Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the Tiergarten
This itinerary covers a manageable and largely flat roll that takes in three of Berlin’s most significant sites: the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the Tiergarten park just beyond. We began at the train station, rolled through the area, and were able to take in all three in a single outing. The Reichstag Building is also located nearby and will be covered in a separate Scooty post.
The route was largely flat and manageable. Some construction was present in the area during our visit, which caused minor detours, but nothing that made the route inaccessible. As always in Europe, be prepared for stone curb cuts; they tend to be rougher than what you may be used to at home and can give your chair or scooter a jolt. That said, this did not prevent access to any of the sites described here.
Tip: Plan to visit the Brandenburg Gate and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe together — they are located right next to each other, just one block apart. Both are free and open to the public.
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century neoclassical triumphal arch that stands as one of Berlin’s most enduring landmarks and a symbol of the city’s history. You can approach and pass through the gate from either side, view the U.S. Embassy located adjacent to it, and move freely around the large open plaza surrounding it. Wheelchair access to the plaza and the gate itself was straightforward.
A note on the surrounding area: On maps, it can appear that a large, uninterrupted park extends for many blocks from the gate. Technically it does — the Tiergarten stretches well to the west — but the boulevard leading from the gate (Straße des 17. Juni) is divided by roads. This means that even within what looks like a park zone, you will encounter curb cuts as you cross between sections. The immediate plaza at the gate is open and easy to navigate, but beyond a block or two, expect to manage curb cuts as you would elsewhere in the city. This is not a barrier, just worth knowing in advance so you are not surprised. For more on navigating European curb cuts generally, see Scooty’s notes in the Prague streets and transportation guide and the Vienna streets and transportation guide.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
One block from the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a field of 2,711 concrete stelae of varying heights, designed to be walked through and experienced as a contemplative, unsettling space. It is a meaningful and well-designed site.
The memorial was fully accessible by wheelchair. The pathways between the stelae are open and navigable. We also noticed that at least one path appeared to include tactile strips for visitors using a cane, and that path was marked with an accessibility symbol — a thoughtful design detail.
Entry is free.
The Tiergarten
Directly on the western side of the Brandenburg Gate, the Tiergarten is one of Berlin’s largest urban parks. We explored a portion of it, including the wooded area nearest the gate, and found it to be entirely flat and wheelchair accessible. The park covers a large area, but based on the flat terrain at the entry, the rest of it appears likely to be similarly accessible. Even a short roll through the trees is a pleasant addition to this itinerary, particularly if you want a quieter moment after visiting the memorial.
Summary
This is one of the more rewarding and accessible half-days in Berlin. The sites are clustered together, the terrain is flat, and all three can be visited without any admission cost. The curb cuts in the area are manageable, though worth flagging for users of power chairs or scooters — go slowly over the stone edges.
For more wheelchair accessibility coverage across Europe, see Scooty’s guides to Vienna, Prague, Munich, Frankfurt, London, and Paris. For general tips on accessible air travel and finding wheelchair accessible hotels, visit the Scooty resource pages.