edit Berlin Travel Guide

• Berliner Dom Easily the biggest and most impressive church, built at the turn of the century (19th/20th) as an expression of imperial power.
• Reichstag - the German parliament near the Brandenburg gate building has a large glass construction on top with a great view of Berlin.
• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - A recently opened (spring 2005) gigantic abstract artwork covering an entire block near the Brandenburg Gate, including an underground museum with extensive details on the Holocaust and the Jews who died during it.
• Berlin Wall. A large stretch of intact Wall can be found to the east of the city centre along the River Spree in Mühlenstraße near the Oberbaumbrücke. Known as the East Side Gallery, it is a section of the wall that is preserved as a gallery.
  

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states (Länder) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and has a population of 4.3 million within its metropolitan area and 3.4 million within the city limits. Berlin's architecture is quite varied: though badly damaged in the final years of World War II, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, and it is now possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the compact city center, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz, to the ultramodern glass and steel structures in Potsdamer Platz.

By plane

Berlin has three airports:

• Tegel International Airport (ICAO: EDDT, IATA: TXL) - located in the north-west of the city; the main airport for the flagcarriers (Lufthansa, BA, Air France, KLM, Delta etc) and hub for domestic flights as well as those from western Europe and the USA. Buses from Tegel operate to S+U Alexanderplatz, Hauptbahnhof (bus TXL) and S+U Zoologischer Garten (buses X9 and 109) for the standard ticket fare. Attention! Do not take any train to the "Tegel" railway (S-Bahn) station, which is not connected to the airport, but rather to the suburban village called Tegel. It is not possible to walk or to otherwise easily get to the airport from that station. Tegel airport does not have any railway station. Any indication to a Tegel railway station refers to the remote S-Bahn station, even if railway staff at stations in other cities might tell otherwise.

• Schönefeld (ICAO: EDDB, IATA: SXF) - small airport southeast of the city centre; increasingly the focus for low-cost airlines (e.g. Easyjet and GermanWings) and charter flights in addition to traffic from Asia and eastern Europe. The airport is served by the S-Bahn and train: the line S9 will take you conveniently to (and through) the city centre via such major stations as U Ostbahnhof, S+U Alexanderplatz, S Hauptbahnhof and S+U Zoologischer Garten. There are also less regular but faster regional trains that cost the same and stop at these major train stations too. In S-Bahn and regional trains between the airport and the city, the public transport ticket (zones A and B, 2,10 EUR) can be used. Stamp before boarding.

• Tempelhof (ICAO: EDDI, IATA: THF) - a small relic of the pre-war era due for closure in October 2008, Tempelhof is located immediately south of the city centre but has only a small number of connections serviced mainly by domestic and european flights (Eurowings, DBA, Windrose Air, SN Brussels and numerous minor business carriers). Take U6 at Platz der Luftbrücke to Friedrichstrasse Station.

Construction of the new Airport Berlin Brandenburg International has started at Schönefeld and the new airport is scheduled for opening in 2011. After this, all air traffic in the Berlin-Brandenburg region will be bundled at BBI, and other airports in the region closed down.

Various airlines, such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France have direct flight connections between Berlin and major German and European cities. Lufthansa, the German flag carrier airline, has several own counters in Tegel. It can be difficult to find a direct flight to Berlin from outside of Europe. Most airlines will fly to their major hub airports such as Frankfurt and Munich and offer connecting (or code-share) flights to Berlin.

Since end of 2005 Delta and Continental Airlines have established daily direct flights from New York (JFK and Newark)

By train

Berlin is served by IC, ICE, EuroCity and InterRegio trains. The German train corporation Deutsche Bahn (DB) offers ICE connections between Berlin and other major German cities. If you arrive in Berlin on a national (non-regional) DB trip, you are entitled to use your ticket to travel by S-Bahn (local commuter trains), but not U-Bahn (the city's underground system), to your destination as the S-Bahn is operated by the DB.

Several night trains from/to Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich and Vienna (special offer for 29 euros in one direction) travel every day. They are popular with backpackers so reservations are recommended. Long-haul trains to Eastern European cities (Warsaw, Kaliningrad and Moscow) mostly use the Bahnhof Lichtenberg in Eastern Berlin. Make sure you have a reservation because these lines are also very popular.

By car

By bus

Berlin is serviced from over 350 destinations in Europe. Long distance buses arrive at Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (Central Bus Terminal) in Charlottenburg. From there take the S-Bahn (station Messe Nord) or bus into town.

By boat

By Car

By Subway (U-Bahn)

The Berlin U-Bahn (subway/metro) is something to behold; it is charmingly precise! There are no turnstiles to limit access, so it is technically possible to ride without a ticket, but if caught by a ticket checkers you will be fined €40 so it is probably not worth the risk. All U-bahn stations now have electronic signs that give the time of the next train, and its direction based on sensors along the lines.

Detailed maps can be found in every U-bahn station on the trains. Don't be confused by the alternative tram maps. U-Bahn stations can be seen from far by their big, friendly blue U signs. Together with the S-Bahn (which is administered by Deutsche Bahn and mostly runs aboveground), the U-Bahn provides a transportation network throughout greater Berlin that is extremely efficient and fast. On weekend (friday to sunday), as well as during the Christmas and New Year holidays, all U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines (except line U4) run all night, so returning from late night outings is easy, especially given the average start time of most 'parties' in Berlin (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.). During week is no U-Bahn or S-Bahn service from appr. 1 a.m. to 4.30 a.m., but metro trams/buses and special Night Buses (parallel to the U-Bahn line) run every half an hour from 0.30 to 4.30 a.m.

For a single journey you can buy a cheap Kurzstrecke for €1.20, but this is only valid for 3 stops on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn (six stops by bus or tram). You may not change. For a longer single journey you must pay €2.10, which is valid for anywhere in zone A & B for two hours after validating. Note that you may only ride in one direction with one single journey, you are not allowed to go around.

By Bus

Buses are of course the most slow public transport vehicles, but they will get you in every corner of Berlin. There are also tram buses and normal buses, comparable to the tram system.

The most famous bus line especially for tourists is 100, which leaves from Zoo Station ("Berlin Zoologischer Garten") or - if you wanna go the other way round - Alexanderplatz, and crosses most of historic Berlin, including many of the sites listed here. For the price of a city bus ticket or daily pass it's possible to see much of the city from one of these double-decker tour buses. Sit up top as it's easier to see the Reichstag, as well as the many historic buildings on Unter den Linden. If you're lucky, you'll get the legendary bus-driver who delivers a commentary (in Berlin-accented German) on the trip. Line 200 takes nearly the same route, but it goes through the modern quarters around Potsdamer Platz. Either ride is a must do on any trip to Berlin.

By Foot

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Crime

Smoking

• Sachsenhausen located in outer Oranienburg, a quiet suburb housing the remains of one of the Nazi concentration camps on German soil. There's also a small castle in the center of Oranienburg.
• Potsdam is the capital of the surrounding federal state of Brandenburg and not far away southwest of Berlin and makes a perfect day trip. Especially the park of Sanssouci with its famous castles is worth a visit. You can get there with the S-Bahn S1 or Regional-Bahn RE1 to the station Potsdam Hauptbahnhof or Park Sanssouci (fare zone C). It takes about half an hour.
• Bernau is a medium-sized town north of Berlin, with some medieval remains from the 14th and 15th century such as a city wall and the late Gothic church St. Marien. The S-Bahn S2 takes you there in half an hour.
• The Müritz lake region to the north is a national park with some hundred lakes.
• Frankfurt (Oder) on the Polish border is within easy reach.
• The beautiful Baltic seashore (e.g., Usedom or Wolin) is near enough for a day trip by train.
• Szczecin(Stettin) in Poland is about two and a half hours by train.
• To the south, Dresden and Leipzig are about two hours by train.
• The Raststaette Grunewald at the S-bahn station Nikolassee is a good spot for hitching if you're heading south or west.