East Berlin: City of Shadows Private Walking Tour

5.0 (one review) 3 hours Free cancellation Private tour

out of 5

one review

5.0

East Berlin: City of Shadows Private Walking Tour — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

East Berlin: City of Shadows Private Walking Tour, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

This 3-hour private guided tour explores the surviving monuments of the East German regime including the infamous Berlin Wall and Stasi headquarters. Your private guide will reveal the dialogue between modern Berlin’s built environment and its dark and often hidden history. You’ll hear about life under Communist rule, the East Germans’ growing discontent and their government’s brutal suppression.

Half-day Tours Private and Luxury Private Sightseeing Tours Cultural Tours Historical Tours Walking Tours Likely to Sell Out Likely To Sell Out

At a glance

Duration: 3 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Guide: English
Operated by: Insight Cities

What is included

Included

Included: Private walking tour
Included: Professional art historian guide

Not included

Not included: Food and drinks, unless specified
Not included: Hotel pickup and drop-off
Not included: Gratuities
Not included: Transportation to/from attractions: You will need to use public transport a few times, since the distances between some key sites would be too far to walk. If you will not have a few days visitor's transit pass to Berlin already, we suggest that you purchase the day metro pass. If you cannot purchase it in advance, your guide will help you purchase it at the first metro station on the tour. Berlin Transit One Way Tarif AB Ticket 2.8 Euro, Senior Discount 1,70 EUR Berlin Transit Day Ticket for one Person 7 Euro, Senior Discount 4,70 EUR

Itinerary

Brandenburg Gate

20 min

A historian will reveal the dialogue between modern Berlin’s built environment and its dark and often hidden history. You’ll hear about life under Communist rule, the East Germans’ growing discontent and their government’s brutal suppression. The tour begins at the Brandenburg Gate where, in June 1987, President Ronald Reagan famously called on Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to, “tear down this wall!” Nearby is the former Soviet Embassy, a grandiose monument built in 1945 amid the rubble of World War II as a bold declaration of Stalin’s ambition to control all of Berlin. We will discuss how the Allies’ postwar division of Germany into four parts led to decades of Cold War tensions.
Friedrichstrasse

15 min

Friedrichstrasse train station, a key crossing point between East and West Berlin. When families were torn apart by East Germany’s ironfisted immigration laws, they said their sad goodbyes here in the office known as the Palace of Tears.
Stop 3

10 min

At Nordbahnhof, we’ll explore how Berlin’s division created “ghost” stations, unused but heavily guarded stops on West Berlin’s subway lines that lay in East German territory.
Karl-Marx-Allee

10 min

We visit the grandiose mile-long housing complex known as Karl Marx Allee and consider how East Germans’ dreams for a Socialist paradise turned into a nightmare of deprivation, suppression and paranoia.
Memorial of the Berlin Wall

15 min

The Berlin Wall memorial allows you to experience the notorious Death Strip and hear stories of East Berliners whose attempts to escape led to their tragic deaths.
Alexanderplatz

10 min

We will visit the center of public life in East Berlin, Alexanderplatz, which was rebuilt in the 1960s with monuments like the futuristic parliament building and the iconic TV Tower. In 1989, this symbol of East German pride was the setting for massive demonstrations that led to the regime’s downfall and brought 40 years of Communist rule to an end.

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

Please meet your guide outside Cafe Einstein, Unter den Linden 42, 100117 Berlin

End point

Cancellation

Free cancellation

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

If you cancel	You get back
At least one day before	100%
Less than a day before	0%

Good to know

Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Your tour guides are expert local historians and enthusiastic hosts who love helping travelers discover Berlin.