Tour Berlin Mitte on Public Bus
Use Bus 200 to See Top Sights in West and East Berlin on the Cheap
Public Bus 200 is a cheap way to tour by and see many of the top sights in the former West and East Berlin such as Kulturforum, Potzdamer Platz, and Unter den Linden.
The top flight of Berlin’s public transportation double-decker buses offers excellent views of the German capital’s top sights. The most famous line is Bus 100, which runs from Zoologischer Garten in West Berlin to Alexanderplatz, the former heart of East Berlin. Bus 200 covers the same distance but follows a slightly different route and continues further into the former East Berlin. Between bus 100 and bus 200, virtually all the top sights in Berlin Mitte can be seen from the bus or are within easy walking distance from a bus stop – great tours of Berlin, several times per hour, at the cheap price of the normal public bus fare.
Public Bus 200 in the Former West Berlin
Both buses 100 and 200 depart from Zoologischer Garten station – the transportation hub West Berlin. They then pass Breitscheidsplatz where the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church) serve as a permanent reminder of the destruction of the war.
From here, the two routes differ: while bus 100 goes through the huge Tiergarten Park, bus 200 stays at the southern edges of Berlin Mitte’s green lungs. Bus 200 passes the Elephant Gate of Berlin Zoo, which has around 1,400 species. It then continues along Tiergarten Street, where many countries rebuilt their embassies at their original pre-World War II sites. One of the bus stops is actually named Nordische Botschaften (Nordic Embassies) after the Scandinavian embassies that share a modern building. (It is possible to change to bus 100 here.)
The Kulturforum area is a German cultural tour de force. Instantly recognizable is the orangey-yellow building of the Berlin Philharmonie, home of one of the world’s best-known symphony orchestras. The Gemäldegallerie (Picture Gallery), with around 1,500 paintings including 16 by Rembrandt, is one of the largest collections in the world of 13th to 18th-century European paintings. Further sights here include the museums of Applied Arts, Prints and Drawings, and Musical Instruments as well as the New Gallery (20th century art).
Next is Potsdamer Platz, the busiest area in pre-war Berlin, which sported the first traffic light in Europe. Post-war Potsdamer Platz was no-man’s land but since 1990 saw the rise of numerous new buildings. The most famous is the Sony Center (home of the Berlin Film Museum) – its tent-like, Mt Fuji-shaped roof is one of the symbols of a rejuvenated Berlin.
Public Bus 200 in the Former East Berlin
Bus 200 now enters the former East Berlin and the government center from the pre-war years – only the former Army Headquarters survived from the Nazi era. It is now the tax office – to the right before bus 200 turns sharply into Wilhelmstraße. Bus 200 used to continue straight to Unter den Linden, Berlin’s top address, but security concerns led to the closure of the street in front of the British (and nearby future US) embassy. Bus 200 thus misses out on the Hotel Adlon, Brandenburg Gate, and the Stalinist Russian embassy but after it enters Unter den Linden, it follows the same route as bus 100 past the Humboldt University, State Opera, German Historical Museum, Museum Island, and television tower.
Bus 100 terminates at Alexanderplatz and most sightseers on bus 200 alight here too. The top sights of Berlin Mitte have been seen. Bus 200 continues deeper into Prenzlauer Berg with interesting architecture but no further top tourist sights.
From Zoologischer Garten to Alexanderplatz takes around 30 minutes (and 15 more to the final terminus at Michaelangelostraße, with the final three stops in tariff zone B).
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