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Berlin Experiences/About

Twenty years of Berlin, told by historians.

Berlin Experiences is a private guided tour company founded in 2006 by historian Matt Robinson. We lead immersive walks through the city’s medieval roots, Prussian grandeur, Weimar excess, Third Reich horrors and Cold War divisions — for individuals, families, schools, journalists, authors and broadcasters.

Matt Robinson on tour in Berlin
Matt on tour 2
Matt on tour 3
Matt on tour 4

The founder · Matt Robinson

A journalist who never put the notebook down.

Professional curiosity brought Matt to Berlin. As a trained journalist, he arrived from England intent on better understanding this fascinating city that stood centre-stage throughout the tumultuous 20th century.

After a chance encounter with a Cold War-era British spy, he set aside the press card and began guiding the people he’d been writing for. Two decades on, he has led more than ten thousand visitors through Berlin — never from a script.

When he’s not on tour, Matt writes the Mythbusting Berlin essay series, narrates documentaries, and consults on books and films about 20th-century Berlin.

20+
Years guiding Berlin
10,000+
Visitors hosted
76
Distinct experiences
5★
Across every platform
Twentieth Century

The city we walk you through.

Five eras in a hundred years. Each tour focuses in on one or two — or, if you want the full sweep, we’ve guided clients through every one of them.

1900–1918

Imperial Capital

Berlin is the engine of Europe's most advanced industrial power, doubling in size every twenty years. Then the Kaiser abdicates and the empire dissolves overnight.

  1. 1900
    Capital of progress
    Electricity, U-Bahn, AEG — Berlin is the most modern city on the continent.
  2. 1914
    War
    Cheering crowds on Unter den Linden; few will return.
  3. 1918
    November Revolution
    The republic is declared twice in two hours, from two windows, across the same square.

Berlin Experiences sites

Our history websites.

Our catalogue of history websites, if you’re interested in getting deeper into the subjects we cover on our tours – either before or after your visit to Berlin.

Global atlas

Where Is The Wall

A global atlas of the Berlin Wall: every surviving section, relocated segment and fragment, mapped around the world.

Find the Wall
1961–1989

Berlin Wall Escapes

A sourced record of escapes across the Berlin Wall, from tunnels and ziplines to trains and swimmers, on a map of its route.

See the escapes
Memorial record

Victims of the Wall

Remembering the 140 people killed at the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989: their lives, their deaths and where they died.

Read their stories
Day by day

Democracy Destroyed

The first 100 days of Nazi rule, from 30 January 1933: the laws, the terror and the politics, beside the everyday life that carried on.

Read the 100 days
Day by day

Battle of Berlin 1945

The last battle of the war in Europe reconstructed day by day, from the Oder to the Reichstag, 16 April to 2 May 1945.

Follow the battle
Day by day

Potsdam Conference 1945

What Truman, Churchill and Stalin said at Cecilienhof, sitting by sitting, 17 July to 2 August 1945.

Read the record
Infographics

Berlinfographics

The history of Berlin drawn from the record, in a growing collection of original infographics.

See the graphics
Plan your visit

Berlin Is Closed

Which Berlin museums, landmarks and lines are shut for building work, and when each one is due back.

Check before you go
Free reading room

Marginalia

Matt Robinson's tour notes — every reference, anecdote, and source lovingly compiled and now free for everyone.

Browse the notes
Reading room

Lost Lands

A guidebook to countries that no longer exist — Prussia, the GDR, the Ottoman Empire and more.

Start reading

Victims of the Wall: Window of Remembrance, Bernauer Straße. Photo: Inhiber, CC BY-SA 3.0