City guide article

Bicycles and trams

There are efficient Bicycle routes through most of Berlin and hiring a bike for your stay can be an interesting and fulfilling way to see the city. Bikes can also be taken on trains and some buses. The cyclist hotline (01805 151 415) will give you information on the rules and regulations to do with biking in the city.

City guideTransportation

Overview

Trams run mostly in East Berlin, and are an excellent way to see parts of the city such as Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. They are bright yellow like the buses but are not double-deckered so easy to tell apart. They are also very ‘hop-in hop-off’ convenient; all transit tickets are valid in trams as well and there are machines on board each one should you need to buy or renew a ticket. A map of the network is also present on each tram and with your own city map, it will be extremely useful.

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Transportation

Buses

Transportation

Metro and the Railway system

Berlin has an extensive network of railways which can be fairly confusing for a first time visitor. The national rail service is Deutsche Bahn and it has four train categories. The Regional (RBP), the Regional Express (RE), the Interregional Express (IRE) and the Intercity Express (ICE). The Express lines have trains that do not stop at every station. Tickets can be bought online or at a station, but can be expensive. There are several special offers that can make your travel a lot cheaper so look out for them in newspapers, TV and online. The English language paper ‘Exberliner’ has useful information and news.

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Transportation

Taxi

Taxis can be a convenient method to get around when there is no other option. They can be flagged down on the road (when the yellow light is on, the taxi is empty) or at a taxi stand. You can expect Taxi drivers to speak passable English. Although all taxis are metered, there may sometimes be a cheaper alternative if you are only going a short distance and have flagged the taxi on the road.

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Transportation

Car for hire

There are facilities for renting cars in Germany, provided you have a valid driving license and are over 18 years old. Depending on the type of rental car, you might need to have held your license for 1-3 years. A young driver surcharge may sometimes be added and all passengers are required to wear a seatbelt. Most of the big car rental companies are situated close to the Tegel Airport and prices are reasonable. Cars rented in Germany can be driven to the surrounding countries, provided the rental company is notified. They generally have a list of allowable countries.

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