Join me on a fun-filled day (quite literally) walking in the footsteps of your emigrating German ancestors! On this guided day tour, we cover both a walking tour in the city of Bremen and a visit to the emigration museum in Bremerhaven.
With over 7 million people leaving from here between 1830 and 1974, Bremerhaven was once one of the busiest emigration ports in Europe.
Bremerhaven is a harbor town located directly at the seafront of the North Sea (about 70 kilometers or 40 miles north of Bremen).
But before the emigrants got to Bremerhaven, they most often either passed through or spend several days in the (older) city of Bremen. So on our 2-hour walking tour through Bremen, you will see all sightseeing highlights of the 1,200-year-old Hanseatic town of Bremen and hear stories related to emigrants and immigrants. Ask any questions you may have to your professional, in-person tour guide Sonja Irani.
Tour price:
Tour Price for one person: €369 ($428*)
Tour Price for two people: €389 ($450*) / €199 ($230*) per person
Other group sizes upon request!
(Price includes museum entry ticket, train ticket and VAT)
*Approximate price in US-Dollars according to the current exchange rate (August 2026)
How to book:
This private tour is available at certain times a year and on request only.
Simply contact us by filling in the short “Request now” contact form on this page or by writing an email to contact@myancestorsjourney.com to discuss a date.
REQUEST NOW
Part One: 2-hour walking tour in Bremen
1. The old port of Bremen
We will see the river bank of the river Weser in Bremen, which was the very first harbor of Bremen established in the 13th century. The first emigrants left from here on sailing ships before Bremerhaven was founded in 1827.
Later on, the emigrants started from here by tender boats, which took them to the Atlantic ships in Bremerhaven.
2. The Böttcherstraße
We will visit the street where decaffeinated coffee was invented by a Bremen merchant around 1900. Here, we will also learn more about trade from and to Bremen, which has a long tradition in the city of Bremen.
The “Glockenspiel” at the Böttcherstraße (street of the barrel makers) in Bremen.
3. The Roland statue and medieval market square
This statue from the year 1404 depicts a knight called Roland and is one of Bremen’s two UNESCO World Heritage sights. I will explain why the Roland is also known as Bremen’s “Statue of Liberty” and what many emigrants thought of him.
The “Schütting” trading house on the left, was a contact point for emigrants in the 19th century, as an emigrant office was located here to help people with the emigration process and protect them from scammers.
4. Saint Peter Cathedral
Next to the Roland, we will see the Bremen Cathedral, the medieval market square and the 600-year-old Town Hall (the other UNESCO World Heritage site in Bremen). If it’s open at the time of visiting, we can also take a look inside the cathedral.
Most emigrants payed a visit to this church to pray for a save journey. On the marketplace used to be merchants selling the emigrants necessities for the journey. Especially in the beginning, many emigrants still had to buy their own supplies, e.g. straw mats, eating utensils or durable food.
The town hall (left) and cathedral “St. Petri Dom” of Bremen (right)
5. The Bremen Town Musicians
We will of course make a stop at Bremen’s most famous statue: the four animals from the 19th century fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm called “The Bremen Town Musicians” (the donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster).
Here you will learn what the old fairy tale had to do with the emigrants of the 19th century.
6. The Schnoor quarter
The oldest quarter of the city of Bremen features houses that date back to the 1600s, 1500s and even 1400s! We can also find the smallest hotel in Bremen here.
Before the railroad took the emigrants directly to the port of Bremerhaven, they often had to stay in Bremen for several days. Some stayed in the small inn houses in the Schnoor quarter because the accommodation in this part of the city was the most affordable.
This is where our walking tour ends. If you like, you can spend some more time in the Schnoor quarter and perhaps enjoy some coffee and cake and / or lunch at one of the several cute cafés or restaurants here.
Part Two: Train ride and included visit to the Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven
1. Train ride from Bremen to Bremerhaven
After the guided tour in Bremen, you will head to Bremen’s Central train station with Sonja, your tour guide. From the Schnoor quarter, it’s just a short (approximately 15 minutes) walk or a short ride with the city’s tram (ticket included in your tour price).
We will travel just as many German ancestors would have traveled from Bremen to Bremerhaven – by train!
From Bremen’s main train station (Hauptbahnhof), we catch one of the hourly running trains to Bremerhaven. The journey takes about 1 hour until we arrive in the harbor town of Bremerhaven.
2. Guided tour along the seafront and original emigration port in Bremerhaven
Once we have arrived in Bremerhaven, we will catch the short bus with you that will bring us to the harbor front at the North Sea.
Here, we enjoy a short emigration-themed guided tour with your personal guide Sonja along the harbor front.
We will see the “Emigrant Memorial Statue” and the original location (or close to) from where your ancestor would have left Germany on one of the big emigrant ships overseas!
3. Visit the Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven (Entry tickets + guided tour)
Then, we will head inside the interactive museum called “German Emigration Center”. Here, we will re-live the emigrant’s journey from Bremerhaven to America in different time periods and will get very close to the experience of what the emigration journey was actually like for your ancestors.
On your private 90-minute guided tour with a local guide from the museum (included in the tour price), we will learn even more about your individual ancestor’s emigration experience and the time period in which they left Germany.
After an eventful half-day visit to the north German coastline in Bremerhaven, you will catch the train back to Bremen and arrive there in the evening. I can give dinner recommendations for restaurants to visit in Bremen.
What our previous travelers say:
Tour price:
Tour Price for one person: €369 ($428*)
Tour Price for two people: €389 ($450*) / €199 ($230*) per person
Other group sizes upon request!
(Price includes museum entry ticket, train ticket and VAT)
*Approximate price in US-Dollars according to the current exchange rate (August 2026)
How to book:
This private, guided tour is available at certain times a year and on request only.
You can customize your tour offer (for example if you are driving to Bremerhaven with a rental car and don’t need the train ticket) by getting in contact with me.
Please note: On some dates, I am traveling myself and thus won’t be available for an in-person tour in Bremen and Bremerhaven!
In that case, I can still organize a tour package for you (the entry tickets and tour with a guide from the museum in Bremerhaven stay the same, for the tour in Bremen you can either do a self-guided tour or I can request a tour with a colleague of mine!).
To book this tour and discuss a date, simply contact us by filling in the short “Request now” contact form on this page or by writing an email to contact@myancestorsjourney.com.
Bis Bald in Bremen and Bremerhaven! (See you soon in Bremen and Bremerhaven!)
