Berlin Street Art, Graffiti Tour in Berlin

Berlin Street Culture - In Berlin we are in the mecca of Street Art. The wall, once graffiti-covered, painted, and filled with messages and exclamations of freedom, has led graffiti artists to turn elsewhere after its fall, taking over the city. From Mitte to Friedrichshain, passing through Kreuzberg, murals occupy the walls left bare from bombings, and the walls and storefronts are within spray or brush reach. Not all tenants and shop owners appreciated the invasion of art, so they got creative too, applying mosaics and frescoes to shutters, grilles, and walls to prevent graffiti. And Berlin keeps getting more colorful.

Our graffiti tour begins in Kreuzberg. On Skalitzer, we encounter 'The Astronaut' by Ash (Astronaut, 2007), a gigantic stencil created during the Backjumps festival. We continue towards the Spree along Skalitzer and cut left into Zeughofstrasse. At the end of the street is the legendary Wall by Blu from Bologna. Other graffiti artists have painted over and around the piece. But true enthusiasts must not miss a photo of the wall. We return to Skalitzer where we find 'Yellow Man' by Os Gemeos. 'Brothers,' perhaps Blu's most famous mural of all, is located nearby on Cuvrystrasse. Heading toward the river on Franksteinstrasse, we encounter, after 'Hourglass,' another eerie mega graffiti by Blu, 'Leviathan.' WATCH ALSO: THE BEST NEIGHBORHOODS FOR STREET ART

We cross the river and enter East Berlin. On Modershonnstrasse is another iconic graffiti, 'Fish' by Ema, wearing fish clothing and a nose dipped in a glass. Here you'll find the map of the major graffiti spots in Berlin between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.

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On the other side of the Spree, our tour has just begun and here we are in front of our true destination. The Eastside Gallery, the most beautiful and historically rich open-air gallery in the world (and also the most economical, completely free).

It preserves fragments of the wall that used to divide the West from East Berlin at this point. Murals and graffiti fill and color the stretch up to the intersection of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse, the site of the real Checkpoint Charlie. The Alternative Berlin Association organizes Street Art tours in Berlin (3.30 hours and 15 Euros) or free tours that depart every day at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. With these three-hour walking tours, you visit the Eastside Gallery, art galleries, urban art projects, abandoned sites, flea markets, and go to the squats where the works of emerging artists thrive. WATCH ALSO: ALTERNATIVE NEIGHBORHOODS IN BERLIN

Reading - 'Urban Illustration Berlin: Street Art Cityguide' started as a guide to the city's most beautiful canvases and became something more, with interviews with some of the authors and a focus on the main techniques used. 'City language Berlin' goes beyond graffiti and analyzes the language of the hieroglyphs scattered throughout the city.