Berlin
Travel to Berlin
Berlin has two airports: Tegel and Schonefeld. Located in the north-west of the city, Tegel is the main airport for airlines like Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France-KLM, Delta, Continental and Air Berlin. Schonefeld can be found southeast of the city centre and is the main airport for most low-cost airlines like easyJet, Ryanair and Germanwings. It is easy to find flights to Berlin from the UK - flights depart from most major airports.
You can also reach Berlin by train; take the Eurostar from London to Brussels in just 1 hour 55 minutes, change at Brussels to a high-speed Thayls or ICE high-speed train from Brussels to Cologne in one hour, 57 minutes, then take an ICE train from Cologne to Berlin.
Travel from the airport
Schonefeld Airport is served by the S-Bahn and regional trains. The S-bahn trains will take you to the centre of Berlin. There are also less regular but faster regional trains that cost the same and stop at these major train stations too. You can take the S-Bahn and regional trains between the airport and the city, the public transport ticket can be used for this. Make sure that you stamp your ticket in the yellow machine to validate it before boarding. To get from Tegel Airport you can get a bus to Alexanderplatz, Hauptbahnhof and Zoologischer Garten.
Getting around
The transport system in Berlin is excellent and generally more impressive than its UK counterpart. Berlin is a huge city and there are various different ways to get around. You can make use of the exemplary bus, tram, train and underground services. Check the Berlin route planner to get excellent maps and schedules for the U-Bahn, buses, S-Bahn and trams, or to print a journey planner. The route planer can also work out the quickest connection for your chosen destination for any time. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have a handy fare list on their website here.
Taxi services are also easy to use and like many other things, not as expensive as in the UK. You can hail a cab (the yellow light on the top shows the cab is free), or find a taxi rank (Taxistand). Taxi drivers generally speak English well. If you're taking a short trip of under 2km, ask the taxi driver for a Kurzstrecke before the taxi driver starts the meter - the trip normally works out cheaper, at around €4. A Kurzstrecke can only be used if you flag the taxi down on the street - not at a taxi rank.
Travel links
Getting from Berlin to other cities is probably done best by train; Germany's railway system, including the high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, is quick, well organised and you'll find easy transport links. Travelling to Hanover by InterCityExpress can take 1.5 hours and Frankfurt is only just over three hours away. You can book tickets here.