Orientation

Since 1990, Berlin has been one city, but we still have 2 centers (West Center and Mitte, or East Center). Most accommodation is still in the former West and most international flights will land you at Tegel Airport, which is also on the west side. The quickest link into West Center from Tegel by public transport is a 15 minute bus ride (the X9 bus), which will drop you at Zoo Station in West Center; for info. on "Taxis", see below. Since most of the historic sights are in East Center (Mitte), you can join sight-seeing tours which start in West Center and will take you to Mitte. For walking tours in English, join a Berlin Walks "Discover Berlin" tour which start daily from the taxi stand at Zoo Station (call (030) 301 9194 for up-to-date start times).

Public Transport

Berlin’s excellent public transport system comprises: U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (city rail), buses and trams. Buy tickets from ticket offices or from machines on station platforms. Bus drivers also sell tickets. Ticket machines give info. in English and you can pay the exact amount or get change from DM 10 or DM 20 notes . You must validate your ticket in the red or yellow ticket-stampers on the platform before you get on the train or tram! Tickets sold by bus drivers are automatically validated.

The S-Bahn is a mostly overground urban railway system. The U-Bahn is the city's mainly underground rail, metro or subway system. The Straßenbahn or tram (trolley) system that operates almost exclusively in the eastern part of the city. Buses provide extensive service linking outlying districts with the city center and to the U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Almost all means of public transport—U- & S- Bahn, trams, buses and most ferries—can be accessed with the same ticket. There is usually no need to show or scan one's ticket, except on buses; however, plainclothes transit authorities officials frequently conduct random checks in which they board a vehicle and demand that everyone on board show their ticket. Anyone who does not produce a valid ticket is given a 40-euro fine.

The inner city is crossed from west to east by the elevated main line (Stadtbahn), which carries S-Bahn trains as well as regional and long-distance trains. This main line passes through most of the city's long-distance and regional train stations, including Berlin-Charlottenburg, Berlin Zoologischer Garten, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Friedrichstraße, Alexanderplatz, and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

The second component of Berlin's rail network is the S-Bahn ring (Ringbahn) that forms a circle around the inner city and crosses the main line at Westkreuz (“west crossing”) and Ostkreuz (“east crossing”). A number of regional and regional express lines connect Berlin with the surrounding region. The city is also served by the freight rail yard at Seddin, south of Potsdam.There are useful online resources for getting around Berlin using public transport, such as the route planner[64] or a map of the current public transport network.

All tickets can be used on any part of the system (see notes about rail passes below). Once validated, the ticket can be put away; you don’t need to show it to anyone, apart from bus drivers after 8pm at night, to use the system. If you are caught without a ticket by plain clothes inspectors, you will be liable for an on-the-spot DM 60 fine (and a lot of embarrassment!)

The following tickets are most suitable for visitors: day passes for individuals or for groups up to 5 people are excellent value for money and are valid until 3am the following day. If you are only making one or two journeys, buy a single fare ticket, good for up to 2 hours travel after validation in any direction. There is also a short trip ticket Kurzstrecke costing which is good for up to 3 stops on the U- or S-Bahn, or up to 6 stops on buses or trams.

Air Travel

Berlin has three commercial airports—Tegel International Airport (TXL), Tempelhof International Airport (THF), and Schönefeld International Airport (SXF) serving 155 destinations (07/2006)- 118 of them in Europe. Schönefeld lies just outside Berlin's south-eastern border in the state of Brandenburg, while the other two airports lie within the city. Tempelhof handles only short-distance and commuter flights, and there are plans to close the airport and transfer its traffic to Berlin's other two airports. There are longer-term plans to close Tegel as well. Schönefeld is currently undergoing expansion. Berlin's airport authority aims to transfer all of Berlin's air traffic in 2011 to a greatly expanded airport at Schönefeld, to be renamed Berlin Brandenburg International Airport.[65]

By Train

EurAide sells train tickets on behalf of Deutsche Bahn and provides a free train travel information service in English, tel:(030) 297 49241. You’ll find their office at the back of Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten.Rail passes: Eurail, Euro- and Inter-Rail passes are all valid on the S-Bahn, so long as they are validated for the day of travel (open passes are, of course, valid at any time).

Taxis

If you'd rather have someone else drive you there are taxi stands with 'call columns' throughout the city - it costs more to call than to flag one down. Taxis are always cream-coloured and metered; the minimum fare is abouit DM 4 and a cab from Tegel Airport to West Center will, for example, cost approx. DM25. Taxis are easy to find in the center of Berlin, in the inner city there are also some pedicabs called Velotaxis.

By Bike

Berlin is very cycle friendly and it's a good way to get to know the city - there are specially marked bike lanes everywhere. There are also plenty of bike rental shops.

By Car

Berlin is probably easier to drive around than many other big cities in Europe with roadworks being the biggest hassle. Parking isn't too difficult and is reasonably cheap.