Berlin in words: a text walk for screen readers

This is Berlin as a text adventure. It uses the same real, named places as the 3D version, and every building is described the way you'd find it inside. It works with any screen reader and keyboard, and you don't need graphics.

Play

Type a command and press Enter, or use the buttons. Try look, north, go to and a place name, enter, menu, order 1, sit, talk, leave or help.

🎮 Or walk Berlin in 3D →

What the buildings of Berlin look like inside

1,698 named places from the real map are in this walk. Here is what each kind is like when you step through the door, with real examples you can visit:

Shop — 698 in Berlin

Shelves of goods run in rows toward the back, there's a display table near the door, and a register counter sits beside the entrance.

For example: Pavilion, Wiedemann, studio4a, Underwear Shopping - Team.

Restaurant — 325 in Berlin

Tables with paired chairs fill the room, and high-backed booths run down one wall. A chalkboard menu hangs over the kitchen counter at the back, where a server stands ready. Posters brighten the side wall.

For example: Curry Wolf, Restaurant Quarré, Lorenz Adlon Esszimer, mama trattoria.

Office — 297 in Berlin

Desks with chairs, a bookcase of files and a few plants. It's quiet apart from keyboards.

For example: Pilecki Institut, Vertretung der Europäischen Kommission in Deutschland, Botschaft von Ungarn, Humboldt-Viadrina Governance Platform.

Café — 53 in Berlin

The espresso machine hisses behind a wooden counter, next to a grinder and a glass case of pastries. A chalkboard lists the drinks. Small round tables fill the room, and a sofa corner with a rug, a lamp and a bookcase sits by the window. Warm bulbs hang low over everything.

For example: Dunkin', Café Lebensart, 1687 RESTAURANT & CAFÉ, Bäckerei Bich Ha.

Hotel — 46 in Berlin

The lobby has a long front desk with a brass bell and a wall of key-card slots behind it. There's a red rug with a sofa and armchairs, tall potted plants, a brass luggage cart and two elevator doors. A chandelier glitters overhead. Past the lobby, a corridor leads to guest rooms, each with a bed, nightstands and lamps, a TV on the dresser and a window.

For example: Hotel Adlon, Château Royal, Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin, Arte Luise Kunsthotel.

School — 32 in Berlin

A front office greets you. Down the corridor, classrooms have rows of small desks all facing a whiteboard, with the teacher's desk in the corner.

For example: Schule bei der Botschaft der Russischen Föderation, HU German Language Academy, Language Center of the Humboldt University of Berlin, Kita Kinderwelt.

Clinic — 32 in Berlin

A waiting room with chairs and a coffee table faces the reception desk. Down the hall, exam rooms each have a bed, a small desk and a chair.

For example: Huhndorf, Ärztehaus Mitte Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum, Orthopädische Praxis Mitte, Harry H. O. Einfeld.

Bar — 29 in Berlin

It's dim and warm. A long wooden bar runs down one side with stools and a row of beer taps, and backlit shelves of bottles glow amber behind it. Neon strips glow on the back wall, a game plays on a TV, and there's a pool table with the balls racked. Booths fill the other wall.

For example: Panini Bar, Denk Mal Lounge, Checkpoint Restaurant & Bar, Bar Tausend.

Fast food — 27 in Berlin

A bright counter runs across the back with three registers, and lit menu screens hang above it. Behind the counter you can hear the fryers hiss and the grill sizzle. Two touch-screen kiosks stand near the door, a soda fountain hums along the right wall, and booths line the left wall, with small two-seat tables in the middle.

For example: Jelbi S+U Brandenburger Tor/Pariser Platz, SIXT Autovermietung Berlin Brandenburger Tor/Adlon, Jelbi S+U Brandenburger Tor/Unter den Linden, Kadakals Döner Kebap.

Grocery store — 21 in Berlin

Long shelf aisles run the length of the store, stocked with colourful goods. A glowing cooler wall lines the back, and checkout lanes wait near the front.

For example: 7tappi Wein & Feinkost, HIT, EDEKA, Butterstulle Catering Und Service Gmbh.

Civic building — 19 in Berlin

A service counter faces a row of waiting chairs, and a flag stands in the corner. Offices open off a corridor.

For example: Kulturhaus der Russischen Botschaft, Schadowhaus, Bibliothek des Deutschen Bundestages, Zweigbibliothek Fremdsprachliche Philologien / Teilbibliothek Großbritannien-Zentrum.

Museum — 16 in Berlin

Pedestals with artefacts stand in a grid across the gallery, with benches for resting and an information desk by the door.

For example: Bud Spencer Museum, Deutsches Spionagemuseum, Jelbi Museum für Kommunikation, Dalí - Die Ausstellung am Potsdamer Platz, Museum in Berlin.

Clothing store — 13 in Berlin

Rails of hanging clothes fill the floor, folded shirts line the wall shelves, and two mannequins stand near the door. Fitting rooms with curtains run along one side next to a tall mirror.

For example: Zara, Foot Locker, Shoe City, H&M.

Bank — 12 in Berlin

A long teller counter runs across the back, a row of waiting chairs sits by the door, and banker's desks with chairs are spread across the floor.

For example: DZ-Bank, Sparda-Bank Berlin, Deutsche Bank Stiftung, Atrium der Deutschen Bank AG.

Salon — 11 in Berlin

Styling chairs line one wall in front of mirrors, waiting chairs sit opposite, and the front counter is by the door.

For example: Salon Rouge, Orient Barbershop, EP Nails, The Barber Burak.

Theatre — 10 in Berlin

A raised stage framed by a proscenium arch has closed red velvet curtains and footlights glowing along its edge. Rows of seats face it.

For example: Residenz am Deutschen Theater, Apart Hotel Residenz Am Deutschen Theater, Kabarett-Theater Distel, ApartHotel Residenz Am Deutschen Theater.

Pharmacy — 9 in Berlin

White aisles of boxes in blue, red and green run toward a pharmacy counter at the back under a big PHARMACY sign. Shelves of prescriptions sit behind the counter, and a blood-pressure chair waits near the front.

For example: Apotheke im Regierungsviertel, Dorotheenstadt Apotheke, Aschenbachs Apotheke, Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank eG - apoBank.

Gym — 8 in Berlin

Exercise mats, barbells and punching bags fill the floor. Dumbbells sit on a rack, and the front desk is by the door.

For example: AllStar Gym, CrossFit Grenzgänger, Planet Yoga, Pink Frauen Fitness.

Place of worship — 7 in Berlin

Rows of pews split by a centre aisle lead to an altar at the front, with a plant standing on either side. It's calm and still.

For example: Raum der Stille, Fieldstone, Quaker Meeting, Französische Friedrichstadtkirche.

Pizzeria — 4 in Berlin

It smells of wood smoke and baking dough. A brick dome oven glows orange at the back with a stack of split logs beside it. Pies sit under glass on the counter, a chalkboard menu hangs on the brick wall, and the tables have red-and-white checked cloths with shakers of chili flakes and parmesan.

For example: Call a Pizza, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Pizza Peppino.

Electronics store — 4 in Berlin

White display tables hold laptops and phones with glowing screens. A whole wall of TVs plays bright colours, and headphones hang in rows on one side. A service counter is by the door.

For example: MediaMarkt Warenannahme / Warenausgabe, Sim & Phone Dr., MediaMarkt, Phonetastisch.

Resort — 4 in Berlin

The lobby is huge and bright, with cream stone columns and a round fountain splashing in the middle. Palms grow in big pots. There are white sofas, a reception desk and a pool bar with stools. The guest rooms have king beds, a lounge chair, a fruit bowl and a window full of ocean blue.

For example: The Ritz-Carlton, Hotel Ritz Carlton, Italofritzen, Hotel Neuer Fritz Berlin.

Motel — 1 in Berlin

The small office has a counter with a bell and a coffee pot, and a red VACANCY sign glows in the window. There's a rack of colourful tourist brochures, a humming vending machine and an ice machine. Down the row, each room has a bed, a TV on a dresser and a rattling wall air-conditioner.

For example: Motel One Potsdamer Platz.

Library — 1 in Berlin

Rows of bookcases run across the room, and reading tables with chairs sit along the front. The checkout desk is by the door, and a plant stands in the corner. It's quiet.

For example: Law Branch Library - University Library of Humboldt-Universita t zu Berlin.

Cinema — 1 in Berlin

A huge screen fills the far wall, and tiered rows of red velvet seats face it. The popcorn counter is by the entrance.

For example: CinemaxX.

Bookstore — 1 in Berlin

Tall wooden bookcases cover the walls, and tables of new releases are stacked with colourful spines. There's a reading nook with two armchairs, a rug and a standing lamp. The register is by the door, and warm pendant lights hang overhead.

For example: Buchhandlung Walther König.