This tour is designed both to show you the very best of Berlin and delve into the city’s Jewish heritage and history, in comfort and luxury, and on your own terms.
You will be greeted in front of your cruise ship as soon as it docks and shown to your own private vehicle with a professional driver. You will then be driven through the picturesque flatlands of former East Germany to Berlin (circa 3 hours).
When you reach the city you will be met at the stunning Schloss Charlottenburg by a professional English speaking tour guide. We will take this opportunity to get out of the vehicle for you to stretch your legs and take in an introduction to the city that will set you up for the rest of the day. You will then get back into your vehicle and drive through the heart of former West Berlin, heading along the Kurfürstendamm and passing the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church – the ruined spire standing as a testament to the devastation caused by Allied bombing raids in World War II.
Driving via the Tiergarten and the stunning Victory Column, you will then make your way toward the historical city centre in the former East. You will see the Reichstag, burned down after Hitler’s rise to power and now a bold symbol of modern German democracy and pass through the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s most iconic landmark. You will then journey through the iconic concrete stelae of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe before visiting the site of Hitler’s Bunker, where history’s most notorious criminal committed suicide.
After a short lunch break we drive toward the UNESCO-listed Museum Island, via the Nikolaiviertel, Alexanderplatz and the Television Tower, and into the former Jewish Quarter to explore on foot. You will bathe in the beauty of the New Synagogue, track down Stolpersteine memorials, explore the corridors of a former Jewish Girls school, and walk off the beaten track in some of Berlin’s most charming backstreets. Next we head, via Unter den Linden and Gendarmenmarkt, to Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous crossing point over the Berlin Wall and frontier of the Cold War. Finally we spend some time walking in the shadow of a remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall – the Cold War’s most brutal symbol.
If there is somewhere you’d like to go, or somewhere special you’d like to eat, just let us know – this tour is tailored to you, and we can adjust the itinerary to your wishes. Naturally, we can also arrange a visit to the Jewish Museum. Please be aware, though, that the itinerary above will be amended and some points of interest will not be visited in favor of visiting the museum.
Your guide will provide an in-depth historical and cultural commentary on all the sites visited, and then accompany you back to the Schloss Charlottenburg at the end of the Berlin portion of the tour. You will then be driven back to port.
All of our shore excursions are adjusted to each ship’s docking times and each starts promptly after your vessel’s arrival, returning with plenty of time to spare before its departure. We have been organizing shore excursions for nearly a decade and have never missed a cruise ship’s departure.
Sights included: Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Holocaust Memorial, Site of Hitler’s Bunker, Museum Island, Charlottenburg Palace, Gendarmenmarkt, Bebelplatz, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Tiergarten, Victory Column, Kurfürstendamm, Alexanderplatz, TV Tower, Unter den Linden, Former Nazi Government Quarter, New Synagogue, Former Jewish Quarter and more… If you have somewhere you would like to go, just tell us – we can adjust the itinerary to your wishes.
