Best of Berlin by Coach Guided in French

Description

Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

Your tour begins as you board a chartered motorcoach for an approximately 2 ½ -hours ride to Berlin, enjoying a breakfast snack accompanied by water along the way.

Upon arriving, you'll board your motorcoach for a city drive to your first photo stop at one of the few surviving pieces of the Berlin Wall.

Keep your camera ready for Checkpoint Charlie, the former border control point separating east and west, and for some East Germans, a gateway to freedom. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced off at this location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961.

You'll continue to Gendarmenmarket, a 17th-century square, the site of the twin French and German cathedrals and the Concert Hall, a masterpiece of German classical architecture. Next, you'll pass Unter den Linden Boulevard, a tree-lined, east-west thoroughfare through the city of Berlin, and witness such sites as the State Library and Humboldt University, Berlin's oldest university.

Stop for a photo at Bebelplatz, you'll witness the square where the burgeoning Nazi Party held its infamous book burning. Next, you'll pass the WWII Memorial, featuring Käthe Kollwitz's emotionally moving sculpture of a mother and her dying son.

You'll head to a five-star hotel where a luncheon awaits you. After an authentic German meal, you'll make your way to your next photo stop, the Brandenburg Gate. As the only remaining city gate of Berlin, formerly exemplifying the separation of the city between East and West Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate has now come to symbolize German unity.

Just a short stroll away is the Reichstag. Originally constructed to house the parliament of the newly founded German Empire, the contemporary glass dome designed by architect Sir Norman Foster is one of the city's major landmarks today.

You'll drive by the Victory Column, a landmark that celebrates the military successes of Prussia over Denmark, Austria and France, and pass Bellevue Palace, the official headquarters of the President of Germany, and Congress Hall.

Now it's time to shop 'til you drop on Kurfurstendamm, Germany's most famous shopping boulevard. You're free to stroll along the broad, tree-lined avenue, boasting luxury department stores, designer boutiques, shops, cafes, clubs and restaurants.

As your tour winds down, you'll board your motorcoach and pass by Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, an anti-war memorial for peace and reconciliation, on your way to the Allied Museum. The museum commemorates the U.S., British and French presence in Berlin from 1945 to 1994, tracing the history of Cold War Berlin. Here you'll find the original Checkpoint Charlie guardhouse, a Berlin Wall watchtower, a plane from the Berlin Airlift, and an American spy tunnel.

When it's time to call it a day, your host will hand out a snack box and water.

Special Notes:

The motorcoach ride between Warnemünde and Berlin is approximately 2 ½ hours each way. The motorcoach is air-conditioned.

This tour is not available to passengers beginning or ending their cruise in Warnemunde. Tour sequences may vary to avoid congestions at venues. The coach for the city tour is equipped with seat belts, guests are required to use them. Guests may not stay on the coach during free time. The tour runs during all weather conditions. Guests should be prepared for the possibility of rain. It is advisable to bring some small change of Euro coins as some shops do not accept other currencies nor Credit Cards for small purchases (furthermore, guests may have to pay for public bathroom facilities, usually between 50,- cents and 1,-Euro pp). Shopping location may vary as most shops are closed on Sundays and bank holidays. Only a few souvenir shops may be open.

Child Price:

12 & under reduced