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The weather in Berlin is better than its reputation. The continental climate, which characterizes the entire region, guarantees mild and dry weather for the main holiday period from May to September. In spring and autumn it can be cold and wet, and it may be advisable not to travel to Berlin between November and February, when it is often cloudy, and a bitingly cold, easterly wind whistles through the city.

In the summer months you’ll need only lightweight clothing. In spring and autumn you should definitely pack a rain- and windproof jacket as well as an umbrella. Locals dress informally and more flamboyantly than other German urbanites – anything you like goes. The capital has, however, gone more upmarket and you may feel out of place in many restaurants or theatres without a jacket and tie or evening dress.

If you’re arriving from abroad, you’ll be able to buy euros at all banks and bureaux de change (many are based around Bahnhof Zoo). Credit cards, traveller’s cheques and EC-cards are accepted everywhere in the centre of town.

All travellers are well advised to buy insurance cover for accidents, illness and theft. Cancellation insurance may also be worth taking out.

UK, US, Canadian and Australian driving licences are recognized in Germany.

All visitors to Berlin need valid passports. If you’re staying in Berlin for 90 days or less, you will not normally need a visa. Ask your German Embassy for details. Non-EU citizens may import 200 cigarettes and one litre of spirits per adult.

The electric current is 220 volt; but remember to bring an adaptor with two round pins.

Berlin is in the Central European time zone, which means that it is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, six hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time and 11 hours behind Australian Eastern Standard Time.

If you are travelling with children, book into child-friendly accommodation. Always look out for family reductions. It can be a lot of fun to explore the city together with children, but you are advised to avoid the rush hours on U-Bahn and buses, especially if you are travelling with babies or very young children.

Berlin’s largest airport is situated a mere 8 km (5 miles) to the north-west of the city centre. Though it is a relatively small airport, Lufthansa, Deutsche BA, British Airways, KLM, Air France, Iberia and Alitalia and others all operate direct flights here. There are no intercontinental flights to Berlin. A taxi from the airport to Ku’damm costs around €13 and takes about 20–30 minutes (depending on traffic). Less expensive and nearly as fast is the journey by bus – Nos X09 or 109 (about €2.10) stop everywhere in the centre.

Located approximately 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Berlin, in Brandenburg province, this airport is served by charter and East European airlines. S-Bahn lines S9 or S45 will take you directly to the city centre. A taxi trip from Schönefeld is not recommended because it is too far out of town.

The small historic city airport south of Kreuzberg provides regional connections to medium-sized German towns and to Scandinavia. From Flughafen Tempelhof take U-Bahn line U6 from Platz der Luftbrücke station or bus No. 119 to Ku’damm.

Lufthansa has an office downtown on Ku’damm, while other airlines like Deutsche BA have ticket offices at Tegel airport.

Most long-distance trains from Germany and Western Europe arrive at Bahnhof Zoo in the western part of the centre. There are excellent connections from this station to other parts of town by S- and U-Bahn, and taxis are always waiting at the taxi ranks outside the station.

Ostbahnhof is the point of arrival from Eastern Germany or Eastern Europe. S-Bahn lines S5 and S7 will take visitors straight to the main Bahnhof Zoo station.

Trains from Southern and Eastern Europe arrive at this station, and many through trains from the West stop here, too. This is the best place to arrive if your final destination is in the eastern part of the city.

The coach station near Funkturm in Charlottenburg offers fast and inexpensive coach connections to all German and European cities.

If you’re travelling to Berlin by car, you will have to get there via Berliner Stadtring, an orbital motorway around the city. From the north you will reach the city motorway on the A111 motorway via Stolpe in the direction of Autobahndreieck Funkturm; from the south you will reach the centre on the A115 – the famous Avus motorway.

The Berlin U-Bahn, or underground railway, has one of the largest networks in Europe, providing the fastest and most convenient means of getting around the city. There are ten U-Bahn lines each sporting their own colour. The U-Bahn runs from 5am to 1am; at weekends lines U1 and U9 run throughout the night. The station indicated on the platform is the final destination of the train.

The S-Bahn or Stadtbahn (city railway) has 15 lines, connecting the centre with the suburbs, They run at 5- to 10- minute intervals. Many lines share tracks so you will need to pay attention to indicator boards.

Berlin has a dense network of bus routes. The famous yellow double-decker buses operate mostly in the centre. Bus lines have three-digit numbers, except for express services, which have two-digits or a preceding “X”. After midnight, many routes provide night services. When boarding the bus, you may use the back door (which opens when a button is pushed) until 8pm. Afterwards you may board the bus only at the front, and you will have to present your ticket to the driver.

Tickets for U- and S-Bahn trains and for buses in Berlin are available at all stations and bus stops as well as from bus drivers. Berlin is divided into three zones: A, B and C. The best value for money is a day ticket at €6.10, which is valid until 3am the following day and covers all three zones. A single journey, costing €2.10, is valid for unlimited travel for two hours. A “Kurzstrecke” (short distance) counts as up to three U- or S-Bahn stations or six bus stops, and costs €1.20. Children under 14 years pay a reduced rate; those under six travel free. You have to stamp your ticket in a red machine in the station or on the bus before starting the journey.

Trams – operating only in the eastern part of the city – are part of the same network (BVG).

There are taxi stands all over Berlin. It is not always easy to hail a passing taxi. The basic starting price is €2.50, and a further €1.02 is charged per km (2/3 of a mile). A short-distance tariff also exists: if you hail a taxi in the street, you can travel for up to 2 km (1 mile) for €3.

You can hire a car from any of the large operators on production of a valid driving licence, passport and credit card; some only accept customers aged 21 years or over. There are car hire places at all airports and in central Berlin.

An unusual way to explore Berlin is by velotaxi – a bicycle rickshaw. These can be found in the city centre (from April to October only).

There are several bike hire places in town.

The municipal tourist information service BTM has offices in the Europa-Center, near Brandenburg Gate and in Tegel airport. There you can obtain leaflets and up-to-date information as well as souvenirs and general brochures on Berlin. A telephone hotline gives information about all current events.

Detailed up-to-date information on the state museums and all the establishments on Museumsinsel can be obtained from a bilingual phoneline. Here you will also find out about the current programme of events – for example about the “long night of the museums”.

The visitors’ advice service for the palaces and gardens of Potsdam and Sanssouci supplies accurate information and tips as well as guided tours and more via their own telephone service.

Potsdam has its own tourist information service, offering brochures, an accommodation service and guided tours.

The Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM) has a telephone hotline which will help reserve a room (for a fee). Several offices also arrange private accommodation, where visitors book into shared apartments for a period of several days or weeks.

There are two fortnightly city magazines with detailed information on all kinds of events – tip and zitty . The monthly Berlin-Programm with detailed events listings is also worth consulting. For younger readers, the magazines prinz , and 030 contain information on nightclubs and bars. Daily newspapers such as Tagesspiegel , Berliner Zeitung and Berliner Morgenpost usually publish listings of cultural events on Wednesdays and Thursdays respectively, while tips and reviews can be found in the papers every day.

For radio news in English, you can tune into Inforadio (93.1 MHz), the BBC World Service (90.2 MHz) or the multi-lingual SFB 4 Multikulti (106.8 MHz).

In addition to the national TV stations, the RBB offers a regional programme; tv berlin, a private TV station, also broadcasts information on what’s on. Thanks to cable and satellite you can also easily tune into English programmes.

This Senate Office, which deals with the concerns of foreign nationals who live in Berlin, is also a good point of advice for foreign visitors.

Nearly all pavements in Berlin are sloped at junctions to make them suitable for wheelchair users. However visitors in wheelchairs will need to watch out for cyclists using the red cycle tracks, often in both directions.

Most underground stations in the centre, including those that are actually above ground in high-level stations on viaducts, are equipped with lifts, giving wheelchair users easy access from the road to the platform.

Underground trains are accessible to wheelchair users although they are a little narrow. If you wish to travel by U-Bahn, wait at the head of the platform. After the train has stopped, the driver will put up a ramp to bridge the difference in height between platform and train. If you wish to travel by S-Bahn, speak to the station manager before the arrival of the train; he or she will install the ramp you need to board the train.

All buses displaying a wheelchair symbol are specially equipped for disabled access; most buses in the centre have one door with a ramp that can be lowered down to the pavement. At certain times, however, these buses run only at 20-minute intervals.

Disabled visitors wishing to explore Berlin and Brandenburg province on their own by car, or to share a car with driver with other disabled visitors, can contact several specialist travel agents.

The internet website www.kobinet.de gives information on wheelchair access to restaurants, hotels and shops in Berlin. This association also offers interactive guided tours of the city, covering the areas that are most popular with tourists, and it provides information on disabled access to sights.

This charitable association gives advice and support on all issues concerning disabled people in Berlin.

Berlin’s Regional Office for Health and Social Security runs a citizen’s advice bureau with a telephone helpline.

The Regional Office also rents out wheelchairs for a fee. Order one in advance by telephone.

All the large German banks have branches in the centre of town. Most banks open 9am–6pm Mon–Fri; many open for shorter periods on Fridays and Wednesdays.

Money is changed at a Wechselstube (bureau de change); you can find these near Bahnhof Zoo, at the airports or at a bank. Make sure you ask about commission and charges. Hotels will also change money, but may charge higher fees.

Everywhere in the centre of Berlin you’ll be able to use a standard credit card, such as Visa or Euro/MasterCard, to pay at most restaurants, cafés and shops. American Express and Diner’s Club are less commonly accepted. You can also use your credit or EC card (plus PIN number) to withdraw money from a machine. Should you lose your card, tell your bank or provider immediately.

There are public phones (both enclosed cells and open phones) all over the centre of town. These are almost exclusively card phones. Telephone cards can be bought from post offices, in department stores and at kiosks.

Post offices are hard to miss – they are painted a bright yellow. As elsewhere in Germany, Berlin letter boxes are also yellow, but there are some blue “historic” boxes.

A standard letter (up to 20 g) to anywhere in the EU costs €0.55; a compact letter (up to 50 g) €1.44; a postcard €0.45. Stamps can be bought at the post office, from card shops and machines.

You can surf the internet and pick up your e-mails anywhere. Easy-everything is one of the largest internet cafés.

If your hotel does not offer secretarial services, you could use an independent service. Details of such services are listed in the “Yellow Pages” of the telephone directory.

Travellers’ cheques made out in euros or any other currency can be exchanged at all larger banks or at branches of the issuers. Most banks charge a fee.

As elsewhere in Germany, the emergency phone numbers are 112 for ambulance and fire brigade, and 110 for the police. These can be dialled free of charge from public phone boxes.

Berlin is a fairly safe city. As in any other metropolis, however, you are advised to follow a few golden rules. Keep an eye on your valuables, such as your wallet or handbag, at all times, especially on U- and S-Bahn trains and on buses. At night, the following areas are best avoided: the area behind the Gedächtnis-Kirche, U-Bahn line U9 north of the Zoo, the districts Lichtenberg (especially the station) and Friedrichshain. Eastern areas can be less safe; black or openly homosexual visitors are also advised not to take the S-Bahn at night east of Alexanderplatz or to Brandenburg.

Ask the hotel to place your documents and valuables in a safe if possible, or carry them close to your body. Even if you are making a short visit, it is worth taking out insurance unless you are already covered by your household insurance. Be sure to inform the police immediately of any theft; you’ll usually easily find police officers patrolling the streets in the centre.

The Zentrales Fundbüro (central lost-property office) keeps anything that has been lost and found anywhere in Berlin. If you have lost an item on public transport, enquire with the Fundbüro der BVG. The Fundbüro der Deutschen Bahn AG is responsible for all items lost on the S-Bahn or the railways.

Visitors from EU countries are covered for emergency treatment, but British visitors should obtain form E111 from a post office before leaving home. Non-EU visitors should buy special travel insurance to cover medical emergencies.

There are numerous Apotheken (chemists or pharmacies) all over town. After 8pm, an emergency phone line will give you information on where to find the nearest open chemist.

The dental emergency phone line will refer you to the nearest dentist for treatment.

There are several other important numbers for emergencies, which usually operate throughout the night. These will provide telephone advice or inform you of other emergency services if necessary.

Foreign visitors who have lost their passport or need legal advice or help with their visa should contact their embassy (see Planning your Trip) .

The river landscape around the little towns of Lübben and Lübbenau, southwest of Berlin, is a unique and unspoilt area of natural beauty. From here you can explore by boat the old settlements of the Sorbs, a Slavic people. Make sure you also enjoy the specialities of the region – fresh fish and vegetables, but most of all the famous pickled Spreewald gherkins.

A visit to Sachsenhausen, Germany’s first Nazi concentration camp, is a haunting experience. It was opened in 1933 as a “wild camp” for political prisoners. From 1936 to 1945, some 100,000 people were murdered here. Next to the camp is an exhibition.

This small palace is an excellent destination for a day-trip. The palace was made famous by the love story of Kurt Tucholsky. Today the palace is a home for senior citizens and can be seen only from the outside.

Surrounded by the Havelland fruit orchards, this small village celebrates Baumblütenfest, the blossoming of the fruit trees in April and May.

This picturesque small village near Potsdam, surrounded by numerous lakes, boasts a charming Baroque palace as well as Albert Einstein’s summer residence at No 7 Waldstraße.

The other Frankfurt, on the Oder River, about 70 km (43 miles) east of Berlin, is well worth visiting, if only for its superb museum, devoted to the playwright Heinrich von Kleist.

An old spa town and once a celebrity haunt, Bad Saarow’s thermal springs and hotel invite you for a relaxing weekend.

The small village of Buckow is the centre of the so-called Märkische Schweiz (the Swiss Mark). A landscape of lakes and hills, which seems almost untouched, it is a good place for walking, swimming and boating. The best area is around Schermützelsee. Also at Buckow, the summer residence of Bertolt Brecht can be visited.

North of Potsdam is the tiny village of Sacrow. It has become a favourite tourist spot because of its dreamy Saviour’s Church, on the lake of the same name.

Nothing is more fun than a sightseeing tour of the city on the double-decker nostalgia bus, which is open-top in summer. Buses depart from the corner of Ku’damm and Rankestraße. English and German commentary is available.

The cheapest and fastest way to see the city is a journey on buses Nos 100 or 200. These double-deckers go from Bahnhof Zoo and Alexanderplatz right into Prenzlauer Berg, passing all the important sights between West and East en route. A Berlin tour for only €2.10.

StattReisen was one of the first agencies in Germany to offer informative themed walks through the city. Among the most popular themes for guided tours are “Jewish Berlin” and a guided overview tour of the centre (lasting up to three hours).

Traditional sightseeing tours by bus, with commentary in up to eight different languages, are good for getting a quick overview. The tours depart from Kurfürstendamm (corner of Meinekestr. or Rankestr.), and in summer they leave every hour. These bus tours usually last between two and four hours, and take in all the most important sights of Berlin. There are special tours to Potsdam. Departure points:

This agency cuts a swathe through Berlin’s artistic jungle. Small, well-conducted tours lead visitors through the museums, galleries, cultural events and – of course – to the city’s most exciting architectural treasures.

Berlin’s waterways – Havel and Spree Rivers, Landwehrkanal and the lakes Wannsee and Müggelsee – can all be explored by boat. Many tours allow you to take in Berlin’s historic sights between Charlottenburg and the centre from the water. Tours last two or three hours, and there are piers at Schloss Charlottenburg, next to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Tiergarten, next to the bridge Schlossbrücke as well as in Treptow.

Several enterprises offer sightseeing trips over Berlin and Brandenburg province by helicopter and in historic planes.

This small agency conducts themed English-language walks, departing daily from the taxi rank outside Zoologischer Garten.

An inexpensive, and personalized way to see the town is by velotaxi (see Getting Around Berlin) .

If you’re driving around Berlin, try to avoid the main rush hours – between 7am and 9am in the morning, and between 4:30pm and 7pm in the evening. Buses, U- and S-Bahn, too, are very crowded at these times.

At restaurants, cafés and snack bars in the centre, you will often have to stand in line or wait to be seated if you arrive between 12:30pm and 2pm. Most venues in Berlin, though, will continue to serve the same dishes. So, if you wish to enjoy your meal in peace and quiet, set off after 1:30pm.

Popular restaurants, particularly those around Savignyplatz, Gendarmenmarkt and Kollwitzplatz are often booked up between 7pm and 8pm, especially in summer, even during the week. You are therefore best advised to reserve a table in advance, or to arrive a little later, after about 9pm.

Many of the popular sights get very crowded, especially from Thursdays to Sundays. It’s a good idea to arrive early, and to start your visit as soon as a place opens – especially the Reichstag.

Most tourists come to Berlin for weekends, and so Ku’damm and Friedrichstraße are completely overrun by visitors on a Saturday morning. In the evening, many events, especially concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and performances in the best theatres, will be sold out. If possible arrange for your visit to start on a Sunday and take in the first few days of the week.

High season for Berlin visitors is the period from May to July. From the end of July or the beginning of the school holidays, however, the town gets noticeably quieter, as many locals go on holiday then. You’ll easily find parking spaces and many restaurants are much emptier than usual – especially in August. The only disadvantage is that theatres and concert halls close then for a summer break.

If, after a couple of days, you’re tired of the hustle and bustle of the big city, go to one of the parks to chill out – Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg, Jungfernheide in Charlottenburg and the area around Tegeler See are picturesque places where you can relax in peace and quiet.

Even the central areas in Berlin are often completely deserted early on Sunday mornings – the ideal time for a quiet stroll down Kurfürstendamm or Unter den Linden. Most cafés and museums open at 10am, so you won’t miss out on either cultural discoveries or refreshment.

Whether you wish to visit the theatre, the opera, the Philharmonie concert hall, a multiplex cinema or a special event, it is almost always worth trying to book tickets as early as possible by phone or at one of the agencies – you’ll rarely be lucky enough to buy tickets for the most popular events on the day.

Kurfürstendamm, Tauentzienstraße and Friedrichstraße are the main three shopping streets in Berlin. You’ll find inexpensive shops around Tauentzienstraße and Alexanderplatz. Friedrichstraße with the “Friedrichstadtpassagen” shopping centre and the Galeries Lafayette department store as well as the west side of Ku’damm are decidedly upmarket – which is reflected in the prices. A good mix of shops can be found in the arcades at Potsdamer Platz, Schlossstraße in the south of Berlin and the Gesundbrunnencenter in the north.

Normally, all shops are open between 10am and 8pm on Mondays to Fridays; on Saturdays many open at 9am, but close at 4pm. In the four weeks before Christmas, shops are allowed to stay open until 6pm. During special events (for example during the IFA International Broadcasting Exhibition or the Berlinale Film Festival) special opening hours may be in force.

Most shops in the city centre accept credit cards such as Visa, Euro/Mastercard and American Express, less commonly Diner’s Club. Almost all shops take EC-cards.

If you feel that you are not being treated fairly or if a product you have bought proves to be faulty (and an exchange is refused), you can contact the consumer protection association.

End-of-season sales take place at the end of January and the end of July. But you’ll be able to find bargains throughout the year in the department stores and shops, often laid out on special stands right next to the main entrance.

The best fashion and designer stores, selling coveted labels such as Gucci, Versace, Jil Sander, DKNY or Prada, can be found on the west side of Ku’damm and in Friedrichstraße. Kaufhaus des Westens sells a good large range of ladies’ and gentlemen’s fashions (see Shops & Markets) .

Apart from large multi-media and CD-store chains such as WOM (Karstadt, Wertheim), Saturn, MediaMarkt, Promarkt and Kaufhof, you will find a vast selection of CDs at Kulturkaufhaus Dussmann (see Shops) , at Kiepert as well as in the Kaufhaus des Westens or KaDeWe (see Shops & Markets) .

If you’re looking for gifts and souvenirs to take home, try the Europa-Center (see Kurfürstendamm) and the KaDeWe (see Shops & Markets) . There are also souvenir shops in Unter den Linden (near Pariser Platz), on Potsdamer Platz as well as at Checkpoint Charlie.

Most antiques shops are clustered south of Nollendorfplatz (see Kreuzberg & Schöneberg) and in the smaller streets off Kurfürstendamm. However, the flea and art fair on the Straße des 17 Juni (see Shops & Markets) and the antiques shops in the S-Bahn arches between Friedrichstraße and Museumsinsel are often much better value and offer a wider range of goods and antiques.

For low-cost accommodation you can check into inexpensive youth hostels, hostels run by the YMCA, or a backpacker hostel. Or try a Mitwohnzentrale, an agency arranging shared accommodation in private homes at a low cost (see Information & Advice) .

As in Britain, Indian and Turkish restaurants are often particularly good value. Another cheap alternative are Turkish doner kebab snack bars and German curry sausage stands – these often also sell other snacks at low prices.

Berlin’s municipal museums, especially those on Museumsinsel, can all be visited on a three-day ticket costing only €6. Admission is also free on the first Sunday of every month.

The BVG WelcomeCard offers the best and cheapest way of visiting exhibitions and museums in Berlin and using public transport throughout the city. The card is available at €19 from S- and U-Bahn stations as well as from tourist information centres. Valid for one adult and up to three children, it allows you to travel in zones ABC with all BVG vehicles for three days. The card also gives you a reduction of up to 50 per cent of the admission price in many museums. You’ll even get a useful information pack with your card.

Theatres and the opera house sell reduced tickets at the door on the day of the performance, mainly for pupils and students who can show a valid student card. Alternatively, tickets can be bought cheaply in advance by anyone from ticketing agencies such as Hekticket.

Berlin has always been a good place for street artists, especially on Breitscheidplatz and along Ku’damm. There is a legendary mime artist, dressed as a clown, who mimics passers-by outside the cafés on the eastern side of Ku’damm. In summer, in Charlottenburg and Prenzlauer Berg, you can often listen to street musicians and singers directly at your table or outside the restaurant or café.

Since Berlin is Germany’s political and cultural capital, many public and private institutions regularly offer the chance to take a look behind the scenes, free of charge. A visit to one of the federal ministries is particularly interesting. Daily newspapers will list these events. Every year in summer, “Schaustelle Berlin” (a pun on “Baustelle”, meaning building site) conducts guided tours to Berlin’s major building sites and other projects (see also www.berlin.de ).

Churches and smaller concert halls in the outer districts often put on classical concerts for a low admission fee or even free of charge. The city magazines and daily newspapers list such events in the appropriate columns. All Berlin daily newspapers also give away free tickets for current exhibitions and events. Look at the Berlin pages in the papers for what is currently on offer.

Berlin’s weekly flea markets always have a vast range of special offers for sale, besides which they’ll offer you the opportunity to try out your haggling skills (see Shops & Markets) .