Munich Essentials

Follow your Tour Director on an intimate introduction to Western Berlin. Along the journey, meet a German melting pot of crumbling pre-war buildings, sleek new office complexes, flashy designer boutiques and a metropolitan skyline blinking with neon lights. Sense the blending of east and west as you wander the center of the wall-free city to Tiergarten, the government’s quarter where Imperial parliament and Congress Hall reside. Step inside a vast English-style park originally landscaped in the 1830’s. Now a retreat for walking and boating, Tiergarten Park was formerly used by Prussian monarchs as a hunting ground, hence the name’s meaning, animal garden. Highlights include: Siegessaule, a towering victory column topped by a gilded statue celebrating Prussia’s defeat of France in 1870. (Climb all 285 steps, for panoramic vistas of the city.) Continuing along, pass the train station Bahnhof Zoo, the sole point of arrival for Westerners traveling by train in the Cold War era. End your journey in the buzzing upscale shopping mecca, Kurfürstendamm, Berlin’s version of Champs-Élysées. Between designer boutiques and haughty real estate, you’ll find pre-war coffeehouse traditions that live on.

Join a professional, licensed tour guide as you discover one of the most historical cities in Germany. Although nothing remains of the mortar and cement-block barrier between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall (built in 1961; destroyed in 1989) is still a main “site” in Berlin. View the well-known Brandenburg Gate, once a main gate hidden behind a 10-foot barrier and now known for celebratory dancing on its flat top during the reunification. Travel to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the most famous border crossing point. Checkpoint Charlie, once a wooden guard hut, was the most (in)famous border-crossing point between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. All that remains of the checkpoint itself is a skeletal watchtower and a memorial of attempted escapees. Follow your guide as they lead you through the museum’s accounts of the most ingenious of these escape attempts— even a few by hot air balloon.

Visit the museum that documents the history and significance of the most famous crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.