Make Chocolate - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edge of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretches 1500 miles along Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Make Chocolate in St. Finian's Bay: Europe's most westerly chocolate factory is right on the Atlantic at St. Finian's Bay - where the monks embarked en route for Skellig Michael. Ebullient owner, Colm Healy and his team, run workshops where you can learn more about choclate and get hands-on experience in decorating, making and designing your own chocolate masterpiece. While surf crashes onto the tiny beach outside, you are enveloped in the warm smells of chocolate-making, inside the family-run Skelligs Chocolate factory, at the edge of the world. Heavenly!

Travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

From Roman Times & Victorian Industry to Cosmopolitan Renaissance: Manchester, England

Manchester city's roots date back to Roman times, if not before. Manchester became a hive of Victorian Industry producing a huge range of textiles and other goods. Manchester's rich industrial heritage means that the city's buildings reflect its colorful past - a seamless blend of old and new. Visitors to Manchester will find that it is experiencing a cosmopolitan renaissance, with former factories converted into upscale residences, museums and other attractions.

Manchester is located in northwest England and is incredibly well connected to the rest of England by road and rail. The city is best known for its football (soccer) team Manchester United, its Brit-pop music fame and its culture. The city boasts several prestigious theaters, that often play host to major touring West-End productions, world-class music venues and well-renowned city center museums.

Visit Manchester: absorb the city's cultural scene, shop till you drop at world-class shopping centers, enjoy a picnic along the river. Travel to England with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Palaces of Potsdam

Potsdam is best known for the magnificent palaces and parks that date back to its time as the former royal seat of Prussia.It would be a shame to visit Potsdam without checking out one of her many beautiful palaces. Here are some of the top palaces to visit while in Potsdam, Germany:

Babelsberg Palace, Babelsberg Park
Babelsberg Palace lies in the eponymous park and quarter of Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. For over 50 years it was the summer residence of Prince William, later Emperor William I and his wife, Augusta of the House of Saxe-Weimar. The building, designed in the English Gothic style, was built in two phases over the period 1835–1849.

Cecilienhof Palace, New Garden
This historic country house is the site where Truman, Churchill and Stalin met at the famous Potsdam Conference following World War II.

Marble Palace, New Garden
The Marmorpalais (marble palace) was a royal residence in Potsdam, eastern Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive Neuer Garten on the shores of Lake Heiliger See. The palace was commissioned by Frederick William II of Prussia and designed in the early classicist style by the architects Carl von Gontard and (from 1789) Carl Gotthard Langhans, designer of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

Marquardt Palace
This Baroque Castle slumbers in a fairytale park in prestigious Potsdam. The castle has an exceptional and beautiful location in a nature park in an area of lakes and forests.

Little Palace in Babelsberg Park
Little Babelsberg Palace, also known as Kleines Schloss, is located in the most picturesque part of the park on the banks of the Havel River. It began as a simple structure and was later transformed into a palace. It was rebuilt in two stages, first in 1834 and then in 1842, by architect Ludwig Persius. The English Tudor-Gothic style of the building was requested by Princess Augusta. This beautiful white palace still retains it grandeur.
   

New Palace, Sanssouci Park
The New Palace is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci royal park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under Frederick the Great and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace.
  

Sacrow Palace
Frederick William IV acquired the Sacrow estate shortly after his accession to the throne in 1840, so that he might further beautify the Potsdam garden landscape. At the same time the king had the Church of the Savior, designed by Ludwig Persius in the shape of an early Christian basilica, built very nearby. Peter Joseph Lenné took over the scenic design of this outstanding, royal park complex.    
   
Sanssouci Palace, Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court.
   
Orangery Palace, Sanssouci Park
The Orangery in Sanssouci Park is an impressive example of the buildings created by Frederick William IV, who was known as the "Romantic on the throne." The imposing building complex - including greenhouses and the central Orangery Palace, sculptures, fountains, arcades and terraces - brings a bit of the Mediterranean sun to Potsdam, while graphically documenting Frederick William IV's ardent admiration for Italy. Italian Renaissance villas served as its models.
  

Satzkorn Manor House
A lineage of knights ruled the village of Satzkorn for many centuries. In 1731, the bourgeois private physician of Frederick William I was able to purchase a manor in Satzkorn with the help of the king, and bit-by-bit enlarge it with the inclusion of all the former knights' domiciles. In 1739, Friedrich Brandhorst ordered the construction of the manor house which still exists today. The manor dominated the village for a long period of time - until its political and legal independence came to an end in 1928.
   

Charlottenhof Palace, Sanssouci Park
Charlottenhof Palace or Charlottenhof Manor is located southwest of Sanssouci Palace in Sanssouci Park at Potsdam, Germany. It is most famous as the summer residence of Crown Prince Frederick William (later King Frederick William IV of Prussia). 

Visit the Palaces of Potsdam on your next self-drive tour of Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Explore Ireland's Literary Heritage - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Remember Ireland's greatest born storytellers: Out on the very edge of Europe, as far west as you can go in Ireland, lies a deserted village on an archipelago. These are the mystical Blasket Islands - famous in Ireland for their Gaelic storytellers, and deeply symbolic of the Irish story of emigration. Halfway round the Slea Head Drive - a scenic route circling the edge of the Dingle Peninsula - is the Blasket Center. Its director, Irish speaking Micheal de Modha, provides moving insights into the islanders' hard lives, the sorrows of emigration and the literary heritage of the Blaskets. A long glass fronted gallery overlooks the Atlantic and the Great Blasket itself: a constant reminder of that poignant place.

Travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Potsdam Biosphere

It is summer all year long at the Potsdam Biosphere. With more than 20,000 precious and fascinating tropical plants, the Potsdam Biosphere takes visitors into another world, full of excitement and jungle feeling. A vast range of animals in the tropical garden, an underwater world in the style of a historic submarine and the butterfly house captivate guests. Highlight of a visit to the Biosphere world is the hourly thunderstorm with lightning and thunder, tropical rain, and wafts of mist. Adults and children will be given plenty of chances to gain great insight into the colorful diversity of the rain forest. Travel to Potsdam to visit the Potsdam Biosphere. It is a great for families or just adults!

Throw a pot - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Throw a pot inspired by the wold Atlantic: At the far end of the Dingle Peninsula, on the scenic Slea Head Drive, is the workshop of one of Ireland's leading potters - the renowned Louis Mulcahy. The low building - with its studio, factory, shop and cafe - folds into the fields, mountains at its back and the tumultuous waters of the Blasket Sound below. This is the setting that inspires Louis's wonderful work: he talks of the rapid changing colors of the light and the sea - from greys to blues to light greens...the purples and browns of the heather and shadows on the mountains...and the roaring red sunsets. Come in the summer months, meet Louis, take the workshop tour and try your hand at throwing a simple shape, inspired by the wild Atlantic on the doorstep. You can take the raw simple pot away with you or have it glazed, fired and delivered to your door.

Travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

Cecilienhof Palace - a Piece of History

Cecilienhof Palace is the perfect blend of museum, brewery and inn for the history buffs traveling through Germany. Located in Potsdam, Germany; the castle grounds are picturesquely nestled in the "Neuer Garten" park landscape close to the "Jungfernsee" lake.

Cecilienhof was the last palace built by the Hohenzollern family that ruled Prussia and Germany until 1918. But this UNESCO World Heritage Site is best known as the location of the Potsdam Conference. Churchill, Truman and Stalin wrote world history in the venerable halls of Cecilienhof Palace, and discussed how to partition Germany.

Visit the thought-provoking museum and mosey through the beautiful garden then pop into the brewery pub for a drink and a bite to eat. History buffs and Germany travelers will find a rewarding experience at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

Sanssouci Park and Palace

The terraced Sanssouci Park, in Potsdam, Germany, started when Frederick the Great wanted to cultivate plums, figs and wine on Potsdam’s doorstep. Frederick the Great loved the garden with it's magnificent views so much that he had his summer residence built above the terraced vineyard. Sanssouci Palace is considered the major work of Rococo architecture in Germany. Paintings by Watteau, Panini and Pesne are on exhibit in the picture gallery.

Sanssouci Park and Palace welcomes thousands of tourists from all over the world and is a must see for anyone visiting Potsdam, Germany. Plan to visit on your next Germany vacation with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

Traditional Music - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Enjoy traditional music in West Clare: West Clare is famous for its music - and the Long Dock in the fishing village of Carrigaholt at the mouth of the Shannon is just one of the many pubs in these parts that offers traditional music nights, as well as Carraigaholt oysters, mussels, lobster and of course their own chowder. Come for one of the Dock's special Irish Nights, when you can sing, dance and play pub games with the locals.

Visit Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Do Oxford on a Budget

Oxford, in central, southern England, is a perfect place for travelers on a budget. There is so much to do that is free and low cost! Here are just a few of the things you can do when visiting Oxford on a budget:

The Oxford University of Natural History: Housed in a Victorian-style building, this University museum features collections of zoological, entomological and mineral specimens that have been collected over the last three centuries.

The Pitt Rivers Museum: The Pitt Rivers Museum is one of Oxford’s most popular attractions, famous for its period atmosphere and outstanding collections from many cultures around the world, past and present.

Bate Collection of Musical Instruments: For music-lovers everywhere: this specialty museum houses a fine collection of historical woodwind, brass and percussion instruments, plus more than one dozen historical keyboard instruments and a complete bow-maker's workshop.
The Ashmolean Museum: Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, established in 1683, is Britain’s oldest public museum and one of the oldest museums in the world.

The Museum of the History of Science: This museum boasts an unrivalled collection of more than 10,000 scientific instruments ranging from the time of antiquity to the early twentieth century.

Modern Art Oxford: Modern Art Oxford is one of the UK's leading galleries for the presentation of modern and contemporary visual art, with an established international reputation.

In addition to these great museums, budget travelers will find much to see at the churches and cathedrals such as the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin or St. Michael at the North Gate. In a university town such as Oxford, stroll around the college campuses! The majority of colleges are free to visit in the afternoons. Speaking of strolls - whether river, meadow, garden or cobble-stoned city streets, Oxford offers the budget travelers ample opportunities to amble.

Window shop on High Street or the Covered Market. Stop into one of the many bookshops that Oxford offers. Don't forget to break for High Tea for an inexpensive taste of English culture. Oxford surely offers the budget traveler a lot to see and do! Travel to England with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

Sun Set over the Aran Islands - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Watch the sun set over the Aran Islands: The viewing platform at O'Brien's Tower is said to be the best place to see the sunset from the iconic Cliffs of Moher. The tower was built at the highest point on the cliff edge in 1835, as an observation point for tourists, by far-sighted landowner Cornelius O'Brien. Before arriving at the Tower, you could try a guided walk along the cliff-edge paths with a Cliffs of Moher ranger. The walks take just over an hour and depending on the time of year, you'll see the puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes, chough, peregrine falcone, fulmar, and shags among other birds.

Travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Potsdam: a land of gardens, parks, palaces and lakes.

Potsdam is best known for the magnificent palaces and parks that date back to its time as the former royal seat of Prussia. Prussian pomp and splendor, a heritage of great architects and scholars, and a focal point during the Cold War: Potsdam offers a breathtaking panorama of culture and history.

Visit Potsdam on your next vacation to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

The City of Dreaming Spires Inspires

The "City of Dreaming Spires" beckons! Travel to Oxford, England. An hour by train outside London, Oxford is a city in central, southern England. Oxford is best known for housing one of the world's most prestigious institutions for higher learning, the University of Oxford. However, Oxford is much more than a university town or stomping ground for the world's brilliant minds.

Art and architecture fans  will love Oxford for its virtual timeline of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons in the early first century. Delight in a number of small cobbled streets and alleyways that are untouched for hundreds of years.

Shoppers can hit up Oxford's glorious High Street to find a vibrant, slightly curved street that is host to a number of Oxford's finest restaurants, jewelers , fashion outlets, antique dealers, the famous Oxford University shop and of course St Mary’s church. The city offers a marvelous opportunity to stroll!

Book lovers, Oxford is rich in bookshops. Do pop into one: browse, read and have a coffee. Oxford also packs it's fair-share of museums. Try the Museum of Oxford, Pitt Rivers Museum, Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, Museum of the History of Science or Modern Art Oxford. All of these museums are free! But if these museums do not quench your thirst for knowledge, why not check out the Bodlein Library or meander through the colleges. The majority of colleges are free to visit in the afternoons. Sample the fare in one of Oxford’s pubs such as the White Horse,the Kings Arms, the Mitre, the Turf, the Turl... or have a warming pie from Pieminister in the Covered Market.

The City of Dreaming Spires inspires! Travel to Oxford for the art, the architecture, the history and the shopping! Travel to England with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Cultural Immersion - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Go for cultural immersion in a resored 17th century hill-village: In their unique center dedicated to traditional Irish culture, Dearbhaill Standun and Charlie Troy of Cnoc Suian offer an introduction to Gaelic language, music, history, nature and landscape from groups. They've restored the group of cottages, which lay deserted for more than half a century in a tranquil setting on the southern foothills of the Connemara mountains, overlooking Galway Bay, the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands.

Plan your group travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Cruise Ireland's Fjord - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Cruise on Ireland's only fjord: With luck, a pod of dolphins will accompany you for some of your cruise on Killary Harbour, said by some to be Ireland's only true fjord. Dotted with mussel rafts, with mountains to the north and south, the fjord reaches due east from the Atlantic for 10 miles, ending at the Asleagh Falls. Killary Cruises start from a mile or so outside the village of Leenane on the road to Clifden at 'Nancy's Point'. Leenane is known as the Gateway to Connemara - you may recognise some of the locations from the movie version of John B Keane's poignant play "The Field" filmed here in 1989.

Travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Hannover: What to see

Cultural diversity, top universities, location for science, exciting tourist attractions - this is Hannover, the capital of Lower Saxony.

Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen
The Herrenhausen Gardens are an internationally famous ensemble of garden arts and culture that ranks among the most important historical gardens in Europe.

Berggarten
Botanical treasures and a world-famous orchid collection.

City Centre
When you walk out of Hannover Central Station towards Ernst August Platz you are almost in the middle of Hannover's city centre. The centre is rather large for a city of half a million. It has grown over the centuries between the old town down by the river, the Aegidientor in the west, the Steintor in the east and the Central Station.

Marktkirche
The Marktkirche - the church at the market place - was built in the 14th century

 

Maschsee Lake
One of the city's most popular destinations and recreational areas

The Old Town
Half-timbered buildings, museums and sights in Hanover's old core

Tiergarten
The deer park of Hannover - one if its most popular attractions. The 112 hectares of this recreational forest are inhabited by a large number of wild animals, making it one of Hannover's most popular attractions. From the beginning it was not the production of wood, but hunting and the beauty of the wild animals and the forest that stood in the foreground. Thanks to this attitude a very old tree population could develop, creating a scenery of rare beauty and serenity.

The Old Town Hall
A historical building dating back to 1500 a.d.The old Town Hall was built over a period of more than 100 years. The earliest part (from 1410) overlooks the Schmiedestrasse (Blacksmith Street), the later wing next to the market was erected on the foundations of the 13th century trade hall. The adjacent wing in the Koebelinger Str. is called the "Chemists' Wing ("Apothekenflügel"), because it was the location of the Town Hall's pharmacy. This wing was later rebuilt in Italian Romanesque style, after a citizen's "action group" led by a well known neo-Gothic architect, Conrad Wilhelm Hase, managed to save the entire building from demolition in 1844. Hase was subsequently commissioned to renovate the remaining wings in their original style of 1500, with its exceptional gothic gables and the ornamental frieze.

Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Dresden: a synonym for culture.

There are many ways to interpret or define culture. But it can be easily summarized with just one word: Dresden. The sheer abundance and splendor of the city's cultural treasures are enough to take your breath away. And since Dresden also just happens to be set amidst a stunning river landscape, your amazement is soon accompanied by pure delight.

Though the attribute 'world famous' is dished out all too readily, it is a befitting term in the case of Dresden. The city is famed not only for its three major landmarks – Zwinger Palace, Semper Opera House and the Church of Our Lady – but also for Brühl Terrace and the Royal Palace, for the Elbe palaces on the Loschwitz hillside, for the exclusive villas of Blasewitz, the garden city of Hellerau and, of course, for the twelve Dresden State Art Collections. And not forgetting the city centre's prime position on the western bank of the Elbe, at the apex of one of the river's gently sweeping meanders.
Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Dusseldorf: catwalk of Germany.

Dusseldorf becomes the focus of the fashion world when the city reveals the latest in designer fashion and high-street trends. 'The Gallery Dusseldorf' emerged from Igedo (the world's biggest fashion show in its day) and is now a biannual event that attracts international fashion designers and buyers in their droves to the Rhine city.

What to see in Dusseldorf?

Konigsallee
The Konigsallee is an urban boulevard in Dusseldorf, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Konigsallee is noted for both the landscaped canal that runs along its center, as well as for the fashion showrooms and luxury retail stores located along its sides.

Schloss Benrath
Schloss Benrath is a Rococo maison de plaisance near Dusseldorf, Germany, erected for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore by his garden and building director and garden supervisor, Nicolas de Pigage. It was begun in 1755, and by the time it was completed in 1770, some elements of Neoclassicism were detectable in its interior finishing.

Neandertal
The Neandertal is a small valley of the river Dussel in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 7.5 mi east of Dusseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. The valley belongs to the area of the towns Erkrath and Mettmann. In 1856, the area became famous for the discovery of Neanderthal 1, the first specimen of Homo neanderthalensis to be found.

Museum Kunstpalast
The beginnings of the Collection of the Kunstmuseum is dated back in the early 18th century and is increased to more than 100.000 Paintings, Sculptures, Drawings, Graphics, Photographies, applied arts objects and glass.

Dusseldorf-Kaiserswerth
Kaiserswerth is one of the oldest parts of the City of Dusseldorf. It is in the north of the city and next to the river Rhine.

Tonhalle Dusseldorf
It was built in 1926 as a planetarium, the biggest in the world at the point of construction. During the 1970s it was converted into a concert hall.


Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Trotting to Thuringia - Self-Drive Vacation

Whether traveling to Germany for the quaint towns, the outstanding natural beauty, the cultural heritage or to follow the Luther trail, Trotting to Thuringia puts you right in the center of it all. Stay in fabulous hotels, eat true German cuisine and enjoy the state of Thuringia.

Your Trotting to Thuringia - Self-Drive Vacation includes:

• 2 Nights Accommodations in Weimar 
• 2 Nights Accommodations in Eisenach 
•  4 Day economy automatic car rental 
•  Breakfast Daily
  
  Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Forage For Wild Food - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edge of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretches 1500 miles along Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Forage for wild food along the Killala shoreline: Spend an afternoon with Denis Quinn of Wild Atlantic Cultural Tours - foraging for food out along the shoreline under the huge skies of north Mayo. As the wild Atlantic booms and seabirds swirl and swoop, Denis will guide you expertly across Killala Bay, crossing mudflats, scrambling over rocks, gathering edible seaweeds, rooting around in rockpools and spooning cockles, mussels, clams and winkles from the vast expanse of soft sand uncovered at low tide.

Visit Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Museum Island in Berlin

The Museum Island in Berlin is the northern tip of the Spree Island - and it is also a magnificent work of art itself, involving five world-renowned museums gathered in an extraordinary ensemble. The many outstanding exhibits include the Nefertitit and the Pergamon frieze.

Since 1999, the museum complex in the city center of Berlin has been the only architectural and cultural ensemble that is considered part of UNESCO world heritage. At the southern part of the island, near the Schlossbrücke bridge and the Berlin Cathedral, the Altes Museum (Old Museum) can be found, which is located nearby the Lustgarten. In the northern part, there is the New Museum as well as the Alte Nationalgalerie. On the Kupfergraben side of the island can be found the Pergamon Museum. And last but not least there is the Bode- Museum.

Pergamonmuseum
The three-winged Pergamonmuseum by Alfred Messel has about one million visitors per year and thus is the most visited museum in Berlin. Currently, preparations are underway for reconstruction work. Permanent exhibits in the museum such as the Pergamon frieze and the Market Gate of Miletus have already been restored.

Bode-Museum
After six years of restoration work, the Bode Museum reopened in 2006. The museum houses an extensive collection of sculptures and treasures of the Museum of Byzantine Art and the Numismatic Collection. In the summer, the shore on the other side is a popular place for young people to meet each other and hang out.

Neues Museum
In 1841, Friedrich August Stüler started building the Neues Museum (New Museum). He used steam power and industrially fabricated support structures, which was a structural engineering sensation at the time. During the war, the museum was destroyed, and laid in ruins until 1999. Only then did the reconstruction work begin, which ended up lasting for ten years. Since reopening in 2009, the Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History have once again found a place to display their treasures in the museum. The showpiece of the New Museum is the bust of Nefertiti.

Alte Nationalgalerie
Like an ancient temple, the museum Alte Nationalgalerie along with its stairway rises above the Museum Island. The model that inspired the architect Friedrich August Stiller was the Acropolis of Athens. It was the first museum to be renovated here and has been open to the public since 2001. Built between 1867 and 1876 the museum Alte Nationalgalerie features works of Classicism, Romanticism, the Biedermeier era, Impressionism and early Modernism.

Altes Museum
The architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed a neoclassical building for Altes Museum (Old Museum) with a rotunda, dome and portico in 1830. It was thus the first public museum in Prussia. After being destroyed in the war and being rebuilt in the 1960s, the Altes Museum is undergoing renovation work. The museum's permanent exhibition entitled “New Antiquity in the Old Museum" (collection of classical antiquities and gold treasury) presents Greek and Roman art and sculptures.

Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Top 9 Berlin Museums

Berlin is a city of art, artists and museums. More than 170 museums, including those on the famous museum island, put the treasures of the world on public display. Culturally minded visitors from all corners of the globe come to Berlin to see performances by leading orchestras – such as the internationally celebrated Berlin Philharmonic – and to attend ballets and operas at the three major opera houses. A multitude of theaters specializing in plays, variety, revue and cabaret offer stage entertainment in all its forms.

With over 170 museums in Berlin it is hard to choose which ones to see. In addition to Museum Island, here are the top 9 most popular museums in Berlin, Germany:

1. Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum)
The German History Museum is the official national history museum of the Federal Republic of Germany. The museum’s objective is to present German history from its beginnings to the present day in terms of its international impact as well as its regional diversity.

2. Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum is quite possibly one of the most exciting examples of contemporary architecture in Berlin. Opened on 9 September 2001, the form and style of the museum reflect a complex concept consisting of ciphers, codes and philosophical themes.

3. Gemäldegalerie (Masterpieces of occidential art)
The gallery at the Kulturforum at Potsdamer Platz shows masterpieces of old occidental art. It is home to one of the most important collections of European painters from the 13th to 18th centuries world-wide, and comprises approx. 2,700 masterpieces of all epochs of Italian art between the 14th and 18th centuries, Dutch painings of the 15th to 16th centuries, and old German masters of the late gothic and renaissance eras. In rooms suffused with daylight, world-famous paintings like Jan Vermeer’s ‘Young lady with string of pearls’ and one of the world’s largest collections of Rembrandt’s works beckon the visitor, as do paintings by van Eyck, Bruegel, Dürer, Raffael, Tizian, Caravaggio and Rubens.

4. Museum für Naturkunde (World's biggest dinosaur skeleton)
Visitors are greeted in the entrance area by the head of a giant dinosaur that appears to be looking through the wall. The dinosaur exhibition has recently been completely redesigned: the interactive multimedia display now shows life as it was 150 million years ago in Tendaguru, East Africa.

5. Martin-Gropius-Bau (International art in historical building)
The Martin-Gropius-Bau is Berlin's main exhibition hall and is one of the world’s leading exhibition venues. The building, which until 1989 was directly located at the Berlin Wall and once housed the Museum of Decorative Arts, is named after the man who built it, the great uncle of the famous Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius.

6. Deutsches Technikmuseum (Technology: on land, on water and in the air)
The German Technology Museum (Deutsches Technikmuseum) offers a comprehensive insight into technical cultural history in Germany. With its 26,000 sqm of floor space, the Technical Museum is one of the largest in Europe and carries on the tradition of other famous technology museums, which used to welcome visitors in Berlin before World War II.

7. Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum of Contemporary Art (Art in the train station)
The Hamburger Bahnhof is the former rail station for trains running between the capital and the hanseatic city of Hamburg. Its station building houses the museum for contemporary art, which belongs to the Nationalgalerie and counts as one of the world’s most successful exhibition spaces for contemporary art. Here, works can be found by artists such as Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, Keith Haring as well as many innovative contemporary artists.

8. DDR Museum - FDJ, stasi, trabants, pre-fabricated high-rises – experience every-day life as it was in the old GDR in this unique museum
The GDR museum is one of the newest and most visited in Berlin. For a good reason: it is the only museum that deals exclusively with life in the former German Democratic Republic, while at the same time offering an objective perspective of the topics ‘stasi’ and ‘wall’, as well as various aspects of every-day life during that period.

9. Mauermuseum - Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (The Berlin Wall - history and events)
Today, the house at Checkpoint Charlie shows an almost incomprehensible number of original means and tools that people used in their escape out of the "DDR": from the hot-air balloon to the Trebant up to the chairlift.

Travel to Berlin, Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Berlin, the German Capital

Berlin, the German capital, is renowned for its exceptional variety of attractions, its flourishing cultural scene and a way of life that's both fast-paced and relaxed.

Contrasts between historical buildings and modern architecture, between the traditional and the modern are what set the city apart from the rest. The sights of Berlin – from the Brandenburg Gate to the Federal Chancellery – tell the story of an entire nation. Germany's capital is home to all the major goverment buildings, most notably the historic Reichstag, seat of the German parliament.

Berlin is a city of art, artists and museums. More than 170 museums, including those on the famous museum island, put the treasures of the world on public display. Culturally minded visitors from all corners of the globe come to Berlin to see performances by leading orchestras – such as the internationally celebrated Berlin Philharmonic – and to attend ballets and operas at the three major opera houses. A multitude of theatres specialising in plays, variety, revue and cabaret offer stage entertainment in all its forms.

The famous Kurfürstendamm, grand old Friedrichstrasse and the independent boutiques in and around the Hackesche Höfe offer endless scope for shopping.

Nowadays, people look to Berlin for the latest trends in lifestyle, music and art. Inspired by this outpouring of creativity, growing numbers of artists are arriving in the city from around the world, making it one of Europe's most exciting destinations.

A feature of Berlin, aside from its exuberance, is the way it continuously reinvents itself.

But Berlin also has a relaxed vibe and lots of open spaces for a breath of fresh air. No city in Germany is greener than Berlin with its forests, lakes and sprawling parks. This laid-back way of life can be found throughout the city. When the weather gets warmer, life in Berlin moves outdoors to the beach bars, pavement cafés and open-air cinemas and theatres – perfect for enjoying the sunshine and the balmy summer nights.

Travel to Berlin with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Bavarian Alps and the Bodensee - Self-Drive Vacation in Germany

Relax and enjoy the natural and scenic beauty of Southern Germany on this spectacular self-drive journey through the Bavarian Alps to Lake Constance (the Bodensee) and onto Munich. This Germany vacation offers a relaxing pace for you to explore fairytale castles, festive beer halls and the beautiful city of Munich.

Your Bavarian Alps and the Bodensee - Self-Drive Vacation includes:

• 2 Nights Accommodations in Fussen
• 2 Nights Accommodations in Friedrichshafen
• 2 Nights Accommodations in Munich
• 6 Day economy automatic car rental
• Breakfast Daily
  
  
  
  Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Ceide Fields - Experiences to Savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way

Out at the very edged of Europe, the Wild Atlantic Way stretched 1500 miles alond Ireland's western seaboard. From Malin Head in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, through regions like Connemara, Galway Bay and Kerry, it's the longest defined coastal drive in the world!

Here is just one of the experiences to savor on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way:

Probe the peat at Ceide Fields: An award-winning architect designed pyramid built into the clifftop, high above the Atlantic, houses the Visitor Center for Ceide Fields.This is the largest Stone Age monument in the world, set in a vast prehistoric landscape of bog, dramatic cliffs and coastline. Preserved beneath  the wild blanket bog are 5000 year old stone walled fields, dwellings and megalithic tombs. Take the guided tour and use the archaeologists probe, sliding down the peat till you feel it striking stone placed there 5000 years ago. This is the largest of thousands archaeological sites along the Wild Atlantic Way - hundreds in this part of North Mayo alone, including standing stones, ring forts, stone circles and court tombs.


Travel to Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with Celtic Tours World Vacations.