Berlin, Germany
Poor but sexy was the slogan; now it is just the capital
Berlin is Germany's capital and largest city, several times the area of Paris with a fraction of the density, and the only European capital that spent most of the 20th century being destroyed, divided and rebuilt. It is still cheaper, rougher and stranger than a city of its importance ought to be, though less so every year.
Berlin and its twin Cölln were trading towns on the Spree, first recorded in 1237, that became the residence of the Hohenzollern margraves of Brandenburg and, from 1701, the capital of Prussia. Frederick the Great made it a garrison city with a taste for the Enlightenment; the 19th century made it an industrial giant and, in 1871, the capital of a united Germany. Weimar Berlin in the 1920s was the most modern and permissive city in Europe, then the Nazi capital, then a ruin: the bombing and the Soviet assault of 1945 destroyed a large part of it. The four-power division hardened into the Wall in 1961, and for twenty-eight years West Berlin was a subsidised island and East Berlin the showcase of the GDR. The Wall fell on 9 November 1989; the government moved back from Bonn in 1999, and the city has been arguing about what it is ever since.
Berlin has no single centre, which is the first thing to understand. Mitte is the historic and governmental heart — Museum Island, Unter den Linden, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the rebuilt palace — and Alexanderplatz was the East's centre. Charlottenburg and the Kurfürstendamm were West Berlin's downtown and still feel like a different, older city. The ring of districts inside the S-Bahn Ringbahn is where the reputation lives: Prenzlauer Berg, gentrified early and now a place for prams; Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, the clubs, the Turkish markets and the political street; Neukölln, the last of the inner districts to turn; Schöneberg, the old gay quarter; Wedding and Moabit, still rougher. The outer boroughs — Spandau, Köpenick, Marzahn with its tower blocks, the lakeside villas of Zehlendorf and Wannsee — are half the city, and most visitors never see them.
The clubs are the export — Berghain, the techno tradition, a nightlife that runs from Friday to Monday and is treated as culture with public funding — but they are one part of a city with three opera houses, the Philharmonic under its golden tent, the Museum Island collections and more theatres and galleries than anyone can keep up with. The food is the currywurst and the döner, which was by most accounts invented here, and a restaurant scene that has finally caught up with the city's ambitions; the Turkish market on the Maybachufer and the Vietnamese kitchens of Lichtenberg are the real Berlin table. Hertha and Union split the football, and the Olympiastadion still hosts the cup final. Berliners are famously blunt — the Berliner Schnauze — and the city is greener than it looks, with lakes to swim in, forests inside the boundary and allotment colonies everywhere.
The hard parts are the housing — rents have roughly doubled in fifteen years, a flat search is a competitive sport, and the city voted to expropriate the big landlords in a referendum the politicians have quietly shelved — and the administration, whose Bürgeramt appointments and paper forms are a running civic joke. The winters are long, grey and dark rather than bitterly cold; the city is broke and looks it in places; the new airport took nine years longer to open than planned. Politics is fractious, with a strong far-right vote in the eastern districts and a left that fights itself. What it offers is space, tolerance, a culture that treats the strange as normal, world-class institutions at moderate prices, a transit network that reaches everywhere at all hours, and a sense, still, that the city is unfinished and you could be part of finishing it.
Where People Live
Mitte
Museum Island, Unter den Linden, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Hackescher Markt courtyards, with the government quarter along the Spree. The historic centre, and the one part of Berlin that looks like a capital.
Prenzlauer Berg
The first eastern district to gentrify after 1989 — Kollwitzplatz, the Mauerpark flea market and karaoke on Sundays, the Kulturbrauerei — now settled, expensive and full of young families.
Kreuzberg
The old West Berlin counterculture: the Turkish market on the Maybachufer, Bergmannstrasse's cafés, Görlitzer Park, the Oranienstrasse bars and the May Day demonstrations. Still the city's political street, and its best-fed one.
Friedrichshain
The East Side Gallery stretch of the Wall, Boxhagener Platz and its Sunday market, the clubs along the river including Berghain at the district's edge, and the RAW grounds. Where the nightlife lives.
Neukölln
Beyond the canal from Kreuzberg: Arab and Turkish Sonnenallee, the bars of Weserstrasse, the Tempelhofer Feld's disused runways for cycling and kites. The last inner district to change, and changing fast.
Charlottenburg & the Ku'damm
West Berlin's old downtown — the Kurfürstendamm's shops, the KaDeWe, the Zoo station, the Charlottenburg palace and the Savignyplatz restaurants. Older, wealthier and quieter than the east.
Schöneberg
Nollendorfplatz and the historic gay quarter, the Winterfeldtplatz Saturday market, Bowie's old flat on Hauptstrasse and the Rathaus where Kennedy spoke. Comfortable and mixed.
Köpenick & the lakes
The old town on the Dahme in the far southeast, the Müggelsee's beaches and forests, and Union's Alte Försterei stadium. The Berlin of weekends and swimming, an S-Bahn ride from the centre.
Restaurants & places to go
Angels Berlin
berlin stripclubs, pole dancing · . 🔥 ðšðš‘𚎠ðš‘ðš˜ðšðšðšŽðšœðš ð™¿ðš•ðšŠðšŒðšŽ ðš’ðš— ðšðš‘𚎠ð™²ðšŽðš—ðšðš›ðšŽ… · angels-bln.de
BRICKS Berlin
berlin nightclubs · bricks-berlin.club
Artemis FKK Club
stripclubs, strip clubs, strippers, gentlemens clubs
Mustafa's Gemuse Kebap
doner kebab
Nopa
restaurants
Airports
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) 19 km to the centre
Berlin, BR, DE — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather.
Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL)
Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day. ✈ 48 airlines (Air Berlin, Germanwings, Lufthansa Cargo, Hainan Airlines…) · direct flights to 109 destinations incl. Catania, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vienna, Barcelona… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 48 airlines, 109 direct destinations
- Air Berlin AB (A320, 737-800, A321, 737-700, A319, Dash 8-400…) · 67 routes: Abu Dhabi, Alicante, Amman*, Antalya, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bari, Beijing*, Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Catania, Chicago, Cologne, Copenhagen, Duesseldorf, Enfidha, Faro, Frankfurt, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gdansk, Gothenborg, Gran Canaria, Graz, Helsinki, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Kaliningrad, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Kerkyra/corfu, Kos, Krakow, London*, Madrid, Malaga, Menorca, Miami, Milano … +27 more
- Germanwings 4U (A319, A320, CRJ) · 27 routes: Ancona, Bastia, Birmingham, Bologna, Catania, Cologne, Dubrovnik, Helsinki, Heraklion, Ibiza, Istanbul, Klagenfurt, London, Malaga, Memmingen, Milan, Nice, Nuernberg, Palma de Mallorca, Pristina, Rome, Sarajevo, Split, Stuttgart, Vienna, Villafranca, Zadar
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A320, A319, A321, CRJ-900, Dash 8-400, ERJ-145…) · 17 routes: Athens*, Barcelona, Brussels*, Copenhagen*, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Luxemburg*, Moscow, Munich, Newark*, Paris, Saarbruecken*, Stockholm*, Tel-aviv, Vienna*, Zagreb, Zurich*
- Hainan Airlines HU (A320, A319, 737-800, 737-700, A321, 330…) · 16 routes: Beijing, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Gothenborg, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden*, Munich, Nuernberg, Oslo, Saarbruecken*, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Vienna*, Zurich*
- Finnair AY (A319, 737-700, A320, 737-800, A321) · 9 routes: Bucharest*, Catania*, Copenhagen*, Gothenborg*, Helsinki, Oslo*, Salzburg*, Sofia*, Stockholm*
- Meridiana IG (A320) · 7 routes: Bari*, Catania*, Milano*, Naples*, Olbia*, Rome*, Venice*
- Alitalia AZ (A320, 318, A319, A321, 737) · 5 routes: Amsterdam*, Catania, Palermo*, Paris*, Pisa*
- American Airlines AA (330, A319, A320, A321) · 4 routes: Chicago*, London*, Miami*, New York*
- Iberia Airlines IB (A320, 737-800, A321) · 4 routes: Barcelona*, Bilbao*, Florence*, Madrid
- Air One AP (A320) · 3 routes: Catania, Palermo, Pisa
- Croatia Airlines OU (A319, A320) · 3 routes: Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb*
- Scandinavian Airlines System SK (737-700, A319, A320, A321, 717, 736…) · 3 routes: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm
- Vueling Airlines VY (A320, A319) · 3 routes: Barcelona, Bilbao, Florence
- Aegean Airlines A3 (A320) · 2 routes: Athens, Heraklion
- Air France AF (A319, A320, 318, A321) · 2 routes: Marseille, Paris
- Austrian Airlines OS (A319, A320, A321, CRJ) · 2 routes: Klagenfurt*, Vienna*
- Luxair LG (Dash 8-400, ERJ-145) · 2 routes: Luxemburg, Saarbruecken
- SunExpress XQ (737-800) · 2 routes: Antalya, Izmir
- Aeroflot Russian Airlines SU (737) · 1 route: Moscow*
- Air Baltic BT (735, Dash 8-400) · 1 route: Riga
- Air Lituanica LT (CRJ-200) · 1 route: Vilnius
- Air Malta KM (A320) · 1 route: Malta
- Air Serbia JU (A319) · 1 route: Belgrade
- British Airways BA (A319, A320, A321) · 1 route: London
- Brussels Airlines SN (A319, A320, AR1) · 1 route: Brussels
- Bulgaria Air FB (A319, Embraer 190) · 1 route: Sofia
- Czech Airlines OK (ATR 72, AT4) · 1 route: Prague
- Ethiopian Airlines ET (A320, A321, A320) · 1 route: Frankfurt*
- Etihad Airways EY (A330-200) · 1 route: Abu Dhabi*
- Germania ST (A321) · 1 route: Antalya
- Intersky 3L (ATR 72) · 1 route: Friedrichshafen
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (737, EMJ) · 1 route: Amsterdam
- Maastricht Airlines W2 (D38) · 1 route: Mannheim
- Malmö Aviation TF (AR1) · 1 route: Umea
- MIAT Mongolian Airlines OM (737, 767-300) · 1 route: Moscow
- Qatar Airways QR (A330-200, A330-300) · 1 route: Doha
- Royal Air Maroc AT (737-800) · 1 route: Copenhagen
- Royal Jordanian RJ (A319, A320) · 1 route: Amman
- S7 Airlines S7 (Dash 8-400) · 1 route: Kaliningrad*
- SkyWork Airlines SX (D38) · 1 route: Bern
- Swiss International Air Lines LX (A320, A321) · 1 route: Zurich
- Transaero Airlines UN (735) · 1 route: Moscow
- Transavia France TO (737-800) · 1 route: Nantes
- Transavia Holland HV (737-700) · 1 route: Eindhoven
- Travel Service QS (AT4) · 1 route: Prague
- Turkish Airlines TK (A320, A321, 737-800) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Ukraine International Airlines PS (735) · 1 route: Kiev
- United Airlines UA (757-200) · 1 route: Newark
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Werneuchen Airfield 27 km to the centre
Werneuchen, BR, DE
Saarmund Airfield 32 km to the centre
Nuthetal, BR, DE
Strausberg Airfield 35 km to the centre
Strausberg, BR, DE
Schönhagen Airfield 39 km to the centre
Trebbin, BR, DE
Regional airports
Further out, but often the cheapest way in — the airports the low-cost carriers use. Each links to its own town's guide for getting from there into the city.
Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEJ) 147 km to the centre
Schkeuditz, SN, DE — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 13 airlines (Condor Flugdienst, Air Berlin, Flybaboo, Germania…) · direct flights to 28 destinations incl. Antalya, Arrecife, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Funchal… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Feeder airport · 147 km from Berlin · Condor Flugdienst, Air Berlin, Flybaboo · Getting around Leipzig →
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 13 airlines, 28 direct destinations
- Condor Flugdienst DE (32S, A321, 757) · 12 routes: Agadir, Antalya, Arrecife, Djerba, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Kerkyra/corfu, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodos, Tenerife
- Air Berlin AB (737-800, A320) · 9 routes: Antalya, Arrecife, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Heraklion, Hurghada, Kos, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife
- Flybaboo F7 (S20) · 3 routes: Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich
- Germania ST (A319, A321) · 3 routes: Antalya, Bremen, Moscow
- Germanwings 4U (CRJ, A319, A320) · 3 routes: Cologne, Duesseldorf, Stuttgart
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (CRJ-700, 735, Embraer 190, CRJ-900, Embraer 195, Dash 8-400) · 3 routes: Frankfurt, Munich*, Vienna*
- Austrian Airlines OS (Dash 8-400) · 1 route: Vienna*
- Iberia Airlines IB (A320) · 1 route: Barcelona*
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 1 route: London
- SunExpress XQ (737-800) · 1 route: Antalya
- TUIfly X3 (737-800) · 1 route: Rhodos
- Turkish Airlines TK (A320) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Vueling Airlines VY (A319, A320) · 1 route: Barcelona
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Getting there by ferry
Vera-Brittain-Ufer
Ferry terminal · 0.5 km from the centre
Berliner Dom
Ferry terminal · 0.5 km from the centre
Reichstagufer
Ferry terminal · 1.4 km from the centre
Reederei
Ferry terminal · 1.4 km from the centre
Spree & Havelschiffahrt
Ferry terminal · 1.6 km from the centre
Schiffbauerdamm
Ferry terminal · 2 km from the centre
Fähre F11
Ferry route · Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Fähre F11: Wilhelmstrand => Baumschulenstraße/Fähre
Ferry route · Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Fähre F11: Baumschulenstraße/Fähre => Wilhelmstrand
Ferry route · Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Ruder - und Personenfähre Schulfarm Insel Scharfenberg
Ferry route
Autofähre Schulfarm Insel Scharfenberg
Ferry route
Reinickendorf - Reiswerder
Ferry route
Fähre Tegeler See
Ferry route · Valentinswerder / Werner H.
Fähre F12
Ferry route
Local transit
BVG
U-Bahn, tram, bus · U-Bahn, trams and buses; the S-Bahn is run separately. · Fares: Deutschlandticket or day ticket · Airport: FEX and S-Bahn from BER to Hauptbahnhof
Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB)
Public transit · Schedules & GTFS data
Trains & rail
Arverio Deutschland
Rail operator
BEHALA
Rail operator
Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam
Rail operator
Farge-Vegesacker Eisenbahn
Rail operator
Museumsbahn Buckower Kleinbahn e.V.
Rail operator
Netinera
Rail operator
S-Bahn Berlin
Rail operator
Scharmützelseebahn GmbH
Rail operator
Coaches & shuttles
FlixBus
Intercity coach
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.
Air Hamburg
Charter · Embraer Legacy & Praetor, Falcon, Global · Germany's largest charter operator by fleet.
DC Aviation
Charter, management · Light to large-cabin · Charter and management from Stuttgart and Munich.
Padjet
Charter · Cessna Citation · German business-jet charter operator.
Air Charter Service
Broker · Any aircraft via operators worldwide · Global charter broker with 30+ offices; private jets, group charters and cargo.
ExecuJet
FBO, charter, management · Managed fleet · FBO network and management across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Tours & experiences
Alternative Pub Crawl Berlin
Food & Wine
Berlin and car culture - Walking Tour ESP/ENG
Walking Tour
Berlin Wall Tour
Sightseeing
The Chef Tours
Sightseeing
Living Here
Getting about
- The BVG runs the U-Bahn (nine lines), the trams (mostly in the east) and the buses; the S-Bahn is run separately but takes the same tickets. There are no barriers, only plain-clothes inspectors with fines; validate paper tickets. The nationwide Deutschlandticket, around 60 euros a month, covers everything within the city.
- The U- and S-Bahn run all night on Fridays and Saturdays and night buses cover the rest of the week. The city is flat and the bike lanes are improving; Nextbike and the scooter fleets are everywhere.
- BER airport, in the southeast, is about 30 to 45 minutes from the centre by the FEX airport express or the S-Bahn. From the Hauptbahnhof, Hamburg is under two hours, Munich and Prague about four, Warsaw around five.
- A car is unnecessary; most inner streets are 30 km/h and resident-permit parking zones, and the A100 ring is a permanent argument.
Health
- The Charité, Europe's largest university hospital, has four campuses; the municipal Vivantes group runs the other big hospitals. Public health insurance is compulsory and deducted from wages; care is good, though specialist appointments can take months.
- Dial 112 for an ambulance or fire, 110 for police, and 116 117 for the out-of-hours doctor service. Register with a Hausarzt (GP); the pharmacy (Apotheke) with the night rota is posted on every pharmacy door.
- EU and UK visitors can use the EHIC or GHIC; everyone else should carry insurance, since hospitals treat and then bill.
Work & study
- Humboldt, the Freie Universität and the TU are the three big research universities, with the Universität der Künste and the Charité medical school; around 200,000 students pay no tuition, only a semester fee that includes a transit pass.
- The federal government and public sector are the largest employers; startups (Zalando, N26, Delivery Hero and hundreds smaller), Siemens, Deutsche Bahn, the health sector, media and the film studios at Babelsberg next door are the rest. Unemployment runs above the German average.
- Register your address (the Anmeldung) within two weeks of arriving — everything else depends on it. English is enough in the startups; German is needed everywhere else, and the EU Blue Card and the freelance visa are the usual routes for non-EU workers.
Money & manners
- Euros. Cash is still common — many bars, bakeries and neighbourhood restaurants are Nur Bargeld — though cards are spreading. Tip 5 to 10% by rounding up and saying the total; VAT is included. Bottles carry a Pfand deposit, returned at any supermarket.
- Berliners are blunt, informal and punctual. Sundays are quiet by law, with shops closed and drilling forbidden; jaywalking draws disapproval, and recycling is sorted into more bins than seems reasonable.
- Winters are long, grey and dark from November to February; summers are warm and lived at the lakes — Schlachtensee, Wannsee, Müggelsee — and in the beer gardens. The Christmas markets open in late November.