Berlin travel info

Look down in front of the Brandenburg Gate and you'll see a double row of cobbles running across the road. That's where the Wall stood until 1989, and in Berlin you walk over traces like this all the time. On the Spree in the east, 1.3 km of the Wall still stands under a coat of murals, and in the old factory buildings next to it a party that starts on Friday night can still be going on Sunday afternoon.

The city is big and has several centres: Mitte in the old East, with Museum Island and the TV Tower; Charlottenburg in the old West, with the Kurfürstendamm and the KaDeWe department store; Kreuzberg, all Turkish grocers and bars; Prenzlauer Berg, where cafés fill the courtyards of old tenement blocks. Each feels different, so where you stay shapes half the trip. The U-Bahn, S-Bahn and trams are dense enough to get you almost anywhere in 30 minutes, and at weekends the U-Bahn runs all night.

The airport (BER) sits in fare zone C, so buy an ABC ticket. The 7-day pass was scrapped in 2026, and on Sundays even the supermarkets close. Eat your currywurst standing up and your döner on the move.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (Willy Brandt) (BER)