Berlin Signature tours with Tom Willamson
Signature Tours with Tom Williamson™
Tom Williamson, world traveller, the expat American – Berliner by choice since 2001. Prussian history and the amalgamation of the German Confederation grabbed his interest upon his arrival and has kept him learning ever since. A Berlin tour guide, he revels in lightheartedly preaching Prussian history through anecdotes and humour. He offers in debt political, historical and special interest tours. Tours are customized to individual customer.
In general, the following tours can be designed for individuals and small groups.
Select your mode of transportation:
- Berlin sightseeing by foot and using public transportation 4 or 8 hours.
- Easy yet thorough walking guided tours pointing out all the major interesting architectural and historical sites. Wear comfortable shoes! Berlin sightseeing using private car and driver 4 or 8 hours.
- For clients preferred to do sightseeing with some walking and comfort of private car and driver.
- Berlin sightseeing by bike. A wonderful alternative to walking is a bicycle tour. Bicycling in Berlin is easy (it’s a flat city, lots of exclusive bike lanes). Renting them is also quite easy and uncomplicated, with over 100 places to rent them, most do not require a credit card, and there is a rental store located close by the start of all of our tours.
A leisurely ride with a guide through Berlin can be the highlight of your vacation!
Potsdam sightseeing from Berlin using private car and driver 4 or 8 hours.
Potsdam sightseeing from Berlin using train to Potsdam and by bike in Potsdam. 5 hours.
The most enjoyable way to bike by 8 palaces, and have a picnic on ground.
8 hour trip to Dresden and Meissen with Tom using train to Dresden and then public transportation or taxis in Dresden. Relax at the train with glass of wine or cup of coffee, watch scenery and converse about German politics and history.
8 hour tour to Dresden and Meissen by private car and driver . Larger groups touring by bus.
A city tour by bus is the most luxurious way to see Berlin.
Tom will give you a full commentary of the city as you relax and watch it pass by your window…
We occasionally stop and allow you to disembark, to give you a better feeling and understanding of the more important sites.
For cruise passengers from Rostock or Wardemunde we provide a transportation by private car and driver or it is possible to take a train and meet your guide in Berlin train station. Choose what you want to see.
Most visited Berlin’s historical sights:
Wilhelm I Memorial Church
Kurfürstendamm
West Berlin’s shopping district
Tiergarten Park –beautiful and steeped in history
Siegessäule – Victory Monument
Bellevue Palace – Berlin home of Germany’s President
Congress Hall – Futuristic architecture from the 50’s!Chancellors’s Office
Reichstag – The German Parliament
Berlin Wall Site
Brandenburg Gate – Berlin’s most famous monument
Pariser Platz
Potsdamer Platz – Fabulous and new. Cutting edge 21st century architecture
Hitler’s Bunker Site – Perhap’s Berlin’s most infamous unmarked sight.
Air Ministry – (Reichsluftfahrt-Ministerium)
Gestapo Headquarters – (Topographie des Terrors)
Checkpoint Charlie
Gendarmenmarkt – A beautiful square with 2 stunning churches and Concert House
Bebel Platz – Site of Nazi Book Burning
St. Hedwigs Catholic Church
New Watch War Memorial – (Neue Wache)
Armory – (Zeughaus)
New Berlin Historical Museum
Pleasure Garden – (Lustgarten)
Museum Island – Old, New National and Pergamon Museums
Berliner Cathedral
Communist Parliament Building – (Palast der Republik)
Marx-Engels-Forum
Red Town Hall- (Rotes Rathaus)
Alexander Platz
TV Tower
Specialty Tours
We also offer special interest, with a political/Historical focus. With these tours we will show you the same sights as in our normal tours, but we put special emphasis on the historical importance and context of the places shown. These special tours clearly show the rather young, but quickly changing politcal and historical developments. The focus is directed mostly at Germany’s recent history, from the founding of the Republic in 1870 forward.
Some suggested periods include:
- 1871 – 1918: The days of the Empire of the Kaisers, the founding of the modern country of Germany, and the quick growth of Berlin to be Germany’s most important and largest city. Also covered are the WWI years.
- 1919 – 1933: The Weimar Republic and the first years of Democracy for Germany.
- 1933 – 1945: The rise and fall of the Nationalistic party (Nazi), Adolf Hitler, and the disastrous consequences climaxing in WWII.
- 1945 – 1989: One city torn in two and the pressures of being sandwiched between two super-powers. Including the Berlin Wall Years.
- 1989 – Present: The sometimes bitter reunification, mending and the difficult and costly rebuilding of the Berlin metropolis for the future.
Jewish Heritage sightseeing
Sample Itinerary for a half day tour (3-4 hours tour) of Jewish and overall Berlin
Old quarter of Jewish Berlin, including the Old Jewish Cemetery with Moses Mendelssohn’s grave, the Jewish High School, the former Jewish Girl’s School and Ahava House, the New Synagogue/Centrum Judaicum and the Leo-Baeck-House (former College for the Science of Judaism, now seat of the Central Council of the Jews in Germany and the Jewish Press Company).
New government area with the Reichstag, the New Chancellery, the House of Representatives (new architecture)Large Berlin inner city park Tiergarten with the street of the 17th of June, Victory Column, the Old Congress Center and the Castle BellevueSeveral memorial sights throughout the cityJewish Community Center
Western shopping areas like the Kurfuerstendamm avenue and Tauentzien (with KaDeWe)
Old and new Embassy area in the Tiergarten
Cultural Forum with the New National Gallery, Philharmony, Paintings Gallery, National Library
Amazingly designed modern architectural complexes around Potsdamer
PlatzCheckpoint Charlie and remains of the Berlin Wall
Open door exhibit: ‘Topography of Terror’
Gendarmenmarkt SquareBrandenburg Gate with Paris Square (new architecture)
Great boulevard Unter den Linden with classical sights like the States Opera, Humboldt University, the Old Armery, the Berlin Cathedral and Museums Island,
Sample Itinerary for a day tour (5-8 hours tour) of Jewish and overall Berlin
Gendarmenmarkt Square
Great boulevard Unter den Linden with classical sights like the States Opera, Humboldt University, the Old Armery, the Berlin Cathedral and Museums
IslandTour of the old quarter of Jewish Berlin, including the memorial place of the first synagogue of Berlin, the Memorial for the Women’s Protest in Rosenstrasse,
the Old Jewish Cemetery with Moses Mendelssohn’s grave, the Jewish High School, the former Jewish Girl’s School and Ahava House, the New Synagogue/Centrum Judaicum and the Leo-Baeck-House (former College for the Science of Judaism, now seat of the Central Council of the Jews in Germany and the Jewish Press Company)
Brandenburg Gate with Paris SquareNew government area with the Reichstag, the New Chancellery, the House of Representatives
Large Berlin inner city park Tiergarten with the street of the 17th of June, Victory Column, the Old Congress Center and the Castle Bellevue
Memorial Sight: former Synagogue/collection camp LevetzowstrassePalais Charlottenburg, Egyptian Museum, Collection Berggruen (outside)
Memorial Sight: Platform 17, one of the former deportation train stations in Berlin
New Israeli Embassy
Memorial Sight: ‘Places of Remembrance’ in the Bavarian Quarter
Jewish Community Center
Synagogues (outside)
Western shopping areas like the Kurfuerstendamm avenue and Tauentzien (with KaDeWe)
Embassy area in the Tiergarten
Cultural Forum with the New National Gallery, Philharmony, Paintings Gallery, National Library
Jewish Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind (outside explanations or with a guided tour inside)
Checkpoint Charlie and remains of the Berlin Wall
Open door exhibit: ‘Topography of Terror’
Amazingly designed modern architectural complexes around Potsdamer Platz
Construction sight of the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe
Famous Friedrichstrasse
Sample Itinerary for a 1 day trip from Berlin to Wannsee and Potsdam (4 – 6 hours)
Guided visit of the exhibit in the house of the Wannsee Conference (»Wannsee Conference« was concerned with the organisation and implementation of “The Final Solution”)
Historical City of Potsdam, market place and old city gates
Short lunch break
Dutch quarterAlexandrowka,
Russian quarter
Sanssouci castle (outside) and gardens
New Palais (outside) and gardens
Guided visit of Cecilienhof Palace, venue of the Potsdam Conference in 1945 by the Allies
Please inquire for prices: specify number of people, mode of transportation, date (first and alternate), hotel where you are staying. If you are arriving from cruise ship, advice ship and cruise name and port.