Berlin: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Tour & Oranienburg

What Sachsenhausen reveals about how a town became complicit

You travel by train from central Berlin to Oranienburg, walk through the town to understand local complicity, then spend hours inside Sachsenhausen with a licensed guide trained by the memorial. Entry, transport, and a €3 donation are included. The guide handles all logistics and returns you to the city centre by day's end.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. Haus Schwarzenbergpassing by
2. Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum2h 30m · entry included

Visit Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

• Take train from Berlin to Oranienburg
• Walk around Oranienburg with guide
• Learn about townsfolk and inmate work
• Tour Sachsenhausen camp interiors
• See barracks, prison and torture cells
• Visit camp kitchen and Station Z
• Explore gas chamber and crematorium
• View infirmaries and pathology center
• See Tower A main guard tower

The experience

Why does a place like this matter to visit? Because Sachsenhausen was the first concentration camp built from scratch, not repurposed, not improvised, but designed as a centre of terror. It's in Oranienburg, about an hour by train from Berlin, and the tour doesn't just walk you through the barracks and cells. It shows you the town itself, the streets where locals lived while the camp operated, and how ordinary people were woven into an extraordinary horror. Your licensed guide, trained by the memorial authority, walks you through that complicity alongside the prisoners' stories of resilience.

The day starts at S+U Friedrichstraße in central Berlin. Arrive 15 minutes early and you'll take the train out to Oranienburg with your guide. Once there, you walk the town first, seeing where inmates were forced to work, understanding how the community was connected to what happened behind the fence. Then you enter Sachsenhausen itself. The tour moves through the punishment cells, the infirmary, the old barracks, Tower A (the main guard tower), and Station Z, where mass executions took place. You'll see the gas chamber and crematorium. It's not rushed. The guide gives you time to absorb each location and the stories attached to it. The whole experience is fully guided: no self-navigation, no confusion about where to go or what you're looking at.

Entry to the Sachsenhausen Memorial is included, and so is the €3 per person donation that supports the site's ongoing work. You'll also visit the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps, the administrative centre that controlled the Nazi camp system across Europe: a detail that shifts how you understand the scale of what happened. By late afternoon, your guide brings you back to Berlin's city centre, so you don't have to navigate the return journey alone. Wear good walking shoes. There's moderate walking involved, and the ground is uneven in places.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or city-centre pickup at the meeting point, train transport to Oranienburg with your guide, a walking tour of Oranienburg town, full entry to the Sachsenhausen Memorial, a licensed English-language guide trained by the memorial authority, visits to the barracks, punishment cells, infirmary, gas chamber, crematorium, and the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps, and return transport to central Berlin. A €3 per person donation to the Sachsenhausen Memorial is included.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 10:00

Book up toStart time

AgesAdult (18 to 64 years) · Senior (65 and older) · Youth (under 18)

GroupUp to 28

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Paid on site€ 18.93

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended with heart problems

Operated by Insider Tour Berlin

Is this one for you?This tour is for anyone who wants to understand this history with expert context and without arranging transport or entry separately: the guide's training and the memorial's authority make the weight of the place bearable and clear.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (under 18).

How long is the Sachsenhausen tour from Berlin?

Roughly half a day. You leave from S+U Friedrichstraße in the morning, take the train to Oranienburg, and return to central Berlin in the late afternoon.

Is entry to Sachsenhausen included?

Yes. Entry to the Sachsenhausen Memorial is included in the tour price. A €3 per person donation supports the site.

Do I need to arrange my own transport to Oranienburg?

No. Your guide meets you at S+U Friedrichstraße in Berlin and accompanies you on the train to Oranienburg and back.

What language is the guide?

English. Your guide is a licensed, English-language guide trained by the memorial authority.

What if I have limited mobility or walking difficulties?

The tour involves moderate walking on uneven ground and is not recommended for individuals with limited mobility or walking impairments. Infants and small children can use a pram or stroller.

Can I bring a service animal?

Yes, service animals are allowed on the tour.

What should I wear?

Good walking shoes are recommended. The ground inside the memorial is uneven.

When should I arrive at the meeting point?

Arrive 15 minutes before the tour start time at S+U Friedrichstraße.