Getting In and Around Berlin

Although, Berlin has been one city since 1990, but still it has not been able to unify the 2 centers West Center and Mitte, or the East Center. Most accommodation is still in the former West and most international flights will land you at Tegel Airport, which is also on the west side. The quickest link into West Center from Tegel by public transport is a 15 minute bus ride- the X9 bus, that will drop you at Zoo Station in West Center. Since most of the historic sights are in East Center or the Berlin Mitte, you can join sight-seeing tours which start in West Center and will take you to Mitte. A tourist may also join a Berlin Walks tour "Discover Berlin" tour which start daily from the taxi stand at Zoo Station in order to explore the enchanting land.


Tickets
A tourist have to buy tickets in order to travel in busses, trams, trains. It is advisable to by tickets and then travel with be-fooling the laws of the city. The following tickets are most suitable for visitors: day passes for individuals or for groups up to 5 people are excellent value for money and are valid until 3am the following day. If you are only making one or two journeys, buy a single fare ticket, good for up to 2 hours travel after validation in any direction. There is also a short trip ticket Kurzstrecke costing which is good for up to 3 stops on the U- or S-Bahn, or up to 6 stops on buses or trams. There is also a special offer for tourists, called the Welcome Card.

Trains
EurAide sells train tickets on behalf of Deutsche Bahn and provides a free train travel information service in English, tel:(030) 297 49241. EurAide office is located at the back of Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten. Rail passes: Eurail, Euro- and Inter-Rail passes are all valid on the S-Bahn, so long as they are validated for the day of travel.

Bycycle
The best way to know the city is through by cycle. A visitor will face no problem as there are specially marked bike lanes everywhere. There are also plenty of bike rental shops.

Trams
The trams operate only in the eastern sections of the city and recently the old trams have been replaced by the new sleek and comfortable trams. They have a wide network of about 30 lines that crisscross the entire eastern half of Berlin.

Trams
Taxis are always cream-coloured and metered; generally the minimum fare is about DM 4 and a cab from Tegel Airport to West Center will, cost approx. DM25. Taxis are easy to find in the center of Berlin, in the inner city there are also some pedicabs called Velotaxis.