Getting There

There are few direct flights to Berlin; you will usually be routed there through a larger hub like Frankfurt or Amsterdam. Buses, however, connect Berlin with most European cities, and the train system is characteristically efficient.

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Plane

There are hardly any direct flights to Berlin from overseas (London is one exception) and, depending on the airline you use, you're likely to fly first into another European city like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris or London and catch a connecting flight from there. Departure tax is included in the price of an airline ticket purchased in Germany. Berlin has three airports. Tegel (TXL) primarily serves destinations within Germany and Western Europe. Schönefeld (SXF) mostly operates international flights to/from Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The third airport is the central but tiny Tempelhof (THF)in southern Kreuzberg. It became famous as the main landing strip for Allied airlifts during the Berlin blockade of 1948-49 and now fields many regional flights. Domestic flights connect Berlin to all major German airports, usually via Tempelhof and Tegel airports.

Berlin's three airports can all be reached by train or bus, which will save you stacks on taxi fares. Tegel is connected to the Mitte district by the JetExpressBus TXL and the Charlottenburg or northern Wolmersdorf districts by bus X9 or 109. Schönefeld airport is served by the AirportExpress train from Zoo station, or the slower S9 from Zoo station, and bus 171 takes you to Rudow U-Bahn station with connections to central Berlin. Tempelhof is served by the U6 (get off at Platz der Luftbrücke) and bus 119 from Kurfürstendamm via Kreuzberg.

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Bus

Berlin is well-connected to the rest of Europe by long-distance bus. Most buses arrive at and depart from the ZOB (Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof), the central bus station, in Charlottenburg, opposite the stately Funkturm (radio tower).

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Train

The German train system is justifiably known as the most efficient in Europe and connects Berlin with the rest of Germany and other European countries. Until completion of the main central station at Lehrter Bahnhof (currently projected for 2006), most trains will continue to go through Bahnhof Zoo in the western city centre (for destinations to the west of Berlin) and Ostbahnhof in the eastern centre. Expect some confusion, however, because of the extensive construction around town affecting several stations. Trains scheduled to leave from or arrive at one station may be spontaneously rerouted to another.

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Car

Driving is another option: the A10 ring road links Berlin with other German and foreign cities in every direction, including the A11 to Szczecin (Stettin) in Poland; the A12 to Frankfurt /Oder; the A13 to Dresden; the A9 to Leipzig, Nuremburg and Munich; the A2 to Hanover and the Ruhrgebiet cities, and the A24 to Hamburg.