Boat Tours and Cruises in Berlin

Berlin can be discovered in many ways and one of them is a short cruise on the river that runs through the city. You can choose between different options by selecting the experience that best suits your plans and travel style.

The most complete option

Berlin Dinner Cruise

Secure your boat trip with a 3-course dinner included.

Perfect if you want to relax watching the sunset over the river Spree while enjoying the city of Berlin and tasting its most traditional food.

From £62 at Hellotickets

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This 2.5 hour cruise on the river Spree has everything you would expect from a boat trip through Berlin. As you discover the city's architecture and historical monuments, you can sample three courses of Berlin's exquisite food along with a complimentary drink on offer, all for a very affordable price.

You'll tour the most important districts of the German capital, such as Kreuzberg or the Turkish quarter, Mitte and Friedrichshain, and see the main attractions such as the Reichstag or the Berlin TV Tower.

Why I like this option: The Berlin dinner cruise is ideal for an entertaining evening dining with your loved ones while cruising along the Spree.

Recommended if... if you go with your family or partner, as you can share a very pleasant moment with them.

This option is ideal to get an overview of Berlin and its history. The one-hour cruise on the river Spree has audio commentary. It departs from the Nikolai quarter in old Berlin; it's a very central location, so you won't have any difficulty walking or taking public transport from your hotel or any other key location in the city centre.

On the plus side, there will be at most 20 people on the cruise at a time, so you can forget about the typical image of a crowded boat with tourists shooting photos all around you; this is more of a relaxed tour of the city that can serve as your first taste of Berlin or as a last look before you end your trip to the German capital. Here is a summary of the main points on your itinerary.

Reichstag building

It's currently the seat of the German parliament in Berlin, but you'll probably be more familiar with it as the building where the Weimar Republic was proclaimed after World War I or as the site of a suspicious fire in 1933. The audio commentary will tell you more about the historical significance of the Reichstag, but don't hesitate to visit the interior to enjoy its impressive modern dome. You won't be disappointed.

Museum Island

It is so called because many of the **world'**s most important museums converge here: the Pergamon Museum, the Old Museum, the New Museum, the Old National Gallery and the Bode Museum. You'll need a whole day if you want to see them all, but for now you can take in the sights and hear what each of them has to offer and then decide on your itinerary. Get your camera ready as you approach the island.

Berlin Cathedral

Crowned by its green dome, the cathedral is probably the most representative building of the city of Berlin. When you see it from the boat, you'll want to lie down on the lawn in front of it and enjoy a picnic or a relaxing moment; you'll have time for that later, but for now enjoy the view from the river.

Victory Column

Also known as the "golden donkey" (listen to the audio commentary to find out why), it's another symbol of the German capital. If you don't want to leave the city without enjoying a good panoramic view, set aside time during your trip to climb this 67-metre-high monument.

Centre for Contemporary Art

The art in Berlin doesn't end on Museum Island. The modern half-moon building you'll see from the boat is the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, a contemporary art centre dedicated primarily to discussing art in non-European cultures. Don't miss the illuminated building.

Bellevue Palace

It is the official residence of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. Enjoy its exterior views because seeing the interior can be mission impossible as visits are very limited and waiting times are several months long.

Television Tower

Wherever you are in Berlin, you can always find your way around the television tower, the city's tallest building on Alexanderplatz. Its construction is no accident; it was built to show the superiority of communism over capitalism during the years of the Berlin Wall.

If you like the idea of a boat trip and you have the time and desire to enjoy the city without rushing, the two-and-a-half hour cruise through Berlin is the most complete option. Groups are limited to a maximum of 30 passengers and you will have audio commentary during the tour in several languages. When you book your place online, you can choose between different times throughout the day to take part in the activity.

The departure is from the pier next to the Friedrichstraße bridge; there is an underground and bus stop with the same name located in the city centre and you can also walk there from the Brandenburg Gate.

If you choose this experience my advice is as follows: the length of the tour will give you time to take photos and also to listen to the audio commentary, so set aside some time to enjoy the sights without paying attention to anything else.

Itinerary

Ana's Traveller Tip

In winter temperatures drop considerably in Berlin; although it's lovely to see the snowy city, wrap up warm if you're going to enjoy a river cruise.

This experience includes two activities: a one-hour boat ride on the Spree River and a pass for the city's sightseeing bus. You can use the latter to take a complete tour of Berlin's sights with audio commentary included (just like the boat ride) or to get around the centre of the German capital.

You can choose to combine the boat tour with a sightseeing bus pass valid for 24 or 48 hours depending on your travel plans. On both the boat and the bus, audio commentary is available in several languages.

As for the timetable, when you book your place for this experience you can choose which day and time you want to take the river cruise. The sightseeing bus pass, on the other hand, can be activated at any time. Once you make your booking online you will receive an email with all the details, but I'll give you a preview of how the tourist bus works and the route so that you're clear if you've never used this service before.

About the bus

It is a bus with panoramic views and audio commentary that passes through the most emblematic sites of the city of Berlin. For the duration of your pass you can take this bus as many times as you want from the stop of your choice; the frequency is 15 to 20 minutes and the operating hours are from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm.

Itinerary

Ana's Traveller Tip

The audio commentary is an interesting guide to the main buildings in Berlin; use it to help you plan your visit.

The Berlin Pass includes a city cruise among its 50+ activities. You can take a Berlin Cruise with the Berlin Pass: plus you can enjoy Berlin to the full with free entry to the Berlin Wall Museum, Pergamon Museum, Bode Museum, and many more, plus it includes a trip up to Berlin Cathedral, a sightseeing bus tour of the city, walking tours and entry to Legoland.

Before you buy the Berlin Pass I recommend you read about its benefits in depth here: Berlin Tourist Cards.

The boat tour of Berlin is similar on all cruises that cross the part of the river Spree that passes through the city centre. Therefore, the differentiating factors to take into account when booking online are the following:

During any of the Berlin boat tours you will have the opportunity to enjoy the views of the city on the one hand and audio commentary that will put the different points of interest in context on the other. You can do the same, from another point of view, if you hire a guided walking tour of the most important points of the city or if you buy a pass for any of the sightseeing buses that run through the city of Berlin.

If what you enjoyed most about the boat ride was learning historical facts through the audio commentary, you can delve even deeper into the city's history on a guided walking tour. There are different types of walking tours and they are usually organised by neighbourhood. In this post about Day Trips from Berlin you have all the necessary information; I can tell you that this is one of my favourite experiences in any city.

If you have done the boat trip on the river Spree and what you enjoyed the most were the views, take a look at this other article on Berlin Hop-On Hop-Off Buses. You can buy a pass to access the Berlin sightseeing bus for one or several days and besides being able to take different tours around the city you will also be able to move freely between the different points of interest with the option of free stops.