The best gay tours in Berlin for LGBTQ travelers

Berlin is a city that has been reveling in its queerness for years. Even as far back as the 1920s, it was known as the gayest city in the world. While other cities have recently begun to vie for that crown, for us, there's just nowhere quite like Berlin!

With a truly hedonistic gay scene featuring gay clubs, bars, saunas, hotels, and cruising clubs, Berlin might seem a little overwhelming to first-time visitors. Hell, even us old queens who've been here dozens of times occasionally get surprised by the newest additions that have popped up since our last visit!

Luckily, for those who want to ease into Berlin's gay scene gently, or even explore the city from a unique perspective, there are a variety of fabulous gay tours to experience. Whether you want to just explore Berlin with a gay guide, get acquainted with the gay nightlife, or even learn about the city's history of sex, there's a tour for you! We've rounded up the best of the best for you right here:

01

Berlin's gay, lesbian, and queer scene walking tour

Marlene Dietrich still keeps a suitcase in Berlin, and so do we!

When we did this tour we had the terrific, Finn, as our guide. Finn is a gay local and also a history fanatic – the perfect person to get you acquainted with Berlin's historic gay scene!

The tour is organized by Original Berlin Walks, who focus on telling the history of Berlin in an informative and entertaining manner. We were entertained by Finn, learning so much about Berlin's queer history at the same time as he walked us through the streets of Schöneberg.

We loved learning more about Christopher Isherwood, the legendary British writer whose novel Goodbye to Berlin inspired the famous gay musical Cabaret! We also got to see where Marlene Dietrich lived and worked before visiting the Eldorado – the oldest gay/transvestite bar in the city. Other notable sites that this tour can show you include the memorial to all the homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis, Berlin's gay museum in Kreuzberg and the Tiergarten.

If you like to explore a city by walking, want to know more about the history of Berlin's queer scene and be entertained by a fun guide, then you will love this tour. We can't recommend them enough! Finn also has an incredible story to tell as an FTM transgender person, which you can read all about in our interview with him.

02

Street art and gay, queer, trans history walking tour of Berlin

For when you want a bit of history as well as the ideal Insta shot in front of a pretty building…

If you're into street art then you will definitely want to join a very cool and unique gay street art tour, which is led by a fabulous trans woman guide called Gali. This tour takes you on a journey to see some of the coolest street art in the city, which is perfect if you're all about getting those beautiful photos for the ‘gram.

Instead of joining a regular sightseeing tour, we also rate this tour because as well as exploring the gay highlights like the famous El-Dorado club, you have a queer local who will tell you things from her perspective. For us, this was important because the LGBTQ community were hit hard during the Nazi regime (remember the origin of the pink triangle?), so we wanted an insight about this sad aspect of Berlin's history from a gay local.

Obviously, it goes without saying that a gay local showing you around will also tell you the best LGBTQ hangouts to check out both during the day and in the evening.

Highlights of the tour included a stop at the Urban Nation Gallery which is dedicated to street art and murals. Gali really knows her stuff when it comes to local queer art history so this is a must-do if you're interested in the intersections of art and queer culture in Berlin!

03

Berlin's history of sex tour with a sociologist

“Berlin is poor, but sexy!” – Klaus Wowereit, ex-Mayor of Berlin…

For something a little bit out of the ordinary, we recommend this quirky tour about Berlin's history of sex, led by none other, than a sociologist! While this is not an outright gay tour per se, it does touch on Berlin's queer history along with other sexual aspects of the city's past.

This tour visits some of the famous gay landmarks mentioned in this guide, like the Eldorado Bar and the memorial to the homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis. In addition, it also includes visits to other locations that are significant historically. Perhaps one of the most fascinating (at least for us) was the Magnus Hirschfeld‘s Institute of Sexual Science – he is renowned for being the world's first ‘sexual' scientist and a prominent advocate for LGBTQ rights in the early 1900s.

Other fascinating aspects covered on this tour include the history of nudism in Berlin, the sex worker industry of Berlin and how the HIV/AIDS epidemic was dealt with in a divided city.

Overall, this tour provides a very unique insight into how and why Berlin has become known as a city of hedonism. If you have any sort of interest in social movements and history then you will also find this tour completely captivating.

04

Schwules Museum (Gay Museum) Tours

A whole museum of gayness? Darling, sign us up!

If you're short on time or don't really want to do a great big city tour, there is an alternative. The Schwules Museum, also known as the gay museum, is a museum and research centre dedicated to LGBTQ history.

When the Schwules Museum was opened in 1985, it was the first museum in the world dedicated to gay history. It was opened after the success of the first public exhibition shown in Germany of research on gay life at the Berlin Märkisches Museum. Today it holds over 50,000 objects showcasing gay culture with everything from postcards to clothing and vinyl records. They also display themes relating to drag, gender issues, HIV/AIDS and more. You could easily spend an entire day exploring – we sure did!

We recommend looking out for their ad hoc events and talks. As well as being educational, it's the perfect social gathering to quickly make new friends.

The Schwules Museum is open every day except Tuesdays. Look out for the free tours they offer on Thursdays and Saturdays. Another tip, if you purchase the “Berlin QueerCity Pass” it will include free entry to Schwules as well as to other attractions and museums in Berlin.

Read more travel adventures like this in our book!

We've published our very own gay travel book called, ‘Out in the World'. It has all our practical safety tips, first-hand advice, and travel stories from some of our favorite destinations.

We hope it inspires you to have a fun and safe trip!

Click on the book to order:

For more inspiration:

• If you're looking for somewhere to stay, check out these cheeky sex hotels in Berlin
• Or for something a bit less raunchy, these are our favourite romantic activities for couples in Berlin
• Check out our guide to getting from Schönefeld airport to the Berlin city centre
• And for an insight into gay life in Germany, here's our local interview with Marcel from Berlin
• Cologne is vying for Germany's best gay city crown, so make sure you read our gay city guide to Cologne too
• Here's all the info you need on how to get from the Cologne airport to the city centre
• You might be surprised by these most gay friendly cities in East Europe
• And here are the absolute gayest cities in Europe for a fabulous vacation
• If you're travelling on a budget, make sure you check out these awesome gay hostels in Europe as well

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