Potsdam lies just outside of Berlin. This beautiful town was the home of Prussia’s royalty, and is filled with the parks and palaces of Prussians kings, princes, and German Emperors.
Our walking tour leads you through exquisite parks to the sites of Schloss Glienicke, Babelberg Castle, and the Marble Palace, built by the king Friedrich Wilhelm II, who earned the unfortunate nickname ‘the fat and useless’. The tour also goes into Potsdam’s city centre, where you can take in 18th century Dutch quarter, the gothic revival Nauen Gate, and Potsdam’s own Brandenburg Gate. With so much of Prussia’s history preserved in one place, it’s no surprise that so many places in Potsdam are UNESCO world heritage sites!
It’s not all parks and palaces though, Potsdam has a lot of Cold War history, too. You’ll leave Berlin and enter Potsdam by walking over the ‘Bridge of Spies’, where the USA and the Soviet Union swapped agents during the Cold War. In the town centre you will see the site of a former Stasi prison, and your guide will take you to Cecilienhof, where Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met to decide Europe’s fate at the Potsdam Conference.
The tour finishes with a trip to the breathtaking palace and garden of Sanssouci. Inspired by Versailles, this was Frederick the Great’s favourite palace. You will be free to stay and enjoy the gardens after the tour, or accompany the guide back to Berlin.
Berlin’s Jewish community can be traced back to the time of the Great Elector in the 17th Century. Despite almost complete obliteration at the hands of the Nazis there is still a Jewish community in Berlin. This tour seeks to show you how that community is rebuilding itself, and how it deals with a history of oppression, not just in the 1930s and ‘40s, but for centuries before.
Our tour takes you to the site of the Old Synagogue, and to see the glittering domes of the 19th century New Synagogue. You’ll see the final resting place of Moses Mendelssohn, perhaps Berlin’s most influential Jewish resident. Your guide will also cover the Nazi past from a Jewish perspective, using the ‘Stolpersteine’ memorials set into the street, the story of “Women’s Protest” that saved nearly 2,000 Jews from deportation, and Berlin’s own ‘Oscar Schindler’; Otto Weidt, who risked his life to protect Jewish workers in his workshop for the blind.
The new programme of the Berlin Residence Concerts is dedicated to the anniversary year. Following the anniversary programme, "Mozart's Opera Gala - Enchanting melodies" is another musical highlight. For the reopening of the Great Orangery of Charlottenburg Palace, the Berlin Residence Orchestra will present the most famous opera arias in new splendor.
Concertmaster Vladi Corda has put together some of the most popular and most enchanting opera arias, such as "Le nozze de Figaro", "Don Giovanni" and "The Magic Flute", by the Austrian prodigy, creating a very special programme. To set the stage for the glamorous evening at the opera, enjoy a matching 3-course menu of our catering partner, the 5-stars Berlin Marriott Hotel.
The new programme of the Berlin Residence Concerts is all about the Anniversary Year. Following the Anniversary Concerts, "Gala Concerts with Mozart's Operas - Enchanting Melodies" represents another musical highlight. For the reopening of the Great Orangery of Charlottenburg Palace, the Berlin Residence Orchestra presents the most popular arias in renewed splendor.
The original building of Charlottenburg Palace was built in the late 17th century as a summer residence for the later Queen Sophie Charlotte, who also served as eponym. The magnificent palace complex is surrounded by an impressive baroque garden in which the New Pavilion, the Mausoleum and the Belvedere, which originally served the court as a teahouse, are located.
The park of Charlottenburg Palace measures 55 hectares. It was formerly held French-style, but converted into an English landscape garden in 1786.
Today Charlottenburg Palace is not only suited for walks and all kinds of events, but also offers a collection of architectural highlights as well as masterful paintings of the French Rococo and other jewels of the visual arts, particularly from the period of romanticism and Biedermeier.
The all-in cultural programme for your visit to Berlin!
A three-hour river cruise down the Spree will lead you past Berlin's renowned sights and allow you to experience the German capital from a unique new perspective. The cruise ends at the historical Charlottenburg Palace, once the seat of Germany's most influential Hohenzollern dynasty.
In the historical Langhans-Halls of the former theatre of the Palace a three-course gala menu will be served by our catering partner, the 5-stars Berlin Marriott Hotel. The exquisite dinner is specifically created to complement the evening's performance. Upon request we are happy to serve a vegetarian alternative.
To crown this spectacular cultural experience, the Berlin Residence Orchestra performs baroque and classical masterpieces of the 17th and 18th centuries in the White Hall of the New Wing, uniting
Since its founding in 2006, the Berlin Residence Orchestra enthused lovers of classical music at more than 2,000 concerts. The secret of success is obvious: The unique event format "Berlin Residence Concerts", which connects classical music, culture and culinary art to a special experience, charms its guests with a delicious 3-course dinner and a rousing concert programme.
Mozart's "Magic Flute" and "Don Giovanni" or Vivaldi's "L'estate": A special programme requires special compositions. Celebrate together with the Berlin Residence Orchestra its 10th anniversary, enjoy the anniversary menu of our catering Partner, the 5-stars Berlin Marriott Hotel, and let yourself be carried away by genuine classics. Concertmaster Vladi Corda has compiled the most beautiful pieces out of 10 years of concert history.
Since its founding in 2006, the Berlin Residence Orchestra enthused lovers of classical music at more than 2,000 concerts. The secret of success is obvious: The unique event format "Berlin Residence Concerts", which connects classical music, culture and culinary art to a special experience, charms its guests with a delicious 3-course dinner and a rousing concert programme.
Mozart's "Magic Flute" and "Don Giovanni" or Vivaldi's "L'estate": A special programme requires special compositions. Celebrate together with the Berlin Residence Orchestra its 10th anniversary, enjoy the anniversary menu of our catering Partner, the 5-stars Berlin Marriott Hotel, and let yourself be carried away by genuine classics. Concertmaster Vladi Corda has compiled the most beautiful pieces out of 10 years of concert history.
The original building of Charlottenburg Palace was built in the late 17th century as a summer residence for the later Queen Sophie Charlotte, who also served as eponym. The magnificent palace complex is surrounded by an impressive baroque garden in which the New Pavilion, the Mausoleum and the Belvedere, which originally served the court as a teahouse, are located.
The park of Charlottenburg Palace measures 55 hectares. It was formerly held French-style, but converted into an Englisch landscape garden in 1786.
Today Charlottenburg Palace is not only suited for walks and all kinds of events, but also offers a collection of architectural highlights as well as masterful paintings of the French Rococo and other jewels of the visual arts, particularly from the period of romanticism and Biedermeier.
Mozart's "Magic Flute" and "Don Giovanni", Vivaldi's "L'estate" or Brahms' “Hungarian Dance": A special programme needs special compositions. Celebrate with the Berlin Residence Orchestra its 10th anniversary, enjoy the Anniversary menu of our catering partner, the 5-star Berlin Marriott Hotel and let yourself be carried away by genuine classics.
A lovely boat trip through the historic Berlin combined with a dinner and concert experience.
Experience exciting musical fireworks of colorful sounds from the baroque to the classical era. On New Year’s Eve, the Great Orangery shows its glittering and glamorous side. In the first part of the concert the Berlin Residence Orchestra will play selected pieces of Vivaldi, Haendel, Bach and Mozart in historic costumes true to original. The second part shows our musicians in festive evening wear and combines with Antonín Dvorák, Franz Lehár and Johann Strauss, the most beautiful melodies of waltzes and operettas.
Just as every year, the spiritual festive concerts resound in the Great Orangery of Berlin at Christmas time. The Berlin Residence Orchestra under the direction of Vladi Corda presents a fine selection of solemn compositions, such as the famous Christmas Concert by Arcangelo Corelli, and excerpts from Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Haendel's Messiah. And according to our tradition, the orchestra including opera singers present some well-known Christmas classics and invite you to sing along or enjoy the concert listening.
1st January, 2017 Probably the most spiritual and exclusive beginning of the New Year is being provided by the New Year’s Concert in the glittering ballrooms of the Great Orangery. Get enchanted by an exciting experience of special kind and embrace the New Year with the most beautiful masterpieces of classical music by Mozart, Haendel, Bach and many other important composers."
Passionate Compositions of Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Corelli and Haendel are being brought on stage by the Berlin Residence Orchestra with their program "La Folia - The Passionate".
In doing so the probably most popular and most challenging composition of Corelli "op. 5" must not be missing.
Enjoy a fascinating combination of cultural, culinary and classical delights! Betake yourself on a journey through Prussian art and culture at Germany's largest and most important Hohenzollern residence: Charlottenburg Palace. Explore the elegant rooms of King Frederick II and the exquisite artistic masterpieces of Queen Sophie Charlotte.
In the historical Langhans Halls of the former theatre of the Palace you will then savour a majestic three-course menu created by our catering partner, the 5-stars Berlin Marriott Hotel. We are happy to serve a vegetarian alternative on request.
To crown this spectacular evening, a performance from the Berlin Residence Orchestra in authentic costumes will take you back to the time of the Prussian court. Enjoy the performance of baroque and classical masterpieces of the 17th and 18th centuries, including compositions from Bach, Haendel and Mozart, in the glamurous ambience of the White Hall in the New Wing.
The DDR Museum is an unique and specific museum and with more than 580.000 visitors per year one of the most-visited museums in Berlin.
Experience history in a vivid, interactive and playful way: The DDR Museum offers you a hands-on experience of the everyday life of a state long gone, the life in socialism. Visitors are welcome to broaden their knowledge in different thematic areas, to reconsider existing clichés and to have a hands-on experience of history. Exhibits are there to be handled - few are kept in glass cabinets. Everything waits to be touched and experienced: Open the drawers and closets, rummage through them and discover!
The smell of the Trabi is still originally GDR-like: take a seat, turn the ignition key, eyes front, foot on the gas pedal and here we go! Typical engine noises of the Trabi and a simulated ride through the concrete-slab housing estate give an impression of what it was like to go for a ride in such an original.
There is much more to discover in the DDR Museum: watch TV in the authentic GDR living room, rummage through the drawers of the Karat wall unit. The spice reg in the kitchen still smells of back then and the pressure cookeris still standing on the stove. There are documentaries for the visitors to watch in original GDR movie chairs and it is possible to replay the football game "GDR vs. FRG" by oneself or to dance the Lipsi. All this is peppered with the most important information about every topic.
Interactive, playful, vivid, entertaining and scientifically well-founded, the DDR Museum offers you the opportunity to experience the GDR everyday life yourself.