Third Reich & Cold War
Quick Overview
Description
Time
Choose your start time.
Duration
2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 hours
Meeting Point
The lobby of your hotel
Prices
2 hours
€249
3 hours
€319
4 hours
€419
6 hours
€589
8 hours
€699
Highlights
- Enjoy the advantages of getting picked up directly at your hotel by one of our expert guides and launching straight into your tour.
- Dive into the most tumultuous and epoch-defining events of the 20th century in the city where they happened.
- See key sights such as Checkpoint Charlie, the Reichstag, the Soviet War Memorial, Hitler’s bunker, the Berlin Wall, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
- Head to Tempelhof Airport, a grandiose structure designed to showcase Nazi ideology that was later the site of the Berlin airlift of 1948-49.
- Visit surviving Nazi-era above-ground bunkers, since repurposed or transformed into memorial sites.
- Go to the Bendler Block, dedicated to the memory of Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators, who were executed here after the failed assassination attempt on Hitler’s life in 1944.
- Discover the open-air Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße, where you can walk across the old “death strip” and see where the most successful escape tunnels were dug.
- Soak up the atmosphere at Checkpoint Charlie, site of the alarming 1961 tank standoff between the Soviet Union and the USA.
- Hear about the Tränenpalast, a border crossing point dubbed the “Palace of Tears” for the countless emotional farewells it witnessed during the Cold War.
Experience Berlin on our award-winning private tour, led by a passionate expert who brings the city’s history vividly to life. Whether you choose a 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8-hour experience, your personal guide will meet you at your hotel before setting off on an unforgettable journey through Berlin.
Begin on Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, once used as a stage for Nazi propaganda speeches. Nearby lies Bebelplatz, where in 1933 thousands of books were burned, marking a chilling attack on free thought.
As you explore the old Jewish quarter, gain insight into life under the Nazi regime and the forces that led to persecution and genocide. Hear the powerful story of the Rosenstraße protest of 1943, a rare and remarkable act of civil resistance.
Walking through the city, your guide will reveal traces of the final battle for Berlin in 1945, from battle-scarred buildings to key remnants of the Third Reich, including the former ministries of Goering and Goebbels, and the site of the SS and Gestapo headquarters, now home to the Topography of Terror.
The tour then follows Berlin’s transformation into a Cold War frontline city. Visit Checkpoint Charlie, where superpower tensions nearly escalated into global conflict, and continue to the Berlin Wall Memorial, where preserved sections of the Wall tell stories of division, escape, and survival.
At Alexanderplatz, stand where hundreds of thousands gathered in 1989 to demand change, helping to bring about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of East Germany.
By the end of your tour, you’ll have a clear, powerful understanding of Berlin’s journey from dictatorship and division to the vibrant capital it is today. Your guide will also be happy to offer tips to help you make the most of the rest of your time in the city.
Example Itinerary
The following list of sites is intended to give you an idea of what you can expect to see on this tour. Please note that our exact route may vary on the day, depending on circumstances and your hotel pick-up point.
- Museum Island and Lustgarten – the impressive backdrop for Nazi-party speeches and rallies
- Bebelplatz – site of the infamous Nazi book burnings
- Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears) – a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin
- Admiralspalast, where the East German SED political party was formed
- Berlin Wall Memorial extending 1.4km along the border strip on Bernauer Straße
- Former East German watchtower on Potsdamer Platz
- The Memorial to the Victims of the Nazi Euthanasia Programme
- The Bendler Block – now the German Resistance Memorial Centre
- The Reichstag, where a Soviet flag was raised to symbolise the defeat of Nazi Germany
- The Brandenburg Gate – marooned in no man’s land while the Wall stood
- Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten
- The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
- Site of Hitler’s and Goebbels’s bunkers
- Topography of Terror – exhibition on the site of the former HQ of the Gestapo and SS
- Site of the East German uprising of 1953
- Checkpoint Charlie – scene of spy operations, escape attempts and military confrontation during the Cold War
- Nordbahnhof – a “ghost station” in the divided city
- Former border strip – Chapel of Reconciliation and the site of Tunnels 57 and 29
- Alexanderplatz – scene of a pivotal anti-government demonstration in 1989
- Rosenstraße – memorial on the site of the 1943 protest against the deportation of Jews
Insider Reviews
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