About Activity
Berlin may rightly be called the birthplace of today’s LGBTQ+ movements. Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, pioneer of the modern Gay Rights Movement, distributed his essays on male-male love as early as 1862. He cleared the path for the world’s first gay magazine, Der Eigene (The Self-Owning), which came out of Berlin in 1897. No wonder that, by the 1920s, a liberal attitude made interwar Weimar Berlin an international magnet for creative individuals, including W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, who authored the novel, Goodbye to Berlin (on which the musical Cabaret is based). In such a dynamic atmosphere, the Institute for Sexual Science was founded by Magnus Hirschfeld, who initiated the first campaign to abolish the legal persecution of homosexuals. This 3-house tour takes you to sites that illuminate Berlin’s many queer trailblazers, while you stroll through Schöneberg, discovering the world’s first gay ghetto.
Includes
- Experienced Licensed Guide
Excludes
- Metro tickets - 24 hour ticket - 10 EUR
Departure Point
- Your guide will meet you at Impala Coffeeshop. If you would like a personal pickup, please let us know your hotel address.
Stop At: Schoneberg Duration:
1 hour 30 minutes Explore the world's first gay ghetto, Schoneberg, a neighborhood that featured legendary lesbian bars, you'll see Christopher Isherwood's former flat and learn how his Weimar-era adventures inspired the musical Cabaret. Passing by nightclubs he frequented, we'll see a rent-boy dive that remains gay-run to this day. Outside the infamous El Dorado Cabaret, we'll learn of notable regulars like Ernst Rohm, the openly gay head of the Sturmabteilung (aka, the Nazi Brown Shirts). While discovering sites connected to the post-WWII rebirth of Schoenberg as the gay heart of the city, we pay particular homage to the city's most iconic nightclub of the 70s, Chez Romy Haag.
Stop At: Unter Den Linden On the historic boulevard Unter den Linden, you will meet early gay Berliners such as the Prussian King Frederick the Great and explorer Alexander von Humboldt and find out how they disguised their sexuality.
Stop At: Alexanderplatz Travel to Alexanderplatz, the heart of Cold War East Berlin, and hear about the suffering endured by gays and lesbians behind the Iron Curtain
Public transportation options are available nearby Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries Not recommended for pregnant travelers Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health Suitable for all physical fitness levels Operated by Insight Cities For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
Extraordinary tour for the communityDAVID_C
Dan is an incredible guide and brought Berlin’s queer history to life for our group of six, both gay and ally. His knowledge clearly demonstrated the research he has performed and his use of both photographs and music truly enhanced the experience. The tour was paced to get as much in as possible across several of the most significant sites in Berlin’s LGBTQIA+ background. Dan gave a queer insight to the landmarks associated with Christopher Isherwood and W. H. Auden, Marlene Dietrich, Magnus Hirschfeld, David Bowie and Romy Haag, Frederick the Great, Alexander von Humboldt and more.
