Berlin Short Breaks Guide

Berlin is the capital of unified Germany and one of the largest cities in Europe with a population 3.5 million people now living there. In the communist years the Berlin wall symbolised the Iron Curtain and rightfully became the symbol of people’s freedom from communism in 1989 with its demolition.

These days East Berlin has a thriving art scene, but there are so many sides this world city, with so many festivals, orchestras, museums and sporting events in particular, you choose an infinite number of reasons to visit.

Getting to Berlin
In our low cost flights guide you will find a full list of airlines that fly to Berlin direct from the UK and from other European airports. The obvious choices are Ryanair and Air Berlin, but Lufthansa is an attractive option for many.

Deutsche Bahn (the German State rail company) now runs high-speed trains to Cologne, from where you can connect to Berlin, which is a four-hour journey. From 2015 DB trains will run directly from London to Berlin when the Eurotunnel is de-regulated. Tickets to Berlin can cost less than £150 return, which is an attractive option for those living in London or the South-East of England.

Arriving in Berlin
There are two main airports at Berlin, Tegel and Schonefeld. Berlin Shonefeld is used mostly by the low cost airlines and is about 20km outside the south-west of the city. To get into Berlin the Airport Express train (operated by Deutsche Bahn) leaves every 30 minutes from Schönefeld Flughafen Station, just 5 minutes walk from the terminal. There are other cheaper local trains that do the same route but with many stops. Trains stop at Berlin – Spandau.

Alternatively, you can take the bus SFX1 to Südkreuz every 20 minutes.

A taxi would cost at least 30 Euro each way.

From Berlin Tegel Airport the distance to the city centre is much shorter so an express bus is usually a good option. For onward destinations use the BVG.de journey planner to find a way to where you want to get to in Berlin.