Hotel de Rome

Sanssouci and the Prussian palaces in Potsdam

The French had Versailles, the British have Windsor, but one palace was not enough for the Kings of Prussia.  A magnificent UNESCO world heritage site, bursting with stunning palaces, grand gardens and fascinating follies await you in Potsdam.  Over a period of more than three centuries the best architects, designers and craftsmen of their time were bought here to celebrate Prussian glory.  Our local expert will first take you to see the most famous of these palaces Sanssouci; a playful rococo masterpiece built by the famous warrior king Frederick the Great in 1745 as a retreat from the strain of war.  Explore a range of lovingly refurbished rooms attesting to how these masters of northern Europe once lived.  The famous Picture Gallery with its collection of stunning 17th century masterpieces is particularly splendid.  Follow in the footsteps of Napoleon, conqueror of Europe, who visited Frederick's grave and said to his generals “Hats off Gentlemen. If he was still alive we would not be here.”  Other highlights in this vast royal park include the delightful Chinese Tea House, the Italianate Orangery Palace and the magnificent New Palace, an excess of marble and gilt which the Prussian Kings used to impress their visitors.

Berlin’s Golden Twenties and its star, Marlene Dietrich

Imagine a snapshot in time.  One terrible war has just finished and the shadow of Nazi tyranny has yet to fall over Europe.  A decade where Berlin shone as Europe's cultural centre.  Our period specialist will draw back the curtains on this fascinating time and show you how Berlin's recent revival is once again bringing the past to life.  Start at the restored courtyard complex that is the Hackesche Höfe, packed full of theatres, cinemas and cabarets.  Follow the Oranienburger Strasse to the newly reopened, Admiralspalast, once Berlin's largest entertainment centre and today recapturing its past glories.  A stone's throw away is the Berliner Ensemble, home to Bertolt Brecht, who wrote his famous play, the Threepenny Opera during this glittering period.  Berlin's film museum uncovers the crucial role that Berlin played in the development of film and reveals the truth about Germany's most famous actress, Marlene Dietrich.  Fans of the German siren will doubtless want to visit both her birthplace and her final resting place in the city she loved.  Finish your day with a local delicacy, the Berlin Currywurst served with a glass of chilled champagne before seeing the famous musical Cabaret, based on Christopher Isherwood's memorials of the end of this wild decade.

Jewish Berlin

The history of Jewish Berlin is as old and fascinating as the history of Berlin itself.  Centered on an area known as the Scheuenviertel, Jewish life in Berlin withstood the tests of both time and tragedy.  Here our Jewish expert will show you Berlin's oldest Jewish graveyard, site of the gravestone of the great philosopher and theologian Moses Mendelssohn a leading light in the eighteenth century Jewish Enlightenment.  Not far away is the elegant New Synagogue, a witness both to a golden age in the nineteenth century when the newly emancipated Jewish community was filled with confidence, and later a time of terror when on the 9th of November 1936, Nazis gathered to attack Jewish buildings throughout Germany in what became known as the night of the Broken Glass.  Further important destinations on a journey through Jewish Berlin include the recently finished Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe with its sobering documentation centre recalling Hitler's final solution, or the Jewish Museum with its spectacular architecture by Daniel Liebeskind.  But Jewish Berlin is not just about the past.  Hear how Berlin is once again profiting from the influx of Jews from around the world including the collector Heinz Beggruen who, after six decades in exile, left his priceless art collection to the city.

Surviving the Second World War in the bunkers of Berlin

Discover how ordinary Germans did their best to survive a terrifying war with a visit to the Berlin underworlds.  Two bunkers, excavated and reopened by the association "Berlin Underworlds" form the centre of this tour.  An experienced guide and member of the association will first take you deep into one of the bunkers, to show you how civilians hoped to survive constant air raids and ferocious surface fighting that characterized the final months of the war. Along the way, you'll see a range of artifacts found under Berlin’s streets, including some from the bunkers of Berlin’s government quarter.  The formidable Humbolthain Flakbunker, one of three heavily armed and armored air raid bunkers built by the Nazis to protect the capital, is particularly worthy of a visit.  Following the war the French partially destroyed the structure but unlike the rest of this devastated city, the thick concrete walls proved to be almost indestructible and the allies buried the remains of this six story building under a mountain of rubble.  Today intrepid guests can follow their guide into the upper stories of this monstrosity on a difficult journey in search of a past full of hardship. Follow this visit with the partially hidden site of Hitler's own bunker where our guide will explain how the war ended both for the Nazi elite and the common man.

The many aspects of East German communism

There are few cars as notorious as the East German people’s car, the Trabant; but we can arrange for a custom stretch version of this East German icon to transport you around east Berlin in socialist luxury.  Start at the DDR museum which has lovingly recorded and recreated the day to day life of ordinary East Berliners and learn why many comrades still suffer from Ostalgia.  A trip down Karl Marx Allee offers a fascinating insight into GDR design and history.  This communist showpiece, 2km long and 89 meters wide is lined with monumental buildings designed in the so-called wedding cake style.  The street has also borne witness to turbulent communist politics with workers rising in protest in 1953 before being crushed by soviet tanks.  A visit to the headquarters of the East German secret police, the Stasi which employed at least 1 in 50 of the East German population is a shocking experience.  Follow this by traversing a section of the Berlin Wall, which divided not only east and west Berlin but families and friends.  Finish at the infamous Checkpoint Charlie, where East Germans were barred by their own government from crossing to the capitalist west.

The Pergamom Museum and Museum Island, a world heritage site

Explore Museum Island, one of the world's great museum collections, located just a stone's throw from the Hotel de Rome.  Berlin is awash with museums, but some of its greatest treasures are located on Museum Island.   The Altes Museum, with its splendid classical facade by the versatile architect Carl Friedrich Schinkel, was a ground breaking concept when it was built in 1828.  Today it houses a superb collection of classical antiquities with the bust of Queen Nefertiti in the Egyptian collection a particular draw.  The cavernous Pergamom Museum is the jewel in the crown.  The Greek Great Altar of Pergamom predates the Bible, The Gate of Ishtar formed part of the legendary city of Babylon and the Mschatta facade was once part of an abandoned Islamic desert palace.  These constitute just part of a quite frankly unmissable collection.  Those not already exhausted by these wonders will want to visit the fascinating Bode Museum.  Amongst its treasures an unparalleled collection of rare German Gothic works by the sculptor Riemenschneider. Our expert will help you make the most of this vast collection guiding you to famous highlights and revealing hidden treasures.

Rebelling against the system.  Modern Art between 1898 and the Second World War

German Expressionism, DADA-Art and the Berlin Secession all have their roots in early twentieth century Berlin:  Although the Nazi-Regime banned most representative artists of this period, the spirit of ‘Modernism’ survived in Berlin and today the city is a focus for 20th century art history.  The collection of the ‘Berlinische Galerie’ has some wonderful pieces by Max Liebermann and Lovis Corinth representing highlights of the Berlin Secession which was established in 1898 as an alternative to conservative stat run art associations.  The 'Brücke-Museum' in Dahlem is another unique collection documenting this period through the works of the artist group 'Die Brücke' (The Bridge) which developed its own distinctive style around 1909.  The fascinating works of the one time Brücke-member and founder of German Expressionism, Emil Nolde (ill.), is represented by the rare collection of the Nolde Foundation Berlin, which lies in walking distance from the Hotel de Rome. The rich variety of German avant-garde movement in the 1920’s is also represented through the archives of artists such as Otto Dix and Hannah Höch.  Visits to the Georg Kolbe Museum and the Käthe Kollwitz Museum complete an insight to modern sculptural development in this fascinating period.  Our art experts are the ideal choice to guide you to the best of these collections, summarising their place in time and art.

Contemporary art in Europe’s artistic hub

Whether it be innovative private galleries or unrivalled contemporary art collections Berlin is a major destination for those with a passion for art.  Berlin's art scene is exploding with more than 4000 national and international artists showcasing their art throughout the city.  A wave of artists moved to east Berlin in the early 90s to take advantage of low rent, enthusiastic support from the government and a thriving international cultural scene.  Hot on their heels were a raft of galleries eager to identify themselves with this new centre of art.  Our art historian can take advantage of numerous private and public art collections to illustrate the threads of contemporary German art.  Learn why the Dusseldorf school was so important, how the centers of German art moved to Leipzig and Dresden and why Berlin is today an important hub for painters.  You will have the opportunity to visit the Deutsche Guggenheim, the Hoffman Collection and from late 2007 the Boros Collection as well as one of the most distinguished museums of contemporary art, the Hamburger Bahnhof before exploring the warren of courtyards around Auguststrasse, centre of Berlin current art scene.

Rebuilding the capital 

The reunified capital with its wide open spaces and appetite for the new became the destination for exciting architects to explore the full range of their creative vision.  Incorporating a Fuji mountain inspired roof, the innovative Sony Centre in Potsdamer Platz is the ideal place to start a circuit through contemporary architecture in Berlin.  Transformed from unwanted wasteland to the biggest building site in Europe following the fall of the wall, the area features design by the likes of Renzo Piano and Helmut Jahn.  Our architectural expert will bring this evolutionary process to life before detailing the inspiration for the architects’ vision.  A stone’s throw from Potsdamer Platz is the heart of reunited Germany, with the bold new parliamentarians’ offices elegantly grouped around the river and Foster’s reimagined Reichstag, proudly indicative of a modern democratic state.  On the edge of the Government quarter is the cavernous Hauptbahnhof, a dramatic feat of design and engineering.  Historic Unter den Linden is also home to unexpected jewels such as the new extension to the German Historic Museum by IM Pei and the DZ Bank by Gehry.  The resurgent Jewish community is also represented through the dramatic Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Liebeskind.  Architecture buffs will also want to ask their guide about the raft of new embassies that have recently been completed, representatives of national pride and vision.  The Netherlands embassy by Rem Koolhaas and the innovative Scandinavian complex are just two exceptional highlights.