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Berlin’s Independent Street Art Tour – The REAL Alternative Berlin

Berlin Squat Graffiti

Squat in Berlin

Recently I realized if I were to call Berlin my home, I really should discover more to the city. You see, there are so many people coming and going through the city, but I so want to be one of those that stays put. I love to travel, but I think I love Berlin more. So with a renewed interest in discovering Berlin, I was invited to take a tour with David from The Hidden Path.

The Hidden Path consists of three native Berliners, who are friends and study art or graphic design. Compared to other “alternative Berlin” companies, their tours are the real deal. Tour groups are small (2 – 8 people) and show off Berlin’s coolest stuff: the city’s original street art and its sustainability projects.

What I loved most about the tour was my guide’s personal stories about his experience in Berlin. Obviously knowledgable about Berlin’s history with street art (David’s a native Berliner, naturally), he seemed to have first-hand knowledge about many of the city’s most famous street artists & graffiti writers.

The tour began in Rosenthaler Platz — a favorite area of mine with many bars & cheap eats. Just around the corner, on a street I’d never made it down before, David pointed out a former squat and started with a history of Berlin’s street art. Touring Mitte, we stopped at an art gallery and bookshop — hangouts popular with Berlin’s creative class.

Along the way David pointed out several notable Berlin street art — works by Alias, Prost and new paste-ups by JR. Because we were on bike, we were able to quickly make our way to Kreuzberg where we learned about several large-murals. These were fairly large murals that I’d either never noticed or seen before (including the one by Blu below).

What was most interesting for me on this unique Berlin tour was being able to learn more about the city’s untold history. Other tours gloss over the alternative aspects of Berlin, but David from The Hidden Path embraces it. While I took the street art tour, the sustainability tour offered is certainly unique among Berlin’s many tours.

View a few photos from my tour below, and then be sure to put The Hidden Path’s Berlin tours on your itinerary!

thehiddenpath.de

Berlin Wall - art by Blu

Blu’s street art of the Berlin Wall

Alias street art in Berlin

Alias street art in Berlin

Warhol banana in Berlin

Street art by Thomas Baumgärtel – yellow banana on art galleries

Berlin Street Art

JR street artist in Berlin

JR’s street art & paste-ups in Berlin – new works from this summer (view more photos)

  1. Lisa says:

    Love the photos you took in Berlin! I haven’t ever been there, but eager to take a trip! :)

  2. Franca says:

    So many nice murals that I’ve never seen myself. I’ve been to Berlin twice and I’m sure I need to go back maybe another 5 times (if not more) to be able to see more street art. The idea of a tour might help to make sure not to miss some less obvious pieces. I’ll keep it in mind for my next visit, thanks for sharing! :)

    • Adam says:

      I definitely recommend taking a street art tour when you can – it’s a good way to learn about the artists, the movements and the city. It might seem a bit cheesy, but it’s a really great way to learn more about the destination.

  3. Sam says:

    That tour looks really cool. Definitely going on my Berlin list!

  4. Sab says:

    I’m from Berlin, but constantly living abroad or traveling. Every few years when i return to Berlin I’m actually overwhelmed by the street art. No other city in the world has so much street art than Berlin.

  5. Mary says:

    Berlin is amazing city! I’ve spent 2 years there! And the street art is very impressive! Another german city with a lot of street art is Dusseldorf.

  6. Valeria says:

    Thanks! Love this kind of pictures!

  7. Ali says:

    Sounds like a great tour! I’ll make it up to Berlin one of these days!

  8. Dustin says:

    Interesting seeing the JR works as they are deteriorating. I could have a field day with that!

  9. […] – Street Art by Blu Image by agroffman © Adam Groffman – Photo is from when I took a street art tour in Berlin with THE HIDDEN […]

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