a wall running through the whole city and what you see in the pictures of the artworks. It's also a great opportunity to take some cool photos in front of the colourful works of art. 

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Afterwards, we recommend the lively Friedrichshain district with its great restaurants and views of the Spree. It's a great way to round off your exciting day. An insider tip close by, is to visit Holzmarkt or Simon Dach Straße in Friedrichshain. 

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Day 3: Political institutions and the culture of remembrance

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In the morning, you can visit the Reichstag building and the dome. A guided tour here allows students to experience the political centre of Germany up close, and learn more about democracy today. Afterwards, you can enjoy a typical Berlin lunch at a currywurst stand. You can of course also get a vegan version of this popular snack in Berlin.

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In the afternoon, you can visit the Holocaust Memorial. This is just a short walk from the Reichstag building and leads directly past the Brandenburg Gate. At this location, the students have the opportunity to reflect on the significance and history of this impressive memorial. Inaugurated in 2005, the memorial commemorates the 6 million Jews murdered in Europe during the Nazi era, and consists of dark grey concrete blocks that you can walk among, covering an area of 19,000 square metres. It is best to discuss this place first before letting the class explore it. 

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Afterwards, you have free time to pursue your own interests. If you like shopping, you can simply walk from here towards Potsdamer Platz to the Mall of Berlin. Alternatively, you can relax in nature; the Park am Gleisdreieck is nearby. There is also a modern beer garden and green spaces that real Berliners like to visit. The park is just one stop away from Potsdamer Platz and can be reached quickly with the U2 underground line. It's also a good place for meeting up again and then travelling to your accommodation together.  

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Day 4: Museum and Berlin Underworld

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In the morning, you can visit a museum. A good option is the DDR Museum near Alexanderplatz (or "Alex", as Berliners call it) and Hackescher Markt. Another option and recommendation from us is the Cold War Museum “Unter den Linden”. Students learn about life in the former GDR during the Cold War, and can try out interactive exhibits.

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From both of these places, you can quickly reach the next highlight. In the afternoon, it gets exciting: The Berlin Underworld gives you an insight into the real tunnel that you crossed on our Spy & Escape Tour on the second day. You can see it on the ‘M - Underground to Freedom’ tour.

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Interested in an interactive way to explore Berlin while having fun with your students? Book SchoolRallye for your next school trip!