Tours Berlin

This Cold War Berlin tour shines a light on East Berlin behind the Iron Curtain . In 3 hours, you’ll be guided through the surviving monuments of the divided city, transporting you back to a time of totalitarian rule. You’ll learn of the East Germans’ growing discontent and the regime’s brutal suppression. Your historian guide will reveal the dialogue between Berlin’s built environment and its dark history . Along the way, you’ll also come to appreciate the economic and social divisions that still linger between the East and West sides of the German capital , more than 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the country’s reunification.




*Start at Brandenburg Gate where President Reagan called on the Soviet Union to, “Tear down this wall!” while taking in the bombastic architecture of the former Soviet Embassy nearby.



*Pass through a key crossing point at the Friedrichstrasse train station where families being torn apart made their farewells in the office known as the Palace of Tears .



*Contemplate how Berlin’s division created “ghost” stations at Nordbahnhof and resulted in tragic deaths at the Berlin Wall Memorial.



*Discover the mile-long housing complex known as Karl Marx Allee , where the dream of a socialist paradise became a nightmare of deprivation, suppression, and paranoia.



*At the former Stasi Headquarters , learn how East Germany’s secret police recruited and organized a massive network of civilian spies.



*Visit Alexanderplatz with its array of communist-era hotels, department stores and offices, iconic TV Tower, and the setting for the demonstrations that brought the Communist regime to an end.

When David Bowie moved to Berlin in 1976, he found an island of Cold War angst, “Cut off from its world, art, and culture, dying with no hope of retribution.” This Bowie in Berlin tour takes you back to the decadent 1970’s city that inspired Bowie’s classic Berlin trilogy albums: Low , Heroes, and Lodger . Bowie’s Berlin was a kaleidoscope of creativity and a break from the public eye that he had grown tired of in Los Angeles, while also undergoing various legal battles with his management.
Starting at West Berlin’s Cold War opulent heart, Zoo Station, we follow Bowie’s trail including the flat he shared with Iggy Pop in Schöneberg , a neighborhood once known for its acceptance of outsiders and minorities. Then we’ll pass by the clubs the duo partied in. Despite seeking stability from his own party habits, Bowie was inspired by Berlin’s underground electronic music scene. Discover how this all contributed to what many consider to be Bowie’s creative peak at the legendary Hansa recording studios overlooking the Berlin Wall.
Sites : Bahnhof Zoo, former Dschungel Club, KaDeWe, Potsdamer Platz, Hansa Studios, Berlin Wall, Topographie of Terror, Bowie’s former home, Neues Ufer café.

This Cold War Berlin tour shines a light on East Berlin behind the Iron Curtain . In 3 hours, you’ll be guided through the surviving monuments of the divided city, transporting you back to a time of totalitarian rule. You’ll learn of the East Germans’ growing discontent and the regime’s brutal suppression. Your historian guide will reveal the dialogue between Berlin’s built environment and its dark history . Along the way, you’ll also come to appreciate the economic and social divisions that still linger between the East and West sides of the German capital , more than 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the country’s reunification.




*Start at Brandenburg Gate where President Reagan called on the Soviet Union to, “Tear down this wall!” while taking in the bombastic architecture of the former Soviet Embassy nearby.



*Pass through a key crossing point at the Friedrichstrasse train station where families being torn apart made their farewells in the office known as the Palace of Tears .



*Contemplate how Berlin’s division created “ghost” stations at Nordbahnhof and resulted in tragic deaths at the Berlin Wall Memorial.



*Discover the mile-long housing complex known as Karl Marx Allee , where the dream of a socialist paradise became a nightmare of deprivation, suppression, and paranoia.



*At the former Stasi Headquarters , learn how East Germany’s secret police recruited and organized a massive network of civilian spies.



*Visit Alexanderplatz with its array of communist-era hotels, department stores and offices, iconic TV Tower, and the setting for the demonstrations that brought the Communist regime to an end.

From small private initiatives hidden in obscure courtyards , to larger, more established ventures , Berlin’s gallery scene has become a hotspot for the arts in Europe . Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a combination of affordable rent prices, a semi-liberal artistic climate, a well-known counterculture, and endless open spaces caused the city to attract artists from around the world. Today, the city is a kaleidoscope of anti-establishment street art and sophisticated galleries , creating an art world that is as impressive as it is diverse: waiting to be discovered on this art tour of Berlin.



*Dive into Berlin’s percolating art scene, a diverse hub of small and large galleries in traditional and nontraditional spaces.



*Maintaining a changeable itinerary allows your art historian guide to adapt the tour to the strongest and most relevant exhibitions in either Mitte or around Potsdamer Straße .



*Another potential focus of the tour (again at the discretion of your expert art historian guide) is the Berlin Biennale or the Berlin Art Week when these events are running .



*Stops and explorations might include Kunst-Werke, Michael Fuchs, Galerie Eigen + Art, ifa Galerie, Esther Schipper, Isabella Bortolozzi, Giti Nourbakhsch, Guido Baudach, Arndt, Plan B, Tanya Leighton, or Klosterfelde .

Note: Our Art Historian guides have the right to alter the course of the tour according to the strength of current art shows and on the major Berlin art events of the season. Please also note that we do not run our Berlin's Gallery Scene tour in July and August as most Berlin Galleries are not open to visitors during these months.