Art Lover’s: Berlin Art Week

We invite you to join us for an extraordinary opportunity to explore the cultural capital of Europe on a 7-night program to Berlin. Accompanied by tour manager Fiona Bennett, we will dive into the vibrant art scene as we discover both the old masters and the contemporary visionaries that make Berlin one of the great destinations for art lovers. Set during Berlin Art Week, our program will feature visits to special exhibitions and galleries as Berlin transforms into a hub for contemporary art where German and international artists come together.

We will step out of the city on excursions to see Frederick the Great’s extraordinary Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam and to the charming cities of Lehde and Lübbenau, set within the UNESCO-protected Spreewald. Our relaxed program will allow you plenty of free time to explore the many museums and cultural sites throughout Berlin at your leisure.

Tour Highlights

• Joining us for several visits will be MAG’s new Curator of Contemporary Art, Tim Peterson. Learn and connect with artist studios and galleries as we experience the best of Art Berlin
• Admire the fascinating architecture of the Reichstag Building, home of the national Parliament
• Spend an afternoon exploring Berlin’s Museum Island
• Enjoy an evening cruise along the River Spree
• Accompanied by a local Jewish art historian we will visit some of the many Holocaust memorials throughout the city
• Visit the picturesque town of Lehde and marvel at the historical Schloss Sanssouci palace in Potsdam
• Experience an intimate evening concert at Piano Salon Christophori which takes place in a workshop for restoring antique pianos

Itinerary

Our program begins in Berlin with an afternoon visit to the Gemäldegalerie Art Museum, showing European 13th-18th-century masterpieces, including works by Rembrandt & Rubens, in a modern museum. End the day with a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

Visit the Reichstag Building, home of the German Parliament. Today the building features a gorgeous glass cupola designed by Norman Foster that provides a stunning 360-degree view of the city.

After lunch at leisure, possibly at Käfer, the rooftop restaurant at the Reichstag, enjoy the afternoon discovering Berlin’s renowned Museum Island, a unique ensemble of five museums situated on a small island on the Spree River. Now a UNESCO-World Heritage Site, it is sometimes referred to as Berlin’s Acropolis of the arts.

An early evening cruise along the River Spree offers an opportunity to sail past the ancient 13th-century heart of Berlin while enjoying a glass of wine.

Spend a day on an excursion to Spreewald, a beautiful wooded moorland and designated UNESCO-protected biosphere reserve. Travel through the meadowy countryside to Lübbenau, whose bustling port quarter where traces of the town’s medieval beginnings can still be found.

Enjoy a traditional punt boat ride through a network of streams to nearby Lehde, a picturesque village with its own very special charm and character. Visit the open-air museum where local traditional crafts, including historical costumes, art, and pottery, are on display, giving you a glimpse of how Spreewald residents lived in the 19th century.

Spend time at Berlin Art Week. For almost a full week, the entire city opens to art enthusiasts from around the globe with special exhibitions and gallery events. After dinner at leisure head to a special concert at the Piano Salon Christophori, an old industrial hall where, by day, it’s a workshop for restoring antique pianos but in the evening it transforms into a space for intimate chamber music concerts.

Explore the East Side Gallery, discovering some of its 101 murals. What was once part of the Berlin Wall is now the longest open-air gallery in the world spanning 1.3 kilometers of history and art.

Accompanied by a Jewish art historian visit the Peter Eisenman designed Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, among several other memorials which are sites of remembrance for the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

Visit Potsdam, the former Prussian royal seat featuring splendid gardens and glimmering palaces. Visit to Cecilienhof Palace where world history was written in the summer of 1945 at the end of WWII. After lunch at a local restaurant, discover Schloss Sanssouci, known as the Versailles of Germany. The palace includes over 140 outstanding 16th-18th century paintings including works by Caravaggio, van Dyke, Rubens and many more famous artists.

Our program ends with a farewell dinner and a chance to share memories of our week together.

Our ART LOVER’S tours are organized and sponsored by the MAG Council to benefit MAG and are open to all interested travelers.

For more information, email Michelle Turner at mt1@rochester.rr.com or Cynthia Arroyo at Cynthiaa@Distant-Horizons.com. For questions or assistance, please contact the MAG Council at magcouncil@mag.rochester.edu or 585.276.8910.

Anyone unable to attend a MAG Council Art Tour must make their request for a refund by contacting the MAG Council Office prior to the event registration deadline. For international/overnight tour refunds, the policy of the managing travel agency will take precedence. 

If it is necessary for the MAG Council to cancel an Art Tour, all payments made will be refunded in full.

The Memorial Art Gallery’s tour operator, Distant Horizons, is a California Seller of Travel (CST #2046776-40) and a participant in the California Travel Restitution Fund. Information regarding the rights of California residents to make a claim may be found at tcrcinfo.org. California law requires certain sellers of travel to have a trust account or bond. Distant Horizons has a trust account.