How do you get to Berlin?
Getting There7.3/10Easier to reach than about 70% of cities
- Main airport
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: ber.berlin-airport.de, visitberlin.de
Good to know
Good to Know
- BER Airport is in tariff zone C. For trips to the centre of Berlin, you need an ABC ticket.
- Before the journey starts, tickets must be validated by stamping them at the yellow or red boxes located on S-Bahn and subway platforms and inside buses or trams. In case of inspection, a ticket that is not stamped is not valid. Anyone caught using public transportion without a valid ticket must pay a higher fare of 60 Euros.
- Deutschland-Ticket for €63 per month covers all local and regional public transport across the entire country—every U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram, bus, and regional train in Germany. It does not cover long-distance ICE or IC trains. If you are staying for a week or longer, this can pay for itself quickly.
- From March 2026, the European Sleeper will take you overnight from Berlin to Paris and back.
- Passengers will soon have the option of a direct rail connection linking Prague and Copenhagen via Berlin. Services to start on 1 May 2026.
Airport
- Code
- BER
- Name
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport
- Terminals
- 2
- Description
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport opened on Halloween of 2020 to replace both Tegel and Schönefeld as Berlin's only international airport.
Ground Transport To City
Express Train (FEX)
- Cost
- €4.40
- Travel Time Minutes
- 30
- Description
- The Airport Express runs on a new direct route from Berlin Central Station via Berlin Potsdamer Platz and Berlin Südkreuz to BER Airport, running almost around the clock, approximately every 15 minutes between 4 a.m. and 1 a.m.
S-Bahn (S9 & S85)
- Cost
- €4.40
- Travel Time Minutes
- 40
- Description
- The S9 line connects BER Airport with southeast Berlin and the city center every 20 minutes throughout the day, continuing on to Spandau.
Express Bus (X7, X71)
- Cost
- €4.40
- Travel Time Minutes
- 16
- Description
- The two BVG ExpressBus lines X7 and X71 connect Rudow underground station (U7) with the entrance to Terminal 1 at BER at least every 10 minutes during the day. Line X71 also connects Alt-Mariendorf underground station (U6) to BER.
Taxi
- Travel Time Minutes
- 45
- Note
- Fares vary by distance; regulated by city of Berlin
Nearby Day Trips
Potsdam
- Highlights
- The classic day trip from Berlin is to Potsdam. Nothing in Potsdam screams for your attention more than the yellow-hued Schloss Sanssouci, the rococo summer palace of the Prussian King Frederick the Great, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace grounds are wonderfully impressive, and you'll find a number of other ornate buildings, such as the Chinese House and the New Palace.
- Distance Km
- 35
- Travel Time
- 45 minutes by S-Bahn (S1 or S7)
Spreewald Biosphere Reserve
- Highlights
- Spreewald is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, occasionally referred to as Germany's Little Venice. You can go for a peaceful paddle along the extensive network of forest-lined waterways. The gentle waters are easy to navigate, even for paddling novices.
- Distance Km
- 100
- Travel Time
- 1 hour by RE2 train to Lübbenau
Dresden
- Highlights
- The city, often nicknamed 'Florence at the Elbe,' is a treasure trove of art, architecture, and history. Dresden is one of the best train trips from Berlin for lovers of architecture. Like many of the larger cities in Germany, it was flattened in WWII, but uncharacteristically, the historical center was almost fully rebuilt.
- Distance Km
- 195
- Travel Time
- 1 hour 50 minutes by ICE
Leipzig
- Highlights
- Leipzig is your answer if looking for an off-beat city trip. Just a 90-minute train ride from Berlin, and you're in a place that the New York Times won't stop calling 'The New Berlin'. Leipzig is hip, it's cheap, and it's a little bit like what Berlin must've been like 15-20 years ago.
- Distance Km
- 190
- Travel Time
- 2 hours by ICE
Hamburg
- Highlights
- Hamburg is one of the first cities that comes to mind for day trips. Hamburg is a busy port city with much more to offer than the capital. The town has UNESCO World Heritage status and has been declared Germany's second-most famous and largest city.
- Distance Km
- 290
- Travel Time
- 1 hour 43 minutes by ICE
Wannsee
- Highlights
- The closest day trip from Berlin is to tranquil Wannsee – a mere 23 minutes away.
- Distance Km
- 25
- Travel Time
- 23 minutes by S-Bahn
Public Transport
- Fare Zones
- Berlin has 3 tariff zones: A, B and C. Zone A is central Berlin—everything inside the Ringbahn; all the central neighbourhoods. Zone B is everything outside the Ringbahn, but inside Berlin. Zone C is outside of Berlin and includes parts of Brandenburg like the Berlin-Brandenburg airport, Potsdam and Oranienburg.
Ticket Prices
Single Ticket (AB Zone)
- Cost
- €4.00
- Validity
- 2 hours, one direction
Single Ticket (ABC Zone, to Airport)
- Cost
- €5.00
- Validity
- 2 hours, one direction
Short Trip Ticket (Kurzstrecke)
- Cost
- €2.80
- Validity
- 3 stops U/S-Bahn or 6 stops bus/tram
24-hour Pass (AB)
- Cost
- €11
- Validity
- 24 hours from validation
4-trip Ticket (AB)
- Cost
- €12
- Validity
- 4 single journeys
Deutschland-Ticket (Monthly)
- Cost
- €63
- Validity
- Unlimited local and regional transport nationwide
Domestic Connections
Deutsche Bahn
- Destination
- Hamburg
- Service Type
- ICE
- Travel Time Minutes
- 103
Deutsche Bahn
- Destination
- Leipzig
- Service Type
- ICE
- Travel Time Minutes
- 120
Deutsche Bahn
- Destination
- Munich
- Service Type
- ICE
- Travel Time Minutes
- 232
Deutsche Bahn
- Destination
- Dresden
- Service Type
- ICE
- Travel Time Minutes
- 110
International Connections
Deutsche Bahn
- Destination
- Paris
- Service Type
- ICE (direct from December 2024)
- Travel Time Minutes
- 480
- Note
- Since December 2024, you can travel from Berlin to Paris and vice versa with a direct ICE connection. The journey by fast train takes approximately eight hours and trains run daily. In Berlin, you depart from the main station at 12:02.
Deutsche Bahn & ČD
- Destination
- Prague
- Service Type
- ICE
- Travel Time Minutes
- 240
Deutsche Bahn / NS
- Destination
- Amsterdam
- Service Type
- ICE
- Travel Time Minutes
- 375
- Note
- There are direct trains from Berlin to Amsterdam, with trains leaving from Berlin's Hauptbahnhof station and arriving at Amsterdam Centraal. The fastest direct train from Berlin to Amsterdam takes around 6 h 15 minutes to get from city center to city center.
ÖBB / Deutsche Bahn
- Destination
- Vienna
- Service Type
- Nightjet overnight train
- Travel Time Minutes
- 660
Main Hub
Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin Central Station)
Description
Berlin Hauptbahnhof is Germany's largest railway station, welcoming more than 350,000 travellers through it daily. It's a major hub for national and international rail travel, offering frequent ICE, regional and international train services. With direct connections to the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, trams and buses, it's easy to reach all corners of the city.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this getting there & away research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
- 1.ber.berlin-airport.de
- 2.ber.berlin-airport.de
- 3.visitberlin.de
- 4.vbb.de
- 5.sbahn.berlin
- 6.seat61.com
- 7.visitberlin.de
- 8.deutschebahn.com
- 9.thetrainline.com
- 10.omio.com
- 11.raileurope.com
- 12.remitly.com
- 13.introducingberlin.com
- 14.berlin.de
- 15.berlinwalk.com
- 16.european-traveler.com
- 17.visitberlin.de
- 18.destinationwellknown.com
- 19.allaboutberlin.com
- 20.berlintraveltips.com
- 21.berlin.de
- 22.cherylhoward.com
- 23.visitberlin.de
- 24.notanomadblog.com
- 25.getyourguide.com
- 26.anadventurousworld.com
- 27.introducingberlin.com
- 28.viatravelers.com
- 29.veggiewayfarer.com
- 30.tallgirlbigworld.com
- 31.lonelyplanet.com
- 32.tradingeconomics.com
- 33.mtfxgroup.com
More About Berlin
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.