Tempelhof Airport Tour – Cycle Down A Runway In Time

There are airports and there are airports. Some, by virtue of their history or location, stand out from the generic and mundane. Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak airport, with its final approach skimming the Kowloon rooftops, is one. 

Another is Berlin’s Tempelhof. Dubbed ‘the mother of all airports’ by British architect Norman Foster, it was also the airport that made the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 possible. 

Tempelhof Airport Gateway To Freedom
A reminder of Tempelhof’s role in the Berlin Airlift

Today the airport is divided into the old terminal buildings and a public park, with its parallel runways open to cyclists. 

Tempelhof Airport Runway Bicycle
Where else in the world can you cycle down a runway with as much history?

Tempelhof Airport Tour

I’ve always wanted to visit Tempelhof and was delighted to discover there are in-depth tours run several times a week.

It’s a surreal experience to walk through the entire Ernst Sagebiel structure, with the check in hall and restaurant silent since the airport ceased operations in 2008.

Tempelhof Airport Check In
All quiet since October 2008
Tempelhof Airport Check In Desks
Check In Desks as they were on the last day of operations
Tempelhof Airport Apron View From Restaurant
Apron view from the restaurant

The tour also visits a viewing platform that gives a great view over the apron and runways, where I would be cycling after the tour.

Tempelhof Airport Runway View
View of the parallel runways

It’s only when you walk out under the cantilevered roof and into the cavernous hangers that you feel the scale of this small, by modern standards, airport.

Tempelhof Airport Hanger
Cavernous hangers with human for scale
Tempelhof Airport Pan Am Office
The former Pan Am offices

Back in the administration buildings around the main terminal you see signs of Tempelhof’s origins as a symbol of Nazi power. Below is one of the supersized halls that remains bare after being stripped of party symbols.

There is also a visit to the air raid shelters in the basement, which had well preserved wall art.

On the top floor of the buildings remain signs of the American stay at this airport, a basketball court and original maps.

Tempelhof Park

If the history and architecture wasn’t enough, Tempelhof Park must be one of the few places in the world where the public can cycle up and down a runway to their heart’s content.

There’s lots to see and do in Berlin but if you are interested in history, architecture and aviation make sure you take the time for a Tempelhof Airport Tour.

Milton
Milton

Milton joined the FlyerTalk community in 2004 to learn how to travel well on a budget and has never looked back. Between maximising the value from US Airways Dividend Miles (RIP) and availing himself of mistake fares like the Cathay Pacific New Year Deal from Vietnam, he likes to let the deals drive the itinerary.

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2 Comments

  1. Such a bizarrely beautiful experience. When we went the airport building (and tour) was offline because of air quality concerns; there was talk of it never opening up again. The cycling was great fun, but reading this post makes me feel like I’ve missed out. :/

    • The terminal tour is definitely worth doing if you’re passing through Berlin again…perhaps combined with a visit to Berlin Brandenburg Airport when it finally opens!

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