A dizzying array of walking, bike, bus and boat tours compete for the attention of visitors to Berlin. Many of the greatest attractions cluster in Mitte, within feasible walking distance of one another. If you’re seeking a tour that goes beyond the postcard classics, however, you might find biking best suited to the city’s scale. The quality of tours is higher than in many other European cities, possibly because of the amount of over-educated and under-employed native English speakers, or maybe just because Berlin so easily lends itself to compelling storytelling. Don’t be surprised if €12 gets you a four-hour walking tour led by an engaging PhD history graduate with a lively sense of humour. However, the quality varies widely, and free excursions should be viewed with a wary eye. The standard menu offered by larger tour operators includes Cold War and Third Reich history tours, daytrip tours to Potsdam and Sachsenhausen, and pub crawls. Those looking for something more offbeat can find all manner of oddities: putter around the former East Berlin in an original DDR Trabant, trek through subterranean tunnels and ruined bunkers, or explore the city’s seedy side on a sex-themed ‘Sinful Berlin’ tour. No official licence is needed to lead groups, but many professional tour guides hold a collection of site-specific licences authorising them to lead groups into museums, monuments and palaces. Touring is a highly seasonal business: most companies cut their offerings between November and March, and the pickings are very slim in the last two weeks of December.