Berlin Reichstag

I took the guided tour and found it to be very informative. There was a lot of graffiti left by Russian occupiers, which after careful consideration, they left in place as it was part of the historical context of the building.

I also took the guided tour and I was very satisfied that I got more out of it than I would have with just the dome with audio guide. I thought the dome was great but I'm really glad that I got to see the rest of it with a guide explaining everything. I loved the basement with the mail boxes for all of the elected reps, they still have Hitler's from when he was a member. And the Russian graffiti as the other poster mentioned.

You will want to go to the Bundestag website (www.bundestag.de) and put in your travel dates to see if guided tours are available on those dates. We had hoped to take the guided tour last July, but guided tours are not available when special events are scheduled--and one was scheduled for the time of our visit. We used the audioguide for our visit; while it's not the same as having a tour guide, it is quite good and shares a lot of valuable information. The audioguide points out the area where the Russian graffiti has been preserved. We scheduled our visit for the evening; the sunset views were spectacular! Enjoy your visit.

I never did the guided tour but as Berliner I can tell you that this building can tell you much about German history. Its political and symbolic meaning (democracy) from the very first beginning is incomparable in Germany. The choice of location itself was a message at the time when it was built. So, really worth to spend time there with detailed background information.

The guided tour was one of the highlights of my visit to Berlin. Very interesting, beautiful building that had a lot of work put in on the details (symbolism, commissioned art, etc). I'm a political nerd so I loved seeing the legislative chambers and Merkel's office door! The tour ends at the dome, so you see it too. As mentioned, they may not have times open during your visit, but if they do, go! I took an evening tour (6:30 p.m. entry I think) and it was pretty cool to walk up the dome as the sun went down. If you do go, you are required to go through airport style security (it is a government building), but it wasn't much of a bother.

Does the guided tour cover other areas of the building besides just the dome?

Yes, it covers the main building. In fact, it didn't cover the dome at all. The tour ended at the entry to the dome where he left us on our own.

The guide even knocked on the door to the Chancellor's office (he knew Ms Merkel wasn't in). Also gave us a quick primer on how the German political system worked with checks and balances. Nice dry sense of humor as well.

Just a note that Berliners may think of this more as a tour of the "Bundestag" building. That's a reminder that you need your actual passport and extra time for airport-style security to enter the building through a single security pavillion.

We enjoyed the tour, which as noted, it hard to get into without far advance booking. I don't think it's a must-do. But the art and architecture around the building are pretty interesting. I might not have noticed the Chancellor's special chair if it hadn't been pointed out to us. I don't think you get to wander around unaccompanied if you don't book the tour.

Thanks all. Yesterday when I posted this there were plenty of tours available for my dates in April. This morning there are none. I'm hoping it's a temporary thing.

I appreciate all the good feedback.

Just wanted to follow up to let people know that some times were added for tours, so if you are looking to book a tour of the Reichstag/Bundestag in Berlin and there are no available dates and times that work for you, keep checking back.

I went ahead and booked a tour. Looking forward to it!