Cold War Berlin

Time

Choose your start time

Duration

2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 hours

Meeting Point

The lobby of your hotel

Prices

2hr

€249

3hr

€299

4hr

€389

6hr

€559

8hr

€699

Highlights

  • Go in depth with your professional tour guide and learn about life behind the Iron Curtain
  • Hear tales of escapes – successes and failures, as well as why the Wall went up and how it came down in 1989
  • See sights like the Berlin Wall, site of Tunnel 57 and 29 and the original fortifications in the Death Strip area
  • Checkpoint Charlie, Cold War checkpoint, site of tank standoff in 1961 between USA and the USSR
  • Life in West Berlin, “the Island of democracy in the red sea of Communism”.

Berlin, the former capital of Nazi Germany, lay in ruins after WWII. The victorious allies divide Berlin and Germany. The new war has begun, the Cold War. Go in-depth with your very own professional tour guide and learn about how the two superpowers collided in Berlin.

Discover the divided city of Berlin, and see the ‘Palace of Tears’, a former border crossing point where many friends and families were forced to say goodbye. It’s also the location where spies where known to exchange information. Retrace the often ghost-like trail of the death strip and the Berlin Wall, coming upon some of the more intriguing fortifications of its border, from guard towers to tank traps. Walk along Bernauer Strasse, the site of many remarkable escape attempts.

Learn of successful and failed escapes in the face of a Border Command that would sooner follow the order of ‘shoot to kill’ than allow the heinous crime of ‘flight from the Republic’. Discover the methods of the Stasi (East German State Security) and learn about the systems, devices and people that kept the entire East German population under surveillance for 40 years. Who were the key figures in the GDR leadership and where are they today?

Get an extraordinary insight into what it meant to live in the GDR, the eastern bloc’s most heavily policed state. What was it like to live “Behind the Wall”?” Also learn about life in West Berlin, which was nicknamed, “the island of democracy in the red sea of communism”, living under constant threat of invasion

At the conclusion of your tour your guide can give you tips on how best to maximise your remaining time in Berlin.

Choose from a 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 hour tour that includes a hotel pickup and professional tour guide.

Example Itinerary

The following sites are examples of places to see on this tour. Your exact route will depend on your hotel pickup point, but this list should give you a good idea of what to expect!

  • The Palace of Tears museum
  • Checkpoint Charlie
  • Take a ride through the old East Berlin “ghost stations” and learn about how East Germany financed socialism by renting out train lines to the west
  • Bernauer Straße Cold War memorial
  • Death strip area
  • East German guard tower
  • Site of escape Tunnels 57 and 29
  • Site of NKVD and Stasi Prison
  • Church of Reconciliation
  • Alexanderplatz
  • East Side Gallery
  • The original Berlin Wall

Insider Reviews

We had a great private tour..

We had a great private tour of Berlin with Jörg, who customized the tour according to our needs. Jörg is very knowledgeable, and shared a lot of information and stories with us! Signe Apr. '23

A great tour.

A great tour taking in many of the key sites in and around Berlin post WW2. The knowledge and interest of our guide made the trip for all of our group. D. Cairns, RAMC Association Dec. '22

Berlin Cold War

The whole organisation of the tour was very convincing and the background knowledge of our guide was top class. The information on site gave us a very intimate knowledge of the situation at that time. Roman Feb. '23

Excellent walking tour of historical Berlin

We had the most enjoyable afternoon walking around Berlin! Out tour guide Ciaran was absolutely fantastic, his knowledge of the city was so great and he really did keep you entertained for the 4 hours! As there is so much to see and do in Berlin I highly recommend this tour as you really do cover most of it! John K. Jan. '23

Very Knowledgable

We had a very interesting and informative tour with Nicholas - he had in-depth knowledge of the area. Saw all of the major sights with the background to go with them. Highly recommended. Harold S. Dec. '22

Berlin walking tour

We are a family of 5 from Australia. Our guide was fantastic, great knowledge, explained well & answered our questions. Our guide was very patient with us & the children. We seen all the sights we wanted and walked away exceptionally pleased with our experience! I would recommend this tour to people interested in the cold war & history of Berlin. Sylvia T. March '23