Transportation between airports and the city center

There are two airports in Berlin, with the newest one (Brandenburg) opening in 2020. The latter is the largest and Berlin’s main airport.

Tegel Airport was closed at the end of 2020, while Schönefeld now operates as one of the terminals of Brandenburg Airport.

Berlin-Brandenburg Airport

Located 18 km south of Berlin’s center, next to Berlin-Schönefeld Airport.

It has two terminals (T1, T2) and is easily accessible from Berlin’s center in multiple ways.

Berlin public transport tickets are only valid with a „C” zone supplementary ticket.

S-Bahn

S9 and S45 trains (similar to suburban rail) take you to the T1-T2 station.

Transfer options to the metro are available at various stops for both lines.

X7 ExpressBus

Operates 24/7 between Rudow U7 metro station and the T1-T2 stop. Also stops at T5 (Schönefeld).

The fastest way to get in by bus (about 18 minutes travel time from the metro station), as it has no intermediate stops outside the terminals.

Schönefeld Airport (Terminal T5 of Brandenburg Airport)

Schönefeld Airport became Terminal T5 of Brandenburg Airport.

You can travel between T1-T2 and T5 terminals using the S9 and S45 trains.

Berlin public transport tickets are only valid with a „C” zone supplementary ticket.

Airport-Express Schönefeld

RE7, RB14, or RB19 trains can take you to the city center between 4:30 and 23:00.

Transfer options to the metro are available at various stops for all lines.

S-Bahn

S45 and S9 trains also provide access to the city.

Transfer options to the metro are available at various stops for both lines.

Buses

Several bus lines operate to the airport, providing transfers to metro or train in the suburbs.

The best choice is the X7 bus, operating 24/7 to Rudow U7 metro station (with its other terminus at the T1-T2 stop).

Additionally, buses 163, 164, and 171 operate with longer travel times.

You can find all information about transportation between T1, T2, and T5 (Schönefeld) terminals and Berlin here!

Berlin city public transport

Berlin has an excellent public transportation system, with easy access everywhere by metro (U-Bahn), bus, and suburban rail (S-Bahn).

We must highlight bus 100, which covers the main attractions in the city center. It’s worth using this service.

Berlin is divided into three zones (A, B, C), with almost all attractions located in zones A and B. For Brandenburg and Schönefeld airports, an ABC ticket or an AB ticket with a „C” supplement is required.

Tickets

AB tickets (Einzelfahrschein) and ABC tickets are valid for 2 hours with unlimited transfers but cannot be used for return trips.

If you only have an AB ticket, you need a „C” supplement to travel to zone C.

In the AB zone, you can also buy a short-trip ticket (Kurzstrecke) for a maximum of 3 metro or S-Bahn stops, or 6 bus or tram stops.

The 4-trip collective ticket allows 4 trips and is available for AB and ABC zones.

The 4-trip short-trip ticket (4-Fahrten-Karte Kurzstrecke) contains 4 short-trip tickets, valid for a maximum of 3 metro or S-Bahn stops, or 6 bus or tram stops.

Day ticket, weekly pass

AB and ABC day tickets (24-Stunden-karte) are available, valid for 24 hours after validation.

Group day tickets (24-Stunden-Karte Kleingruppen) can be purchased for up to 5 people. Valid for 24 hours after validation.

AB and ABC 7-day passes (7-Tage-Karte) are available, valid until midnight of the 7th day. These allow free travel for up to 3 children aged 6-14 with an adult on holidays, weekends, and weekdays after 8 PM.

Prices can be found collected here!

Ticket prices

For prices, the first price is for those over 14, the second price is for ages 6-14 (except for the last row).

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Best museums in Berlin

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The 9 best museums in Berlin

Gemäldegalerie

One of Berlin’s most significant art museums, housing a collection of European paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries.

Highlights include works by German, Italian, Dutch, and Flemish master painters: Botticelli, Caravaggio, Dürer, Rembrandt, and more.

The museum building itself is a work of art, with modern design and thoughtful exhibition plans that highlight the beauty of the artworks.

All information can be found here!

Getting there: Take bus 200 to the Tiergartenstrasse stop.

German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum)

It presents the long history of the German nation, with its main exhibition showcasing numerous images, objects, and documents.

The exhibitions cover a wide range of political, social, economic, and cultural topics, presenting Germany’s diverse history and its impact on Europe and the world.

Anyone who loves history and European history should definitely visit.

All information can be found here!

Getting there: Take bus 100 or 200 to the Staatsoper stop.

Stasi Museum

If you are interested in the activities of the secret service before the reunification, this is the place for you!

The museum is housed in the former headquarters of the Stasi, where you can find propaganda materials, books, spy equipment, and much more, as well as tour the offices of the leadership.

All information can be found here!

Getting there: Take the U5 subway to the Magdalenenstrasse stop, then walk 400 meters.

DDR Museum

This interactive museum showcases life in the GDR (East Germany), including its harsh everyday realities.

You can experience the atmosphere of East German homes, taste typical foods of the era, and learn about East German propaganda and state security systems.

Due to its interactivity, knowledge of the German language is an advantage, but the museum is also interesting for non-German speakers.

You can also drive the old car in a Trabant simulator. 😊

All information can be found here!

Getting there: Take bus 100 or 200, or tram M4, M5, or M6 to the Spandauer Strasse/Marienkirche stop.

The following museums are located on Museum Island (Museumsinsel). Most of the museums are concentrated in this area, so you don’t have to travel far if you want to visit several of them.

Altes Museum (Old Museum)

This was the first building on the island, serving as the Prussian Royal Museum in the 19th century.

The building, designed in a classical style by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the early 19th century, is worth visiting for its colonnade and staircase alone.

The museum primarily focuses on the collection of ancient Greek and Roman art: sculpture, ceramics, coins, and jewelry. Highlights include masterpieces of Greek vase painting and significant Roman sculptures and reliefs.

All information can be found here!

Neues Museum (New Museum)

The building, opened in 1855 and designed by Friedrich August Stüler, suffered significant damage during World War II and can now be seen in its reconstructed form.

The collection’s most important pieces are the treasures of the Egyptian Museum (e.g., mummies, sarcophagi), artifacts from German prehistory, the ethnographic collection, and engravings.

All information can be found here!

Pergamon Museum

The museum is renowned for its monumental architectural structures and collections of ancient art.

Opened in 1930, the museum is divided into three main sections: the Museum of the Ancient Near East, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the Museum of Classical Antiquities.

Its most popular exhibit is the Pergamon Altar, a massive remnant of a Greek temple, but other impressive items include the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the reconstruction of the Market Gate of Miletus.

The Museum of Islamic Art offers a rich collection of medieval and later Islamic art objects, including carpets, ceramics, and jewelry.

All information can be found here!

Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)

Built between 1867 and 1876, the gallery features paintings from the Classicism, Romanticism, Biedermeier, and Impressionism periods.

The gallery, built in red sandstone and resembling a classical Greek temple resting on a 12-meter pedestal, lacks colonnades on its sides. Since the 1950s, an equestrian statue of Frederick William IV has stood in front of the building.

Many significant paintings by the German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich are exhibited here. The collection also includes works by the Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, paintings by Karl Blechen, portraits by Philipp Otto Runge and Gottlieb Schick.

The exhibition includes works by French Impressionists Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cezanne.

All information can be found here!

Bode Museum

The museum, originally opened in 1904 as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, suffered extensive damage during World War II and reopened late in 2006. It is the northernmost building on Museum Island, often featured in images.

The museum’s main collections are medieval European sculptures, Byzantine art, and a coin collection. All three thematic collections are of international significance.

Its sixty-six rooms house 1,700 small and large sculptures (in ivory, marble, wood), more than 150 paintings, and 4,000 coins.

All information can be found here!

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The capital city of Germany was the most famous location of the Cold War due to the Berlin Wall. After reunification, Berlin maintained its leading role. About one-third of the city’s area is made up of forests, parks, gardens, rivers, canals, and lakes.

Berlin attractions

Brandenburg Gate

One of Germany’s most visited attractions and a symbol of Berlin.

Throughout its more than three-hundred-year history, it has served many different functions: a symbol of peace, war, victory, terror, and above all, war (at the time, the Cold War), and since 1989, a monument to German reunification.

It was here that Ronald Reagan spoke his famous words: „Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Access: U55 metro to Bundestag station; Bus 100 to Reichstag/Bundestag stop.

Holocaust Memorial

Next to the Brandenburg Gate is this park, which aims to remind visitors of the horrors of the Holocaust and the suffering of its victims.

The memorial is located on a 19,000 square meter area covered with 2,711 concrete columns of varying heights and arrangements. The columns stand on undulating terrain with gradually rising stone blocks.

It’s a moving experience to walk through here and go down to the information center at the end, but it’s definitely worth doing! Here you can find photographs, documents, and life stories that provide deeper insight into this dark chapter of history.

Entry is free!

Reichstag

It functioned as the parliament of the German Empire until it was set on fire in 1933, and since 1999 it has once again been home to the German legislature.

Its glass dome is one of Berlin’s top attractions, offering an unforgettable view of the German capital from its viewing platform, and you can even see into the Bundestag’s plenary chamber!

Entry to the dome is free, but online registration is required! All information and registration can be found here!

Access: U55 metro to Bundestag station; Bus 100 to Reichstag/Bundestag stop.

Checkpoint Charlie

It was the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin, and this checkpoint became a symbol of the Cold War. Following the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, this point was the site of the famous standoff between American and Soviet tanks.

Directly to the right of the wall, in the Mauermuseum (Checkpoint Charlie Museum), you can see some of the most unusual vehicles used for escapes, such as the one-person submarine, and other exhibits documenting what happened during the division.

Access: U6 metro to Kochstrasse/Checkpoint Charlie station.

Berlin Wall Memorial

This remaining piece of the Berlin Wall commemorates the wall that divided Germany and Berlin during the Cold War.

Since 1999, an exhibition and documentation center has been operating, showcasing the former border barrier and informing visitors about the wall, daily life around it, and its fall.

Entry is free!

Access: U8 metro, M10 tram to Bernauer Strasse station.

Berlin Cathedral (Dom)

A Protestant cathedral on the northern part of the Spree River island, known as Museum Island.

The building was constructed between 1894 and 1905 based on designs by architect Julius Raschdorff, during the reign of Emperor Wilhelm II. Built in neo-baroque style, its distinctive green dome is a defining element of the city’s skyline.

The crypt beneath the cathedral serves as the final resting place for numerous significant rulers and family members of the Hohenzollern dynasty. This crypt is one of the largest royal burial sites in Europe.

It is the most significant Protestant church building in Germany. It often hosts concerts as well.

The 98-meter-high dome offers a full panoramic view of the city, worth admiring Berlin from here. You can reach it via 270 steps.

All information can be found here!

Access: Bus 100, 200 to Lustgarten stop.

Gendarmenmarkt

Located in the historic city center, often referred to as Berlin’s most beautiful square. It got its name from the gendarme regiment (Gens d’Armes) stationed here in 1703.

The square features the French and German Cathedrals, the Schauspielhaus, and a statue of Schiller. But when in the square, don’t just look ahead, look down too! Quotes from famous German figures are engraved on the square’s pavement.

Access: U6 metro to Französische Strasse; U2 metro to Stadtmitte or Hausvogteiplatz station.

Oberbaumbrücke

The Oberbaum Bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing the Spree River in Berlin and is considered one of the city’s landmarks.

It connects Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, districts once separated by the wall, making it an important symbol of Berlin’s unity.

East Side Gallery

Currently the world’s longest open-air gallery.

More than a hundred paintings can be seen on an original, still intact section of the Berlin Wall over a kilometer long on Mühlenstrasse. The most famous is the kiss between Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev.

Access: S3, S5, S7, S9 train to Ostbahnhof station.

Friedrichstadt-Palast

Also called the „German Broadway,” this building is Europe’s largest revue theater. It’s a true cultural center where the Berlinale and film festivals are held.

Access: U6 metro, tram 12 to Oranienburger Tor stop.

Unter den Linden Boulevard

Literally translated as „under the linden trees.” The boulevard is located in the immediate vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz, extending all the way to the Opera House.

Be sure to take a pleasant stroll along this 1.5 km long boulevard!

Access: U55 metro, S1 and S2 train, Bus 100 to Brandenburger Tor stop.

TV Tower

Germany’s tallest freestanding building, interestingly located in the city center at Alexanderplatz.

There’s an observation deck where visitors can go up to 207 meters. Another special feature is a restaurant that rotates completely in half an hour, allowing you to enjoy a 360-degree panorama.

All information can be found here!

Zoo

Germany’s oldest and one of the world’s largest zoos. The park is 160 years old and home to about 1,400 animal species and a total of 14,000 individuals.

One of its attractions is the monkey house and a darkened building where nocturnal animals can be observed.

All information can be found here!

Access: U2, U3, U9 metro, S3, S5, S7, S9 train to Zoologischer Garten station.

Botanical Garden

Here you can see plants from all over the world, totaling about 3 million specimens. The most notable are the tropical greenhouses, where large palms, bamboos, and water lilies can be viewed.

The botanical garden also includes a museum, the Botanical Museum (Botanische Museum), and a large herbarium (Herbarium Berolinense).

All information can be found here!

Access: S1 train to Botanischer Garten station, then 700 m on foot.

Victory Column (Siegessäule)

Berlin’s main symbol, erected to commemorate the Prussian victory over Denmark in 1864.

The column stands on a granite pedestal and is divided into four separate parts. The lower part is decorated with reliefs and mosaics depicting Prussian victories. On top stands an 8.3-meter-high gilded bronze statue representing Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.

285 steps lead to the statue’s viewing platform, climbing which offers a wonderful view of Berlin, with the entire city visible from the tower.

All information can be found here!

Access: U9 metro to Hansaplatz station, then 600 m on foot; Bus 100 to Großer Stern stop.

Charlottenburg Palace

It’s a bit further from the center, but it’s considered Berlin’s most beautiful palace, so it’s worth a visit. In 1705, King Frederick I asked the builders to make the castle similar to Versailles.

In the center of the palace are the Hohenzollern apartments and the Porcelain Room, whose ceiling is decorated with Chinese and Japanese figures. The palace garden features elements of both French and English styles.

All information can be found here!

Access: U7 metro to Richard-Wagner-Platz station, then 750 m on foot.

Sony Center

So that Berlin doesn’t miss out on modern style, an open shopping center was built on Potsdamer Platz, connected by a steel structure. In the dark, it lights up in different colors, making it worth visiting at night.

Access: U2 metro, S1, S2 train to Potsdamer Platz station.

Currywurst

How does a food item end up in this article? It was created by Herta Heuwer in 1949 and has become Germany’s most popular fast food. It even has its own museum – if you have free time, visit the Currywurst Museum.

Tourist passes

Berlin WelcomeCard

Provides discounts on many attractions, and most passes include free public transportation.

There are three types of passes: Berlin WelcomeCard, Berlin WelcomeCard all inclusive, and Berlin WelcomeCard Museum Island.

Berlin WelcomeCard:

• For 48-hour, 4 and 5-day passes, free public transportation in AB or ABC zones is included;
• For 72-hour and 6-day passes, it can be purchased without public transportation, or with free AB or ABC zone public transportation;
• Free public transportation for up to 3 children (up to 14 years old);
• Discounted entry to more than 180 locations.

Berlin WelcomeCard Museum Island:

• Only available as a 72-hour pass;
• Can be purchased without public transportation, or with free AB or ABC zone public transportation;
• Free public transportation for up to 3 children (up to 14 years old);
• Discounted entry to more than 180 locations;
• Free entry to museums on Museum Island.

Berlin WelcomeCard all inclusive:

• Available for 48, 72 hours, 4, 5, and 6 days;
• Free public transportation, including Potsdam and airport train;
• Free entry to more than 30 locations;
• Discounted entry to about 150 locations;
• Cheaper pass for ages 3-14.

All information can be found here!

CityTourcard

Provides discounts to numerous locations. All types include free public transportation. Separate AB and ABC zone passes are available.

Options for 48-hour, 72-hour, and 4, 5, 6-day passes are available.

With one pass, up to three children (ages 6-14) can use public transportation for free.

All information can be found here!

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Best museums in Berlin

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