10 GREAT WALKS
IN OUR FAVORITE CITIES

THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO EXPLORE A CITY than wandering its streets and alleys, from terracotta-hued palaces, picturesque squares, and baroque architectural showstoppers in Rome, to the modern glass towers, 19th-century limestone man­ ions, and secret, pocket-size parks of s Manhattan. We’ve gathered 10 fabulous walks in our favorite cities in the United States and
Europe, so put on your comfy shoes and hit the streets.

1/4 mile
W. Wacker Drive

S. Water Street

Lake Street
Clark St.

James R. Thompson Center
END

CLARK

River
Chicago

Union
Station

The Great Fire of 1871 could have been the death of Chicago, but instead it proved to be a grand rebirth, as renowned architects rebuilt the city’s skyline. Today it’s Chicago’s most aweinspiring attribute. Start with the Willis
Tower, a 1,454-foot giant that was the world’s tallest building when completed in 1973. Next, head to South LaSalle
St. and the Rookery Building. This
12-story stunner, completed in 1888

ADAMS

L
Jackson Blvd.
JACKSON

Monadnock
Building
L

L

LIBRARY

Van Buren Street

LASALLE

224 S. Michigan
Ave.

Auditorium Theatre
LaSalle St.
Station

Harrison St.

in 1889 that still hosts performances.
Double back to Jackson and Dearborn to see the geometric, 4.6-acre Federal
Center, completed in the early 1970s by Mies van der Rohe. Don’t miss the graceful slopes of Chase Tower, built in 1969 as the First National Bank of Chicago Building. The Sullivan
Center, at State and Madison streets, has elaborate cast-iron ornamentation over its entryway and a vertical, threepart “Chicago Window.” The Reliance
Building (now the Hotel Burnham) on

Van Buren
Station

Columbus Drive

2 to 4 hours, depending on stops

Adams Street

Congress
Plaza

Congress Pkwy.

100E

TIMING:

Chicago
Board of Trade

Millennium
Park

MONROE

Michigan Ave.

100 W. Randolph St.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Expwy.

500W

END:

by Daniel Burnham and John Welborn
Root, is the oldest standing high-rise in town. On Jackson, check out the
45-story Art Deco Chicago Board of Trade, designed by Holabird and Root in 1930. Also on Jackson
Blvd. is Burnham and Root’s 17-story
Monadnock Building. Built in 1891, it’s the last and tallest skyscraper built with masonry load-bearing walls. The nearby 224 S. Michigan Ave. was also built by Burnham in 1904. On
Congress Parkway see Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler’s Auditorium
Theatre, a grand theater completed

Sullivan Center
(Carson Pirie Scott)

L

S. Wacker Drive

CHICAGO
DOWNTOWN SKYLINE

L MADISON
Madison Street

L Monroe Street

Federal
Center
Rookery

Adams St.
QUINCY L
STA RT
Quincy St.

Randolph St.
Station

Washington Blvd.

Dearborn Street

Canal Street

image caption

Willis Tower

RANDOLPH

WASHINGTON

State Street

LaSalle St.

Chase Tower

Lake Street

Macy’s

FPO map
L
Reliance Building/
[walking tour]
Hotel Burnham

Monroe St.

Wacker Dr. and Adams St.

L

WASHINGTON

Wells Street

Madison Street

Franklin Street

Citicorp
Center

Washington Blvd. L

STATE

Randolph Street

Richard J. Daley Center

FPO image

START:

L

Columbus Drive

400 meters

Wabash Ave.

0

Dearborn Street

0

L

HARRISON

State St. is the first-ever glass-and-steel skyscraper. On the northeast corner of State and Washington is Macy’s, designed by Burnham in 1907 and most famous for the multistory atriums inside, one domed with a Tiffany mosaic.
Finally, walk west on Randolph St. to reach the 648-foot Richard J. Daley
Center at Clark St.. Across Randolph is Helmut Jahn’s dome-shape James R.
Thompson Center.
BEST WALKING TOURS IN AMERICA / 3

St

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Morris House

Italianate Mansion
Robinson
House

Six th Str ee t

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Str

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Brevard House

t

Musson
House

Se co Co

um

Carroll House

nd
Str

Commander’s Palace

t

ton
Av
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A walk through the Garden District, just a 20-minute street­ ar ride from c the French Quarter, provides a unique look at life in New Orleans, past and present. Start at The Rink, a small shopping complex, and walk east on Prytania to see Colonel Short’s
Villa (1448 Fourth St.) with its ornate cornstalk fence. The Briggs-Staub
House (2605 Prytania St.) is one of the few Gothic Revival houses in the city.

ue

45 minutes (without stops inside)

t

ee

ing

TIMING:

Payne House

t

et

sh

1416-1498 Washington Ave.

The Lonsdale House (2521 Prytania
St.) was a Catholic chapel for more than 70 years. The Maddox House
(2507 Prytania St.) is an example of the five-bay Greek Revival expansion.
The Women’s Guild of the New
Orleans Opera Association House
(2504 Prytania St.) has a distinctive octagonal turret. The Bradish-Johnson
House (2343 Prytania St.) is regal, while the relatively modest raised TobyWestfeldt House (2340 Prytania St.), is an example of a Creole colonial home. Morris House (1331 First St.) and the Carroll House (1315 First

m

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END:

Washington Ave. and Prytania St.

100m

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Colonel
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0

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Women’s Guild of the New Orleans
Opera Association House

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Nolan House

NEW ORLEANS
GARDEN DISTRICT HOUSES

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Pry

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Lafayette
Cemetery No.1

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Briggs-Staub House

image caption

nA

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Maddox House
Lonsdale House

The Rink

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FPO map
[walking tour]
Toby-Westfeldt House

Bradish-Johnson
House

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tr tS St.) are decorated with “iron lace,” exemplifying the romantic Italianate style. Brevard House (1239 First St.) has an ornate cast-iron gate that extends the length of the block. A block farther on the right is the Payne House
(1134 First St.), where Confederate president Jefferson Davis died.
Actor John Goodman lives in the
Italianate Mansion at 2425 Coliseum
St.. The white-columned Robinson
House (1413 Third St.) was the first

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house in New Orleans with indoor plumbing. Check out the intricate ironwork at Musson House (1415 Third
St.). The white-columned Nolan House, at 2707 Coliseum is where the film The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button was set. The Commander’s Palace (1403
Washington Ave.), is a great stop for lunch. End the tour with a visit to the white-walled Lafayette Cemetery
No. 1, arguably the most beautiful cemetery in New Orleans.
BEST WALKING TOURS IN AMERICA / 4

E. 60th St.

CENTRAL PARK
N,Q,R

Central Park South
A,B,C,D,1
F

W. 57th St.

W. 50th St.
N,Q,R

W. 49th St.

W. 47th St.

Grand
Central
Terminal

W. 45th St.

B,D,F,M

W. 42nd St.

E. 43rd St.

4,5,6,7,S

E. 42nd St.

Bryant Park

First Ave.

Second Ave.

Third Ave.

Lexington Ave.

1/4 mi

Park Ave.

0

E. 40th St.
Madison Ave.

0

E. 41st St.

STA RT

Fifth Ave.

Sixth Ave.

Midtown is a mind-boggling patch­ work of styles that coalesce into one of the world’s great urban landscapes.
Begin with a taste of early 20th-century neoclassicism at the New York Public
Library, and walk along East 42nd
St. to the Beaux-Arts Grand Central
Terminal, two brilliantly designed public spaces as beautiful as they are functional. Art Deco is perhaps
Midtown’s most distinctive style, with

y

1½ to 2 hours

dwa

TIMING:

B ro a

W. 38th St.

Seventh Ave.

W. 39th St.

E. 44th St.

Chrysler
Building

7

New York
Public Library

W. 40th St.
Eighth Ave.

45 Rockefeller Plaza

N,Q,R,S
1,2,3,7

W. 41st St.

W. 37th St.

END:

E. 47th St.

E. 45th St.

W. 43rd St.

the Chrysler Building considered one of the great masterpieces. Double back and head north on Park Ave. to check out such Jazz Age landmarks as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Just past that is the Byzantine dome of
St. Bartholomew’s Church and two blocks north of that is the bronze-andglass Seagram Building, designed by modernist innovator Mies van der Rohe. Pop into the flagship Louis
Vuitton—Moët Hennessy Tower, an arched glass skyscraper that’s both conspicuous and elegant. The Trump
Tower’s ostentatious atrium flaunts

E. 48th St.

E. 46th St.

A,C,E

5th Ave. at 42nd St.

E. 49th St.

Waldorf
Astoria
Hotel

W. 44th St.

START:

E. 51st St.

W. 46th St.

image caption

NEW YORK
MIDTOWN ARCHITECTURE

E. 52nd St.

6

E. 50th St.

Radio City
Music Hall

B,D,F,M

E. 53rd St.

St. Bartholomew’s Church

Rockefeller
Center
END

W. 48th St.

E. 55th St.
E. 54th St.

E,M

Seagram
Building

E. 56th St.

First Ave.

1

Second Ave.

C,E

E,M

Third Ave.

W. 51st St.

FPO map
[walking tour]

Lexington Ave.

W. 52nd St.

Trump
Tower

Park Ave.

W. 55th St.
Avenue of the Americas

W. 53rd St.

Nos. Nos.
13-15 9-11

Madison Ave.

W. 56th St.

B,D,E

E. 58th St.
E. 57th St.

Fifth Ave.

dway

FPO image

Seventh Ave.

B ro a

Eighth Ave.

W. 54th St.

E. 59th St.

Louis Vuitton–
Moët Hennessy Tower

W. 58th St.
N,Q,R

N,Q,R,4,5,6

1/4 km

unbridled luxury, with expensive boutiques and brass accents.

with oriel windows, heavy carvings, and sweeping, paired staircases.

When you reach 54th St., turn right.
The two remaining 19th-century mansions at Nos. 9–11 and Nos.
13–15 West 54th St. are in sharp contrast to Midtown architecture.
Nos. 9–11 are inspired by Colonial
American architecture; note the small iron balconies, splayed lintels, and paneled keystones. Nos. 13–15 are a grand, Renaissance-inspired structure

Finally, head south on 6th Ave. for a landmark piece of Art Deco architecture, Radio City Music Hall, with its distinctive pink-and-blue neon sign. Loop around through Rockefeller
Center, and finish by taking in the plaza there with its stark lines and the crowning statue of Prometheus.

BEST WALKING TOURS IN AMERICA / 5

a Beaux-Arts building modeled after a
Roman bath; it dominates the northwest corner of Capitol Hill and is easily accessible on the Metro Red Line.
Next door, the Smithsonian National
Postal Museum will delight philatelists.

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1/2 mi

0
0

1/2 km

C Street

D Street

Following Delaware Ave. south, you V i rg i n i a Av enu come right up to the massive U.S. e has so many books, recordings, maps,
Capitol, which sits majestically at the manuscripts, and photographs that it east end of the Mall. Tours leave from actually takes three buildings to get the the Capitol Visitor Center, which is job done. Inside the Jefferson Building, located underneath the building. In you can view the Great Hall, peek front of the Capitol, on the south side, into the Main Reading Room, and is the United States Botanic Garden, wander through changing exhibitions the oldest botanic garden in North related to the library’s holdings. Follow
America. Walk east on Independence
Pennsylvania Ave. south between 2nd
Ave., then north on 1st St., where the and 6th streets. Take a break with the
Jefferson Building of the Library of locals at any of the cozy restaurants,
Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court sit side by side. The Library of Congress bars, and coffee shops that line this
2nd Avenue

8th Street

7th Street chu set

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Capitol
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Independence Avenue nsy l va

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Seward
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Eastern
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8th Street

7th Street

6th Street

Street

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1st St

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Independence Avenue

U.S. Botanic
Garden

Ma

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Av e

Constitution Avenue

Jefferson
Building of the
Library of Congress A

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Stanton
Park

5th Street

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United
States
Capitol

A and D Street

A Street

2nd Street

nd ryla ryl

U.S.
Supreme
Court

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1st Street

3rd Street

Washington, D.C., is a walking city, especially around the Mall, where
America’s most famous monuments are clustered. Start at Union Station,

Ma

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1 hour if you skip the Capitol Tour

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TIMING:

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S Capitol Street

va n i

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c

3rd Street

1st Street

3rd Street nsyl a isi n ve ssa

E Street

FPO map husetts Ave nu e
[walking tour]
C Street
D Street

Jerse

Eastern Market

Ma

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END:

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Constitution Avenue e s t D r i ve rthw No

image caption

Union Station

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START:

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2nd Street

Jerse u Lo

WASHINGTON, D.C.
CAPITOL HILL MONUMENTS

N Capitol Street

New

FPO image

F Street

5th Street

Union
Station

6th Street

UNION STATION

F Street

E Stree t

G Street

4th Street

Smithsonian
National
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Museum

3rd Street

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2nd Street

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block. The Eastern Market on the corner of 7th and C streets is the perfect ending for this walk; it’s the city’s oldest market and a community fixture since 1873. Grab your picnic supplies here or a handmade keepsake from a local artist. The market is open from Tuesday to Sunday and really buzzes on weekends.

BEST WALKING TOURS IN AMERICA / 6

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Va lle jo St . et Ro m olo

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Caffe Trieste

1010 Montgomery St.
B ro ad w ay

Beat Museum

Language of Birds
City Lights Bookstore

B ro ad w ay

START

Pa ci fi c Ave

Vesuvio
Pa ci fi c Ave

SAN FRANCISCO
NORTH BEACH BEATNIK WALK
START:
END:

261 Columbus Ave.

Corner of Grant Ave. and Green St.

45 minutes, depending on how long you linger

TIMING:

Home to American bohemia and birthplace of the Beat Movement,
North Beach still crackles with the energy of the revolutionary artists who electrified a generation here in the sixties. Start at City Lights, the era’s epicenter of progressive thought and the country’s most daring publisher. Outside, neighboring Jack

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It firmly places the Beat Generation in history; their rejection of the status quo was an artistic reaction against
1950s Cold War conformism. They were deeply influential in the antiestablishment counterculture of the ‘60s as well. Head around the corner to
No. 1010 Montgomery; this is where
Allen Ginsberg wrote Howl.
Continue up Montgomery, turn left, and walk up the Vallejo stairs and

Portsmouth
Square

re et

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0
Wa sh

Kerouac Alley is inlaid with the words of Kerouac, Maya Angelou, and
Confucius. At Vesuvio, an art-splashed saloon, order a drink and soak up the neighborhood’s vibe. Walk up to
Broadway and take in the public art on the corner: Language of Birds is a flock of illuminated books that appear to have just taken flight. Notice the words and phrases embedded in the plaza floor that could have just fallen from the pages. The Beat Museum on Broadway is a quirky collection of photos, books, music, and artifacts.

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100 M
250 ft

onward to the venerable Caffe
Trieste, a favorite perch of Kerouac,
Ginsberg, and Charles Bukowski.
Head north up Grant to No. 1398, where the Co-Existence Bagel Shop
(now long closed) served as the living room of the Beat Generation in the days when cops arrested kids for wearing sandals. End the walk by browsing Grant Ave.’s excellent boutiques, and pick up some edgy couture or vintage botanical prints.
BEST WALKING TOURS IN AMERICA / 7

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south from Lutetia (the Roman name for Paris) to Italy. The upper half is dotted with restaurants and bars that cater to tourists and students; the lower half is a lively morning market
Tuesday through Sunday. If the sun’s shining, finish the walk by visiting the
Gallo-Roman Arènes de Lutèce, a
Roman amphitheater that was almost completely destroyed by barbarians in AD 280.

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Experience the counterculture and creativity of the Left Bank, along with stunning achitecture, 2nd-century
Gallo-Roman ruins, and the city’s oldest street. Start at the Pont Neuf for excellent views off the western tip of the Ile de la Cité, and then explore the island’s magnificent architectural heritage, including the
Conciergerie, Sainte-Chapelle, and
Notre-Dame. There’s much to see at

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this awe-inspiring cathedral, like the
Place
Ernest rose window above the main portal,No
Denis
t re
Dam
which dates from the 13th century. e d ereconstructed ruins of 2nd-century s Ch amp s
Gallo-Roman steam baths. At the
The three windows below it contain summit of the hill above the Sorbonne some of France’s finest examples of university is the imposing Panthéon,
12th-century stained-glass artistry. The a monument to (and mausoleum of) brave can climb the spiral staircase
French heroes. Don’t miss the exquisite to the towers for a gargoyle’s-eye
Eglise St-Etienne-du-Mont next door, view of the city. Detour through where the relics of the city’s patron neighboring Ile St-Louis and explore
Saint Geneviève are displayed. the boutiques, cafés, and restaurants
Follow the Rue Descartes to the Rue before heading into the medieval
Mouffetard, a winding cobblestone labyrinth of the Quartier Latin. Its street that is one of the city’s oldest most valuable treasures are preserved and was once a Roman road leading in the Musée de Cluny, including the
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BEST WALKING TOURS IN EUROPE / 8

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full day of exploring

This regal runaround packs more into a day than most cities can offer in a week. Hit Westminster Abbey early to avoid the crowds, then cut through
St. James’s Park to catch the
Changing of the Guard at 11:30 am at Buckingham Palace. (If the palace doors are open, enjoy a peek at royal life.) Take a quick detour to the Tudor delights of St. James’s Palace, old

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Houses of Parliament

WEST M I N ST ER

National Gallery. At the southern point of the square is a statue of Charles I on a horse. Charles II had it placed here in 1667, near the spot where his father was executed in 1649.
After lunch, choose from the canvases of the National Gallery (there are more than 2,300 works, from
Michelangelo, Leonardo, Turner,
Monet, van Gogh, Picasso, and more). Or check out who’s who at

the National Portrait Gallery. If your energy is starting to flag, head over to the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields for a little brass rubbing; it’s a fun way to create your own keepsake. Finish with a stately stroll down Whitehall—past
Downing St., Horse Guards Parade, and Banqueting House—to the Houses of Parliament, where you have the option of pre-booking a tour or trying to get in to see a debate.

BEST WALKING TOURS IN EUROPE / 9

t

TIMING: A

of Parliament

haunt of Charles I, before a promenade d down the Mall past the Regency glory of Carlton House Terrace and through
Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square.
This is the official center of London, dominated by the 170-foot Nelson’s
Column and its enormous bronze lions. The lampposts on the south side, heading down Whitehall, are topped with ships—they all face Portsmouth, home of the British navy. Check out the statue of George Washington, a gift from the state of Virginia in 1921, on the lawn at the north side by the

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been inspired by a tavia bee’s stinger. Follow the crowds to Piazza Navona, Rome’s most celebrated 17th-century example of Baroque exuberance, with Bernini’s
Fountain of the Four Rivers dead center.
Either grab a caffè table and watch the world go by here, in front of 17thcentury Sant’Agnese in Agone, or head on to the enchanting Piazza della
Pace, where Santa Maria della Pace sits on a tiny piazzina; the scene is one of Rome’s most attractive streetscapes. t BEST WALKING TOURS IN EUROPE / 10

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From Piazza della Rotonda take Via
Giustiniani to San Luigi dei Francesi to see Caravaggio’s moving cycle of paintings depicting the life of Saint
Matthew. These include the three most famous canvases, The Calling of Saint Matthew, The Inspiration of
Saint Matthew, and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. Next, head to the
Baroque Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza.
Be sure to look up at the lantern of
Sant’Ivo: a swirling spiral shape like whipped cream that is said to have

chi

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was added later, sometime during the
Baroque period. Outside is another remarkable sculpture, the Elephant and Obelisk by Bernini, father of the
Baroque. The Egyptian obelisk sitting atop the elephant was discovered during nearby excavations in the mid-1600s and the final work was unveiled in 1667. Straight ahead lies the Pantheon, one of the wonders of the ancient Roman world. The building’s dome remains the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, and the oculus, at its apex, is the only source of light besides the entrance.

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The Navona and Campo districts are the Rome of your dreams, full of terracotta-hued palaces, picturesque squares, and one architectural showstopper after another. Begin at the super-opulent Il Gesù, the church that introduced the Baroque style to 17thcentury Rome. Head toward Piazza della Minerva and Santa Maria sopra
Minerva, home to Michelangelo’s marble Risen Christ statue. The lioncloth

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The Eixample district is packed with
Barcelona’s best architectural examples of the Catalan Art Nouveau. Starting in the Plaça de Catalunya, walk up
Passeig de Gràcia until you reach the corner of Consell de Cent. Here is the
Manzana de la Discòrdia (the Block of Discord), where the three great figures of Barcelona’s late-19th-century

mbla
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BA R R I
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na

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e Ri

C. de Pamlona

C. d

Plaça de les Glòties
Catalanes

C. d’Alaba

C. de Sardenya

C. de Nàpols

C. de Sicilia

C.

C. de Marina

Monumental

C. d’Ali Bei
Arc de Triomf

C. del Dos de Maig

C. de Cartagena

Plaça de
Gaudí

Tetuán

Parc de l’Estacio del Nord

to the undulating stone façade and twisted iron balconies. Do take time to see the roof, the Gaudí museum, and the early-20th-century apartment.
Just around the corner, on Avinguda
Diagonal, is Puig i Cadafalch’s Palau
Baró de Quadras; it’s just two minutes from the architect’s Nordic castle fantasy, the Casa de les Punxes. From here it’s only a 10-minute stroll to
Passeig de Sant Joan and yet another
Puig i Cadafalch masterpiece, Casa

C. del Rosseló

C. de Lepant

a de

Hospital

S A GR A D A de Sant Pau
FA M Í LI A C. de Còrsega

ts m o ra ls Fna
C. de da Dia
C. del Consell de Cent gon al

C. de Marina

Ro n d

C. de la Indústria

Gran Via de les Corts
C. de Sardenya

C. d’Ausiás Marc

Urquinaona

ngu

C. de la Diputació

C. de Sicllia

START

Plaça De
Catalunya

Av i

C. del consell de Cent

C. de Nàpols

C. de Casp

i ta t

Catalunya

C. de Roger

Plaça de
Tetuán
Passeig de Saint Joan

i ve rs

de Flor

Passeig de Saint Joan
Passeig de Saint Joan

C. de Ballèn

C. del Bruc

C. de Roger

C. de la Diputació

C. de d’Aragó

END

Temple Expiatori de la
Sagrada Família

C. de València

C. de Roger de Flor

C. de

C. de Balmes

Passeig de Gràcia

Girona

Car

TIMING: All day with a tour of Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família

a Un

lai

Hospital de Sant Pau

Moderniste movement—Lluis Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, and
Antoni Gaudí—went head to head with three radically different buildings: Casa
Lleó Morera, Casa Amatller, and Casa
Batlló. The Casa Montaner i Simó—
Fundació Tàpies, with its wire sculpture
Núvol i cadira (Cloud and Chair) by
Antoni Tàpies, is just west, around the corner on Carrer d’Aragó. Swing by
Casa Domènech i Estapà on Carrer de
Valencia for a more conservative take on the Art Nouveau movement. Gaudí’s
Casa Milà was controversial thanks

C. de Valènci de Llúria

Passeig de Gràcia

Catalunya

RAVAL

C. de Mallorca

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes

Pe

END:

Plaça de Catalunya

Manzana De
La Discòrdia

de

START:

E I X A MPLE

C.

BARCELONA
EIXAMPLE’S ART NOUVEAU

C. d’Aragó

Ro n d

Plaça de la
Casa Macaya
Sagrada
C. de Mallorca Família

Casa Montaner
I Simó–fundació Tàpies

Universitat

Plaça de la
Universitat

Verdaguer

Passeig de Saint Joan
Passeig de Saint Joan

C. de València

image caption

Pass eig de Gràc ia

Casa Domènech
I Estapà

Casa Milà

500 m

Hospital De
Sant Pau

C. de Sant Antoni Maria Clare

Sagrada i a gCasa De Les Punxes ona Família
Verdaguer
l
Carrer de Provença

C. de Ballèn

C. de Provença

aD

Diagonal

Pau Claris

C. d’Aribau

C. de Rosselió

500 ft

0

C. de Sa nt Llu is
C. de Te ro l
C. de Ra m on y
Joanic
Ca jal
Tra ve ss e ra d e G rà c ia
C. de Gràc ia

C. de Girona

C. de Còrsega

c

FPO map
C. de Còrsega
Palau Baró
De Quadras A
[walking tour] vin C. del Rosseló g u d C. del Rosseló
Pass eig de Gràc ia

Rambla de Catalunya

C. d’Enric

FPO image

C. de Cristófer

Gràc ia

C. de Balmes

C. de Tuset

Tra ve ss era de

C. Sa nt M ar

0

C. de l’O r

C . M oza rt
C. Fs co Gi
C. Ma rti nez de ne r la Ro sa Co nó
C . d e l To rre n t d e l’ O ll a

C. d’Ar iba u

Alfons X

C. de la Forj a
C . de M ar ià
C ub i

C. de Tánger

C. de Sancho de Avila
S A N T MA RT I

Macaya. By this time you’re only three blocks from Gaudí’s Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (set aside half the day for this masterpiece). Finish off the tour with a stroll over to Domènech i Montaner’s Hospital de Sant Pau, another Moderniste monument and a
World Heritage Site. Tours are offered in English daily.

BEST WALKING TOURS IN EUROPE / 11

e ra st de er

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Friedrichshain

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Keep walking along Bethaniendamm and you’ll come to a colorful ramshackle wooden structure. This

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rstr
.

East Side
Gallery

. str A cobblestone path traces the course of the former border between East and
West Berlin and illuminates the effects the Wall had on the city: it cut through streets, neighborhoods, and even buildings. Start at Potsdamer Platz, the heart of New Berlin, where the two halves of the formerly divided city have grown together and where a tiny stretch of the Berlin Wall still stands.
Walk south along Stresemanstrasse

ala

en

Half a day

Str

hl

TIMING:

ra s

t r. t r.

ns

Mühlenstrasse

r.

Gitschiner Strasse
Park am
Gleisdreieck

KR EUZBERG
KREUZBERG

is where a Turkish immigrant named
Osman Kalin planted vegetables in the shadow of the Wall. Little did he know that this piece of land actually belonged to East Berlin but the Wall had missed it. His family still grows onions and cabbages on the plot.
Even the most bizarre circumstances were normal in Cold War Berlin—and some of these oddities have survived the change of times. End the walk by crossing the Spree River at the
Schilling Bridge. Turn right to walk

ass str t ra

sse

ier

ans

nn

Urb

Pa

.5 km

e

.5 mi

0
0

from Potsdamer Platz, and then head east along Niederkirchnerstrasse two blocks to the Checkpoint Charlie
Museum. Continue east to the modest column engraved “He only wanted freedom,” in German, at Zimmerstrasse
15, commemorating Peter Fechter, an
18-year-old who was shot and killed while trying to escape to the West.
Next wander to Engelbecken Pond and take in the views.

tst

Engelbecken
Pond
Bet

s t r.

r.

an

END:

Potsdamer Platz

nst

elms

em

START:

ark

Mü

ian

n st

es

Wi l h

Str

BERLIN
CITY CENTER BERLIN WALL TRAIL

5 lzm S t r.

t r.

ast

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image caption

Ho

ne-

ns

Seb

r Stras se
Leipziger Le ipz ige tr. Krau se ns tr.
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Sc hü tze ns tr. ko an Ja da Zim me rst r.
Nie de rki rch ne rst r.
Ko ch str. l te
Checkpoint
Zimmerstr. 15
A
Charlie Walldeckpark column O ra
Museum
nie

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5

An

START

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ne

Potsdamer
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POTSDAMER
PLATZ

Ma rkg rafe nst r.

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FPO map 1
MITTE
[walking tour]
Sc

Str. de s 17 . Ju ni

pla

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Lu ise ns tra ss e

FPO image

ß h lo

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parallel to the river. Fast-forward on
Mühlenstrasse to the famous East Side
Gallery, where artists from all over the world decorated the 4,000-some-foot remaining stretch of wall with colorful murals. Unfortunately, a section was demolished to construct a riverside condo, and the future of this iconic piece of the wall remains unclear.

BEST WALKING TOURS IN EUROPE / 12

Copyright © 2016 by Fodor’s Travel, a division of Random House LLC

PHOTO CREDITS

Cover, Massimo Colombo/iStockphoto.

Washington D.C., idesignimages/iStockphoto.

Barcelona, Ingenui/iStockphoto.

Intro, Alberto Marangoni/iStockphoto.

San Francisco, nito/Shutterstock.

Berlin, Halie Cousineau/Fodor’s Travel.

Chicago, Andrey Bayda/Shutterstock.

Paris, S-F/Shutterstock.

Back cover, kapitaen/iStockphoto.

New Orleans, Ggoodrow/Dreamstime.com.

London, Ronnybas/Dreamstime.com.

New York City, Marc Venema/iStockphoto.

Rome, Ross Brinkerhoff/Fodor’s Travel.