Berlin is recognized as a city that is constantly changing, evolving, and reinventing itself. Architecture, much of it in glass and steel, is in evidence everywhere, but the city’s many parks, canals and forest-rimmed lakes are still its most evocative real estate. The city is full of history but with a slightly off-beat twist, and its unique mix of cultural highlights is unrivaled.
Tour coordinated between Richard Engle and Boutique Journeys.
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Itinerary
Day
1
Welcome to Berlin!
Upon arrival, you will be met by your VIP Greeter at your arrival gate and taken through security and baggage claim to meet your driver. You will then be taken by private transfer to your hotel for check in.
Afternoon: Unter den Linden – Mitte
After checking in and some time to freshen up, meet with your guide in the hotel lobby to begin your tour. Bebelplatz is one of the most beautiful squares in the capital, partly due to the surrounding buildings but is also because it is located on the magnificent boulevard Unter den Linden. Bebelplatz was the site of the infamous 'book burning' organized by the Nazis, in which important works of world literature were thrown into the flames. Since 1995, a subterranean monument by Micha Ullmann has commemorated this incident.
Enjoy the exquisite symmetry of Gendarmenmarkt, one of the high points of King Frederic the Great’s 17th century vision for the city. Take a stroll along Unter den Linden, a grand boulevard lined with some of the finest Baroque and Classical palaces of Northern Europe, all the way to the Brandenburg Gate. The Brandenburg Gate is one of Berlin's most important monuments – a landmark and symbol all in one with over two hundred years of history. A former symbol of the divided city, it drew visitors who used to climb an observation platform in order to get a glimpse of the world behind the Iron Curtain, on the other side of the barren 'death-strip' which separated East from West Berlin, geographically and politically
Contemporary Architecture & Government District
Nowhere else in the world today can one find such a phenomenal concentration of buildings by the world’s most celebrated 20th and 21st century architects: from Santiago Calatrava to Rem Koolhaas, from Renzo Piano to I. M Pei, the new German capital plays host to them all. The tour includes a stop at Pariser Platz with Frank Gehry’s floating boardroom in the DZ-Bank Building, Ruble & Yudell’s US Embassy as well as Potsdamer Platz, home to the Sony Center.
West Berlin
Visit former West Berlin and take stroll along Kurfurstendam, or known locally as the Ku’damm, one of the most famous and beautiful boulevards in Berlin. Stop at KaDeWe, Berlin's answer to Harrod's of London with an amazing gourmet food court hidden on the 6th floor.
Evening: Berlin by Private Boat
Experience Berlin in a very special and exclusive manner – with a tour in a private water sedan. Enjoy a private ride on the waterways of Berlin with drinks and light snacks whilst your personal chauffeur shows you the sights of the city.
Day
2
Berlin Wall & Cold War - WWII Sites
Morning: Berlin Wall & Cold War Bike Tour
Meet with your bicycle guide at the hotel entrance to begin your biking tour covering many of the historical sites of the Cold War in Berlin. Splitting in half between the communistic Soviet Union of the East, and the capitalist West, Berlin has been a lightning rod of controversy for most of modern history.
Head away from the Mitte district and the pedestrian Cold War sights to take in more of the former East, more of the Wall, and more of what makes Berlin the unique city it is today.
Heead east along the imposing Karl-Marx-Allee before taking in the colorful East Side Gallery - a 1 kilometer long stretch of the Berlin Wall in an industrial district of Berlin, now painted with anti-war murals by artists from all over the world - and the powerful Treptower Park Memorial. From there return through the former no-man’s-land death strip to visit former checkpoints and hear tales of espionage and escape attempts.
Lunch is recommended at Restaurant Käfer. Situated on top of the Reichstag, which star-architect Norman Foster converted into a state-of-the-art parliament building with a glass dome overlooking the city below.
Afternoon: Third Reich & WWII Sites
Focusing on the historic legacy of the Third Reich and WW II. Visit the site of Hitler’s former Chancellery and Bunker near Brandenburg Gate. Drive by the Soviet War Memorial built in 1945 out of marble taken from Hitler’s Chancellery. Visit Wilhelmstrasse where visitors can see the still standing Air Ministry, headquarters of Goering’s Luftwaffe, which today houses the Ministry of Finance.
For a more in depth history, take a tour of the Topography of Terror, an area of excavated cellars that used to belong to Reinhard Heydrich’s SS and Gestapo headquarters, now home to an exhibition documenting the history of this instrument of Nazi oppression.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Just across from the U.S. Embassy, stands Peter Eisenman’s Holocaust Memorial, a labyrinthine grid of 2700 concrete steles sunk into the ground with a powerful documentation center concealed underneath.
Day
3
Art Tour
Morning: Private Street Art Tour
Meet with your guide in the hotel lobby and continue your exploration of Berlin. Street Art, Graffiti, & Culture in Europe’s Creative Capital Berlin’s unique history of destruction, division, and reincarnation as a cultural & artistic hub in the 20th century has imbued it with a one of kind a mentality and vibrance, a city constantly evolving and ever changing. It is said “Berlin is forever becoming, and never being,” and nowhere is that more obvious than in the art that has come to dominate the streets of this city. The contribution of graffiti and street artists both local and world renowned have transformed the walls of the city into the largest open-air art gallery in the world, contributing to Berlin’s status as the UNESCO “World City of Design”. Explore Berlin’s more off the beaten track neighborhoods such as Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain discovering the cities street art.
Afternoon: Boros Private Collection
Enjoy a visit of the private collection of advertising tycoon Christian Boros, who converted a WW II air-raid bunker - later 1970s fetish club - into a powerful stage for his collection including works by Olafur Eliasson, Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, Santiago Serra, Franz Ackermann, Elizabeth Peyton, Anselm Reyle, Tobias Rehberger, Martin Boyce and Jim Lambie…
Afternoon: Erica Hoffman Private Collection
Enjoy a private tour of the private collection of contemporary art (Frank Stella, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Pippilotti Rist, Nan Goldin, AR Penck, Ron Mueck and many others) housed in the top two floors of a former sewing machine factory turned private home.
Evening: Street Food Thursday
Street Food Thursday at Markthalle Neun is the mother of all street food events in Berlin. Located in a historic market hall in the artsy neighborhood of Kreuzeberg, the occasion attracts thousands of visitors weekly. With many award winning serving up dishes from all over the world along with craft beer and cocktails on tap, Street Food Thursday is a lively and fun place to spend an evening in Berlin.
Day
4
House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial - Potsdam - Liebermann Villa
House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial
Meet with your guide in the hotel lobby and take a drive to Wannsee, to visit the Memorial site of the House of the Wannsee Conference. The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee in January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews that Reinhard Heydrich had been appointed as the chief executor of the 'Final solution to the Jewish question'.
Potsdam
Next you will make your way to Potsdam. Potsdam is to Berlin what Versailles is to Paris. For centuries, it was the summer residence of the Kings of Prussia. Today, it is an elegant residential town with a beautiful Baroque center and three landscaped parks filled with palaces, churches, temples, pagodas, teahouses, grottos and a wonderful array of architectural follies. In 1990, Potsdam, formerly in communist East Germany, was assigned UNESCO world heritage status; some 80 per cent of the town’s historic buildings have subsequently been restored. Here you can enjoy privately guided tours of the Sans Souci Palace as well as the Cecilenhof Palace.
Liebermann Villa
Stop for refreshments at the Liebermann Villa, a paradisiacal place: the Berlin painter Max Liebermann fled to his refuge at the Wannsee from the Berlin that had become loud and dirty. After a conscious and loving restoration of the house and the original garden design, one can, at least as a visitor, experience it as he did.
Day
5
Prinzessinnengärten - Beer - HolzMarkt
Morning: Prinzessinnengärten
After meeting with your guide, make your way to Prinzessinnengärten. This urban garden project in the heart of Kreuzberg is supported by the neighborhood volunteers. Part community garden, part art space, part cafe, a wander through Prinzessinnengärten is relaxing and uplifting. Grab a coffee or a bite to eat in order to support the projects happening here.
Afternoon: Beer Garden & Beer Samplings
Visit one of the oldest beer garden in Berlin before heading to a nearby craft brewery for special Berlin-style beers. Learn the basics of beer tasting and the history and culture behind the styles. Stroll through East Berlin neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg to a popular craft brewery built on top another one from 1893. You will have the chance to inspect some brewing kettles and understand the brewing process. Learn about the German Beer Purity Law and how it plays a role in today's beer industry while drinking a Berlin craft Weizenbier.
Late afternoon: HolzMarkt
End the day with a stop at HolzMarkt, a community run area that includes a bar, restaurant, and coffee shop and holds cultural events such as movie screenings. The only way you find a place like HolzMarkt is stumbling upon it – or with one of our private guides. The main attraction at HolzMarkt is its riverside seating that is fantastic for hanging out and watching the world sail by. It is a great place to unwind after a long day of exploring Berlin.
Day
6
Departure Day
Today you will be met in the lobby of your hotel and taken by private transfer to the airport in time for your departing flight.
VIP Airport Departure services to be confirmed. Upon arrival at the private air terminal, you will be met by your greeter, assisted with luggage, check in and security, and escorted to the lounge. At time of boarding you will be escorted to your plane.