Brandenburger Tor

As you come up the steps from the U-Bahn and see this in front of you you'll find yourself taking a deep breath and maybe having a bit of a tear in your eye. Having seen the Tor in so many films, books and pictures, it's more than a little bit amazing to see it in real life. 

Surely once you visit Berlin, you have to see the Bradenburger Tor.. This famous symbol of the city's unification is in Mitte and near by you can find many other attractions too.. Walk all the the Unten den Linden, from the Berliner Dom to Bradenburger Tor.. That's something you should not miss in Berlin..

I was in Berlin in '62 when the wall was going up....difficult days.  The Tor had an awsome appearance then...dark, cold, gloom and doom.  The misery endured and lives destroyed.

How nice to re-visit and see it in a better light.  The wonderful Unter den Linden still retains its' charm from happier days.

Wonderful city.

Well worth a visit not only for the photo opportunity but too be able to walk freely around this cold-war icon.

Obviously a must visit. If you are coming for pictures, I would recommend visiting in the morning so the light is on the side that the chariot faces. At night, they have some great lighting on the gate, so that would make for some great pictures as well.

MUST VISIT for tourists in Berlin.

A must-see in Berlin, specially at Festival of Lights
http://www.festival-of-lights.de/en/

Très belle place, a voir absolument ! A noter que c est aussi le point de départ des tours gratuits a pied avec un guide!

I visited Berlin first in 1984 and actually spent some time on the east side of the Wall on a project I was doing. We often waved to the people on the west through the gate (they were on a raised platform on the west side of the wall !)

I went again in 1989 on a journalistic trip to see the Wall come down and spent an unbelievable weekend as the east met the west.

I have been a regular visitor to Berlin ever since and always make a visit to the Brandenburg Gate and sit at a table at Starbucks to watch the world go by.

See my photos from 1984, 1989 and then
the photograph of the 2005 commemoration of the end of the war 1945.

In 1989 I brought back home some authentic chunks of wall, had them mounted and raffled them for a Breast Scanner Appeal.

At Christmas they usually have a decorated tree in the middle of Pariser Platz.

As my boots crunched on the stones set into the spaces where the wall used to stand, I had to suppress a shudder. Once this was inaccessible for people and I remember - I remember the day when the wall fell.

That memory of a city divided was eerie as I looked at the tourists crossing the street without a thought. I watched people move about with a freedom that for half my life was denied to those living here.

It’s a monument to many things. It’s a memory of many things. But right now, it’s a tourist attraction.

The Tor is pretty frickin awesome. And that’s before you see it in some of the iconic images during the time of the Berlin Wall. If these walls could speak….as the saying goes! Having been to a couple of Berlin Wall related monuments before coming to the Tor, I felt pretty much in awe of the place! If you have time and can do things in that order then I would recommend it.

Unfortunately, as with all major tourist attractions, it has it’s fair share of scroungers after your money…and I’m including the people who paint themselves silver or something and stand motionless on boxes in that category. Yeah…well done…yeah….you managed to p*ss me off without even moving….what a useful talent.

And I’ve gone off on one of my rants again. I am sorry, I shouldn’t because despite this the place is still worth a 5. It is the must see monument in Berlin for me.

A must stop for any trip to Berlin. Makes a great picture at night.

A focal point of this part of Berlin the Brandenburger Tor is hard to miss. Located at the end of Unter den Linden it’s only minutes from Potsdamer Platz, the Holocaust Memorial, the Bundestag and the Tiergarten.

Originally built as a monument to Prussian militarism it has since (along with the Siegessäule) been reclaimed as a symbol of peace and German unity. It was a potential flashpoint when the city was crudely divided in August 1961 and the original rolls of barbed wire were replaced with bricks and, eventually, the wasteland that was the border strip. The area eventually came bacl to life when it was the epicentre of the celebrations that tore the wall down in November 1989.

A visit to the Brandenberg gate is a definate must for visitors to Berlin and close to the Reichstag which is worth another visit if you can bear the queues. At least you don’t have to queue to see this!

A must see for anyones visit to Berlin is the Brandenburg Gate. This is both impressive and moving to see day or evening when it is also lit quite impressively. Its really easy to get to being near UBahn and SBahn stations and also on a bus route, which is actually how we got there, the bus stops just over the road. There are benches where you can sit and relax and take in the atmosphere and take photos. The area is pedestrianised so you can get some really fab photos. There are a few bars and restaurants around but of the higher price range. The Reichstag is close by so you can do both things very easily.

This place must be visited if you visit Berlin!

What a terrible gate! Booo!

Just kidding, it’s fantastic. I don’t know if I can add anything that hasn’t already been said…
In spring and summer, it’s a great spot just for sitting and people watching.
And in December it makes a beautiful backdrop for the Christmas lights on Unter den Linden.

Regardless of the time of the year, it never disappoints.

By the way, the horses on top (the Quadriga), are a replica, not original. Apparently the Quadriga was heavily damaged during the war and the original (or what’s left of it) is on display in the Märkisches museum in Mitte.

It funny how many times one goes to an historic place only to find out its far smaller than expected. This was the case with the gate. The square was packed with people. It seems a sort of mecca for tourist interested in the full range of Berlins history. What I mean is not just the IIww part.
Its good that the area is free from traffic apart from bikes and the occasional horse drawn carriage and peddle taxis.
It is possible to see bullet marks on the gate. But its so great to see it intact.
What I did hate was the big USA flag in the left corner of the square. Talk about in your face!

Pretty cool gate, however when we went it was hard to access as the US embassy had just opened (4th July) and they were having a big concert (playing Austin powers music).

The Brandenburg Gate, or Brandenburger Tor in German, is one of the top attractions in Berlin. Located on Pariser Platz at the end of Unter den Linden it is the only remaining city gate in Berlin.

The gate, as one would expect, is now a magnet for tourists as it is a very famous symbol of Berlin. The Reichstag is only a short walk away one block to the north, making it an ideal first port-of-call on the way to the seat of the German government.

There’s not much to do here apart from take a few photos, but it is definitely worth a visit if you are in Berlin.