Airport
Berlin-Tegel Airport
IATA Code: TXLLocation: The airport is situated five miles (8km) north west of the centre of Berlin.
Time: GMT +1 (GMT +2 between the last Sunday in March and the Saturday before the last Sunday in April).
Contacts: Tel: +49 180 50 00 186.
Transfer to the city: The most convenient and cost effective way to get to and from the airport is by bus. They connect with the subway and overground train stations. Taxis are readily available outside the airport terminals on both levels and cost around EUR15. The journey to Berlin takes around 20 minutes.
Taxis: Taxis are readily available outside the Berlin-Tegel Airport's Terminal A1. A taxi to the centre of Berlin takes approximately 20 minutes and costs between EUR35 and EUR40. Avoid touts and unlicensed taxis. Private hotel shuttle services to and from Berlin-Tegel Airport are also available.
Car rental: Vehicle hire companies represented at the airport include Budget, Avis, Hertz, Europcar, National and Sixt.
Facilities: Facilities include banks, bureaux de change, ATMs, a post office, business centres and baby rooms. There are several shops, including duty-free, and a selection of restaurants. Disabled facilities are good; travellers with special needs should contact their airline in advance.
Parking: There are a number of parking lots at Berlin Tegel Airport, all within easy walking distance of the terminal building. Short-term parking in parking lot Pk costs EUR0.50 for the first 15 minutes and EUR2.50 for every 15 minutes thereafter, up to a maximum daily charge of EUR140. P1 and P2 are medium-stay parking garages. Fees start at EUR4 for the first hour and go up to EUR29 for the day. Parking lot P5 is for long-stay parking. The first 20 minutes is free; thereafter it costs EUR3 for the first 30 minutes, EUR4 for the first hour, and EUR26 per day.
Departure tax: None.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de
Berlin Schönefeld Airport
IATA Code: SXFLocation: The airport is located 11 miles (18km) from Berlin's city centre.
Time: GMT +1 (GMT +2 between the last Sunday in March and the Saturday before the last Sunday in April).
Contacts: +49 180 5000 186
Transfer between terminals: Although the airport has four terminals (A, B, C and D) the airside part of the concourse is all joined so the terminals are only important when checking in. Terminal C is only used on special occasions and the rest of the terminals are within easy walking distance of one another.
Transfer to the city: Train: The airport express train station is a short (400 metre) walk, along a covered footpath, from Terminal A. The Airport Express train takes just half an hour to reach the main railway station in Berlin, known as Hauptbahnhof. The train tickets use the same ticketing system as the buses in Berlin. Passengers need to pick how many zones they will be travelling through and the ticket price is adjusted accordingly. A trip from Schönefeld Airport to central Berlin will cost EUR2.10. The Airport Express Train is the fastest train from the airport into the city. It runs every 30 minutes, from 5am until 11pm. S-bahn trains are also available from the airport station, but they are slightly slower than the express train. Taxis: Taxis can be found on both the lower and upper levels, but mainly on the lower level outside Terminal A. The trip into central Berlin takes between 20 and 30 minutes and generally costs about EUR15. Bus: Taking a bus from Schönefeld Airport into Berlin is the best way to get into town. Fares are determined according to the number of zones you pass through in order to arrive at your destination. There are two zones (zones A and B) between Schönefeld and central Berlin. Tickets into town cost EUR2.10 and they can either be bought at the ticket vending machine inside the terminal or on the bus. The express airport buses (BCG) run the most frequently and are generally the best buses to catch between the airport and central Berlin. BCG Jet Express Bus No. X9 as well as BVG Jet Express TXL Bus and BVG buses No. 109 and No. 128 all make the trip from the airport into Berlin. During the week buses tend to run between 4:30am and 12:30am at 30-minute intervals with more buses during the peak hours of the day. On weekends buses run less frequently.
Taxis: Taxis: Taxis can be found on both the lower and upper levels, but mainly on the lower level outside Terminal A. The trip into central Berlin takes between 20 and 30 minutes and generally costs about EUR15.
Car rental: Renting a car is a great way to explore Berlin and the surrounding countryside. Car rental operators at Berlin Schönefeld Airport include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National and Sixt; or why not hire a motor home from Motorhomes CC-Mobile? The rental operator's desks are in front of Terminal A in the pavilion.
Facilities: Money and communications: Schönefeld Airport is well equipped with ATMs, banks, a post office and money exchange facility. Luggage: The lost and found desk is easy to find and is located in Terminal A on the ground floor. A baggage storage facility is available in parking garage P4 at a cost of EUR2 per day for small bags and EUR4 per day for larger bags. Conference and business: The airport lounges, particularly the Hugo-Junkers Lounge, have fax, Internet, photocopying and printing services. For businesspeople wishing to make use of conference facilities, head to the Airport Conference Centre Berlin Schönefeld, which is located 0.6 miles (1km) from the terminal. The conference centre can also be booked via the airport's website. Other facilities: The tourist information office is a great place to start your trip to Berlin. The Schönefeld Airport also has VIP services and lounges as well as baby changing room facilities and wheelchair access. WiFi: Wi-fi is available throughout the airport. Costs vary depending upon which service provider you prefer. Simply open your browser and the airport's wireless webpage will load and give you the service provider options. Many of the airline lounges offer free wi-fi access. Information: The airport's information desk is located in Terminal A on the ground floor. The staff is friendly and speaks German and English. There is also a tourist information desk located on the same floor with multilingual staff and pamphlets outlining major tourist attractions and events in Berlin. The information desk staff is also great when it comes to dispensing information about the best routes to and from the airport into central Berlin. Shopping: A well-stocked duty-free shop is not all the Schönefeld Airport has to offer in terms of shopping. The airport has a modest number of souvenir shops as well a couple of outlets selling sunglasses, clothing and fashion accessories. Food and Drink: Whether it's coffee, a burger or a pint of Guinness, the Schönefeld Airport has something to tickle all taste buds. Terminal A has the largest variety of food and drink outlets including an Irish pub, a small 24-hour bakery, a Burger King and a couple of restaurants serving German food. There is a Segafredo coffee outlet in front of Terminal D and a bistro in the departures area. Terminal B's options are slim with the only restaurant available being a small diner.
Parking: Short-term parking at Schönefeld Airport costs EUR3 per 20 minutes, up to a maximum charge of EUR60 per day. The cheapest parking garage at the airport is P6, which is reserved for long-term parking. The first hour costs EUR8, but it is only EUR19 for 24 hours.
Departure tax: None.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de/EN/index2.php
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Berlin
For most of the latter part of the 20th century, Berlin has stood as a symbol of the division between East and West, split by the infamous fortified wall erected to separate the socialist sector from the democratic district. When the Berlin Wall was pulled down in 1990 the city discovered that it suddenly had two of everything, most notably two very distinct societies separated both socially and economically. The past decade has seen Berlin embracing unification and rebuilding itself as a modern European capital.
More than 100 streets have been reconnected, and signs of the Wall's existence have all but disappeared. Years of division are still reflected in the new city's architecture, however, with a modern city of skyscrapers, retail centres and urban developments in the West contrasting with most of the pre-War city that remains in the East.
For nearly 30 years the Wall sealed off the imposing Brandenburg Gate from the West, but now traffic passes through it freely. Similarly Alexanderplatz, which was one of the main centres of 1920s Berlin, and later post-war East Germany, has once again become one of the city's focal centres. The site of the infamous Check Point Charlie with its threatening monitoring tower erected to ensure no one crossed over from East to West, is now a museum, and while the tower no longer stands, visitors can see the East Side Gallery, a surviving chunk of the real Wall, now decorated by local artists.
Berlin is once again a vibrant centre for the arts, with many museums, galleries and theatres. At the Kulturforum visitors will find a number of impressive museums and concert venues from the spectacular Berliner Philharmonie concert hall to the complex's Picture Gallery, which houses a vast collection of European paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries.
Berlin still boasts a fantastic nightlife, and while tastes have changed since the height of the cabaret halls of the 1920s and 30s, there is a vast array of venues catering to all tastes. Berlin's calendar is also packed with festivals and parties from the Christopher Street Day gay and lesbian parade in June to the Jazz Fest Berlin in November. All this contributes to an ever-evolving city that makes a holiday in Berlin an exciting and attractive prospect.
