This tour traces the dramatic and harrowing story of the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich chronologically from its birth in 1919 Munich, to its bloody end in Berlin in 1945. In the company of an expert historian, we visit all the significant milestones marking Adolf Hitler's ascent and Germany's descent into the abyss. We begin in the Bavarian capital where we see the sites associated with the Nazi party’s rise, including the route of the 1923 Beerhall Putsch, the site of the party HQ and that of the 1938 Munich conference. We tour the appalling Buchenwald concentration camp; the Fuhrer's idyllic mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden; the Nazi party’s monster rally grounds at Nuremberg; and where Nazi crimes were judged and condemned. We explore the state building that housed the weak and ineffectual government of the Weimar Republic. During our final days in Berlin, we visit Wannsee, where the Holocaust was planned, and walk through the city centre viewing the Reichstag, Holocaust memorial, and the site of the bunker where Hitler’s life ended.

Munich, 1919. An unknown Austrian corporal walks into a beerhall...and the rest is history. The remarkable rise of Adolf Hitler from obscurity to Germany’s dictatorial Fuhrer, and finally to the overlordship of occupied Europe, is the story of a catastrophe unparalleled in human history. The Nazi dream of a racially pure Third Reich, and the quest for Lebensraum in Russia, turned Germany into a totalitarian state and plunged the world into war.

Day 1: Arrival in Munich

Fly into Munich or make your own arrangements to join the tour at the hotel. Check-in to our Munich hotel for two nights. Enjoy pre-dinner drinks and an introductory talk from our expert historian followed by dinner. (D).

Day 2: Munich

A full day on foot and public transport exploring the sites associated with Hitler’s rise to power: the former Sternecker beerhall, where Hitler first encountered the Nazi party; walk along the route of the 1923 Beerhall putsch to the Odeonsplatz, where the first Nazi bid for power came to bloody grief; enjoy a beer at the historic Hofbrauhaus; visit tour the documentation centre at the site of the party HQ, the Brown House; see where the 1938 Munich conference took place, today the city's Music college. (B,D).

Day 3: Berchtesgaden

We check out of our hotel and drive through beautiful mountain scenery to Berchtesgaden, the pretty town where Hitler, Goering and Speer had their rural retreats. We ascend the spectacular 6,000 ft. Kehlstein to enjoy a tour, amazing mountain views, and lunch at the Eagle's Nest, Hitler's mountain top eyrie. Visit the remains of the Berghof, Hitler's mountain home, where he received foreign guests including Chamberlain, Lloyd George and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. We tour the nearby documentation centre recording the Nazi links with the area. Check-in to our hotel for one night. (B,D).

Day 4: Nuremberg

Visit Surberg, where ‘death-marched’ Jews were massacred a week after Hitler’s suicide. In the afternoon we drive to Nuremberg to see the Nazi party rally grounds where thousands gathered annually to hear Hitler speak in massive, choreographed shows of strength and military muscle. We then visit the documentation centre in the vast, half built, Congress Hall which showcases megalomaniac Nazi building plans. Check-in to our hotel for one night. (B,D).

Day 5: Judgement

We take a tour of the Nuremberg courtroom where the surviving top Nazis were tried by the international tribunal in 1946. This afternoon we drive to Weimar to explore the House of the Weimar Republic where Hitler first came to power. Check-in to our Weimar hotel for one-night. There will be some free time to explore this beautiful city. (B,D).

Day 6: Buchenwald & Wannsee

Visit Buchenwald, one of Germany’s first and largest concentration camps with its huge memorial complex, crematorium, SS guards’ barracks, commandant’s headquarters, railway station, gatehouse and very moving exhibition. This afternoon we drive to Berlin's leafy western suburbs to visit Wannsee where, in a grand lakeside villa, the Holocaust was planned at a meeting chaired by Reinhard Heydrich. We tour the permanent exhibition on the history of German anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Check-in to our central Berlin hotel for two nights. (B, D).

Day 7: Berlin

A full day on foot and U-Bahn visiting the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, the Fuhrer bunker where Hitler and his bride Eva Braun committed suicide in April 1945, the Holocaust memorial, and the Topography of Terror Museum: built on the site of the SS/ Gestapo HQ, this records the network of terror that the Nazis built and the fate of its victims. (B, D).

Day 8: Berlin & Home

Visit the Platform 17 memorial at Grunewald, from where thousands of Berlin’s Jews were transported to their deaths. Thence brief stops at the Olympic Stadium and Tempelhof Airport to examine iconic Nazi architecture. Continue to Berlin Brandenburg Airport for return flights home or perhaps extend your stay in Germany. (B).