Tina's Tours

So much more than just sightseeing: Energetic, Vibrant Berlin Adventures

Tina offers tours for English speaking guests which are rich with history and packed with energy. When touring with Tina you don’t just hear Berlin’s best stories and visit its most important sights, you also connect with the city’s spirit and uncover its real soul.

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Who is Tina?

I am a storyteller, a passionate nerd for modern history, a psychology graduate, a curious observer and lover of mankind. 

Aussie

Born and raised in Queensland Australia, English is my native language. I have Italian family heritage, so my real name is Ernestina, after my great grandmother. I am proudly now also fluent in German, for my sins!

History Nerd

Growing up in a house where the walls were lined with history books and the corners crammed with boxes of newspapers, my parents ignited my fascination with modern history and what it can teach us about humanity.

Berlin Addict

I came to Berlin in 2017 for a 10 day nerdy history vacation of tours, museums and historical sites. I had not expected to encounter such a free, fierce, bold and unapologetic city. I made it home.

Eine Berlinerin

I’ve run an underground music venue, performed hula hoop dance at festivals and clubs and been both accepted and rejected by Berghain. Curious about what this is to do with history? This is why you need to tour with me.

Storyteller

I bring Berlin’s history to life, make it accessible and help people to connect with it on an empathetic level. My passion for the city energises my tours. Passion is contagious – so prepare yourself to be captivated by Berlin.

Berlin Guides Association Member

I have been a member of the Berlin Guides Association (Bündnis Berliner Stadtführer) since 2021.  

Contact Tina

Personalised Tours

Whether you are a local wanting to better understand your home, a first-time visitor to Berlin or a business looking for an inspiring team-building event, Berlin has plenty to “wow” you.

You can pick from one of my favourite topics listed below or mix-and-match them based on your interests.  Or you can just leave it to me to design your own, personalised Berlin adventure.  

I particularly love designing a “Best Day Ever”: a full-day Berlin adventure combining history, sightseeing, art, culture, food, drinks, people-watching and whatever else Berlin throws at us along the way!

Yes, I do accept multiple-day bookings.   Yes, I can also book a private vehicle for our tour.  

Berlin Highlights

Let’s do the “must sees”, but more importantly, let’s bring them to life with their incredible, fascinating and sometimes surprising stories.

Highlights include the Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, site of Hitler’s bunker, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Museum Island and many more. East Side Gallery tours also available.

Socialist East Germany and the Berlin Wall, the Cold War era

Up until 1990, much of Berlin stood in a completely different country: the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR). What was life like in the GDR and what marks has it left on Berlin and the German people?

We will see some remnants of the Berlin Wall, check-out some communist art and architecture and visit some of the most important sites from the Cold War.

GDR tours could also include sights like the former Stasi headquarters, East Side Gallery, escape sites, memorials and former ghost tunnels.

Hitler’s Berlin: The Nazi Years

Let’s tour the scars of Adolf Hitler’s “Third Reich”, which reigned from 1933-1945. The Nazis built intimidating buildings, drew-up plans to develop Berlin into a megalomaniac global capital, purged art and literature which they deemed “degenerate”, horribly persecuted and murdered people who they deemed “Ungerman” and dragged the globe into World War II. By the end of their 12 year dictatorship, the Nazis had devastated humanity and reduced Berlin to rubble.
Let’s tour what’s left of their architecture, envision how their planned capital would have looked, trace the stories of some of the top Nazis and also those of their victims. Sites might include former Nazi government buildings, exhibitions, the site of Hitler’s Bunker, war damage (bullet holes etc), air raid bunkers, stumbling stones, sites of resistance acts, the Reichstag building, memorials to Nazis victims e.g. the Memorial to the Murdered Jews or Europe or Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted under Nazism etc.

Counter-culture and street art

Street art, squats, alternative living projects, LGBTIQ culture, demonstrations, clubs, techno, punk… Berlin emerged from its oppressive history to value freedom and LIFE above all and to revel in both through art, parties and politics.

How did Berlin’s WWII bomb damage give birth to some of the world’s most famous (and notorious) street artists? How did the Berlin Wall lead to new styles of rock music and a wave of occupied houses? Why were artists like David Bowie and Nick Cave so inspired by this city? Why are Berlin locals locked in a fierce battle to remain masters over their own city and what does this have to do with an anarchist- queer- feminine housing project? How did the fall of the Berlin Wall transform the city into a “temple of techno”, why is it so hard to get into the city’s clubs and why are they so important to Berlin? What is Berghain and what does it take to get in?

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

The concentration camps of the Nazi era continue to appal and horrify the world. These were places of forced labour, medical abuse, torture and mass murder.
Many diverse people suffered in Sachsenhausen, from homosexuals to pacifists, priests to artists, journalists to Jews, resisters to ethnic minorities slandered as “gypsies”.
In this tour of Sachsenhausen’s former prisoner area, we will share some of their stories. We will build an image of life inside a concentration camp, explain how this hideous episode of history escalated and address Sachsenhausen’s specific role in the Holocaust. A tour here is an emotionally challenging experience, but also extremely worthwhile.

Vintage/ Second Hand Shopping

Berlin has great second hand and vintage shopping scenes! I’m afraid that I’m absolutely useless where brands and fashion are concerned, but I know where to find the best deals and unique collections! For several years, I’ve been trying to only buy second hand textiles for environmental and human rights’ reasons. Let me show you my favourite spots!

Local bar experience with Tina and an original Berliner

Let’s show you some of Berlin’s best bars!
My boyfriend is born and raised in Berlin and I think that I’m humbly able to finally call myself a Berlin expert. We love exploring the city’s best nightlife spots and have a huge list of our favourites. We’ll take you to a few of our favourite bars, varying from “hip” modern Berlin bars to old Berliner “Eck-Kneipe” (traditional pubs).
This is bookable privately and also occurs regularly in in small, open groups.

Modern Architecture East vs West

“Can you tell whether you are in East or West Berlin based on the buildings?” Is one of the most common question asked by guests. The answer is more complicated than you might think. There are some places in former East Berlin where the architecture is clearly socialist. Along the former Stalin Allee for example, you can trace the journey of socialist architecture from the unexpected classicism of Stalin’s time to the later, prefabricated, concrete, high-rises. The socialists did not, however, have the monopoly on utilitarian, practical buildings. Many superstars of modern architecture in the capitalist world, such as Martin Gropius, Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer left their mark on West Berlin with buildings that are often mistaken to be socialist because of their appearance. Let’s trace the East vs West, socialist vs capitalist battle as it played out in the modern architecture of Berlin. Sites include the former Stalinallee and Hansaviertal or Kottbusser Tor.

Jewish Berlin

Let’s trace the history of Berlin’s modern Jewish community. We’ll see some of the empty spaces where the Nazis successfully purged sites of Jewish life from Berlin’s cityscape, but we’ll also visit many survivors.

This tour is around Große Hamburger Straße in the Hackesher Markt area. Sites include the location of the first, “old” Synagogue of Berlin and the grand New Synagogue, the first Jewish cemetery of Berlin, and many memorials. We’ll share the history of Berlin’d modern Jewish community and their experience during the devastating years of the Nazi’s atrocious Third Reich.

I’ll share with you stories of some Berliner Jews who did particularly amazing things in the city’s history.

Bavarian Quarter

This tour is particularly good for someone who’s visited Berlin many times and would like to go off-the-beaten-path to a neighbourhood that most people never see.

The Bavarian quarter in the Schöneberg district was home to many of Berlin’s most famous residents, including Albert Einstein, the writer Alfred Kerr, the sportswoman Lilli Hennoch and the director Billy Walder.

The Bavarian Quarter had a significant Jewish population, meaning that it bore the brunt of the Nazi persecution particularly harshly. A clever art installation around the streets tells the story of the escalation of persecution.
This tour is a combination of elegant pre-war and less elegant modern architecture, Jewish history, Cold War intrigues and stories of celebrities from Berlin’s.

The best day ever

Private tours are always tailored to your personal interests. Don’t feel that you have to restrict yourself to only one of the topics above: we can mix and match and combine as many as we have time for!

Let’s spend a day or half-day exploring some of the best that Berlin has to offer for you personally.

We can balance sightseeing and history with gastronomy, people watching, art, architecture and whatever else interests you the most. Are you a coffee nerd? Wine lover? Graffiti addict? Let me know and I will tailor our day to your interests.

Christmas Markets

Germany’s Christmas markets are as magical as everyone says.

Berlin has over 100 Christmas markets, spread across the city.

Let me take you to a few of Berlin’s best markets, suggest what to eat, drink and buy and explain the history behind the traditions.

Want it on wheels?

Please let me know if you’d like me to organise a private vehicle and driver for our tour i.e. bus, minivan or car.

I do offer bicycle tours, but for groups of maximum 6 people, unless you’re already confident riders in city traffic.

Dying to tour with Tina!?

Private tours range between 75€ and 120€ per hour (excluding 19% VAT).  This is per tour and not per person.  If this isn’t in your budget, then get in contact to ask about joining one of my regular, public tours.

Call/ Whatsapp/ SMS/ carrier pigeon me on +4915906391611, e-mail me at ernestina.searle@gmail.com or send me a message on Instagram or Facebook and I will get back to you.  

Check-out Tina’s Tours on Instagram

tinastoursberlin

Berlin addict and tour guide.
If I don’t love it, I don’t post it.
I share event tips every Thursday.

100000% recommended the @volare_mitsingkonzert sin



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A “Schnecke” (snail) from



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I have



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Extra Content?

Check-out my interview with Trip101 for tips on visiting Berlin.  We discuss everything from how to best reach the city from the airport, to the importance of carrying cash when in Berlin, to tips on what to do in the city:

Podcast Episodes

I’m a regular guest at the Ministry of History podcast in episodes about Berlin.   Listen online here:

Escapes over the Berlin Wall

Rubble Women 

East Germany 1953 Uprising

Or watch us on Youtube:

Impressions