The tour starts at Kastanienallee 65 at the Hotel Kastanienhof. From the front door of the hotel, head left down Kastanienallee. Here, you can let go and whizz downhill as the street becomes the steep Weinbergsweg. It's fun, but be careful: there are tram tracks embedded in the street.
Rosenthaler Platz
The Weinbergsweg opens up on to Rosenthaler Platz, which, despite its name, is not so much an open plaza but a busy and historic crossroads. This is where the Rosenthaler Tor once stood, the only gate in Berlin's medieval city wall through which Jews were allowed to pass.
For safety's sake, get off your bicycle at this pedestrian crossing and walk your bike across the street and then continue riding to your right into Torstraße, until you reach the next crossroads. Turn left into Ackerstraße and cycle a few metres to the corner of Ackerstraße/Linienstraße. Across the way is Koppenplatz, a small park in the historic Spandauer Vorstadt.
Koppenplatz
The Koppenplatz is home to sculptor Karl Biedermann's memorial to the many Berlin Jews who were deported and murdered in the Holocaust. The memorial was given the title "The abandoned chair behind the empty table in front of the overturned chair."
Insider Tip: Discover Top Vegan Cuisine! Situated directly on Koppenplatz is "Kopps", a vegan restaurant offering inspiring fresh cuisine made purely with vegetable ingredients.
Große Hamburger Straße
On the south side of Koppenplatz is Große Hamburger Straße, with many reminders of Jewish Berlin, past and present. Just continue along the street straight ahead. At the end of the street on the left-hand side stands the Moses Mendelssohn Jüdisches Gymnasium (Jewish Secondary School), right next to the site of the oldest Jewish cemetery in Berlin.
Moses Mendelssohn Jüdisches Gymnasium
This Jewish Secondary School has a moving and terrible history. First established as a Jewish boys' school, it was used by the Nazis from 1942–1945 as a transit camp, together with the now-destroyed adjoining Jewish nursing home.
Jewish Cemetery
Next door to the Jewish Secondary School is where the oldest Jewish cemetery in Berlin was once located before being completely destroyed by the Gestapo during the Nazi era. The site is now home to a memorial, a monument to the former nursing home and the sculpture "Jewish Victims of Fascism" by Will and Mark Lambert.
