Berlin is a year round destination with a festival, parade or fair happening during most months - from the International Film Festival in February, Beer Festival in August (or the Flamenco Festival for the more energetic), through to the Christmas Markets running from the end of November until the end of the year. The weather varies from being surprisingly hot in summer to fiercely cold during the winter.
To search flights across all airlines, we recommend using Skyscanner
BERLIN: BY AIR
From the UK: carriers include Air Berlin, British Airways, easyJet, Lufthansa and Ryanair.
Within Europe: try Air Berlin, Air France, Eurowings, easyJet and Ryanair.
By train from the UK: Take an early evening Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussels (2 ½ hours), then the overnight sleeper train to Berlin. For more details, seeSeat 61.
BY METRO: The network of U-bahn (underground) and S-bahn (Schnellbahn / overground) lines is efficient and widespread.
BY BUS: Reasonable network and the traffic flows better than, for example, in London. Useful routes include Ku'Damm to centre.
BY BOAT: Tourist boats (like Parisian bateaux mooches) ply along the Spree between Tiergarten and Museum Island. Jump off points include the Haus der Kulturen to the west, Friedrichstrasse in the middle, and Bruckenstrasse in the southeast.
BY TAXI: Cheap and plentiful. For most city centre journeys allow €7-10. For short trips, hail a cab and ask for a Kurzstrecke.
BY BICYCLE: There are plenty of hire shops; or, if you have registered first and given credit card details as a guarantee, find a red bicycle with DB on it, and phone the code to unlock it, and again at your destination (you can leave it almost anywhere). Costs less if you have a railcard.
BY OCTOCYCLE: Only in Berlin will you find an octopus with wheels ... and 8 saddles for you and your friends to pedal yourselves along Unter den Linden.