Wikimedia Conference 2012/Getting to and around Berlin
You may arrive by aeroplane, train, bus, or car. You are welcome to add information that you find useful...
General Information[edit]
- Wikipedia about Berlin
- Wikitravel about Berlin
- Map layer with all important locations and directions (load it into Google Maps on your mobile device)
Arrival and Departure[edit]
Airport: Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF), Deutschland[edit]
berlin-airport.de
Most international flights will use the airport Berlin Schönefeld (IATA Code SXF) which is located south-east outside of Berlin. The airport is relatively small, for departure you should arrive about an hour before your flight leaves.
Getting to the city:
- outside the airport just follow the roofed footpath, it leads directly to the station
- S-Bahn S9 (to Pankow or Spandau), takes about 45 minutes
- regional train RE7 (to Dessau) or RB14 (to Nauen) run less frequently, but is much faster
Getting to the Airport:
- take a S-Bahn, subway or regional train to Berlin Ostkreuz (east cross)
- at the S-Bahn station Ostkreuz catch a S9 to Berlin Schönefeld
or
- take the S-Bahn, subway or regional train to Berlin Ostbahnhof (east station)
- regional train RE7 (to Wünsdorf-Waldstadt) or RB14 (to Berlin Schönefeld)
Airport: Flughafen Berlin-Tegel (TXL), Deutschland[edit]
berlin-airport.de
Mainly domestic and European flights use airport Berlin Tegel (IATA Code TXL) which is located within Berlin, in the north-west of the city centre. The airport is quite small, for departure you should arrive about an hour before your flight leaves.
Getting to the City:
- right in front of the terminal building is a bus stop
- Bus TXL brings you directly to Berlin main station (20 min.) and Alexanderplatz (37 min.)
Getting to the Airport:
- take S-Bahn, subway or regional train to Berlin main station
- outside the station, right in front of the main entrace is the bus stop of line TXL located
Bus station: Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (ZOB)[edit]
Central bus terminal, long-distance coaches arrive / depart here. (Google Maps)
- Just cross the street and keep left, you will see a big green S sign leading you to the S-Bahn station Messe Nord/ICC
- take any south-bound train (lines 42 or 46)
- change at the next stop Westkreuz to any east-bound train (lines S5, S7 to Ahrensfelde, S9 to Flughafen Schönefeld, S75 to Wartenberg)
- get off at Friedrichstrasse
Central railway station: Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Hbf)[edit]
Berlin Hauptbahnhof is the Berlin's main railway station.
Getting Around in Berlin[edit]
Public Transport[edit]
Berlin has excellent public transport. Its backbone consists of the Berlin S-Bahn and Berlin U-Bahn systems, aided by buses and street cars.
- Overview
- network of S- and U-Bahn routes
- You can get travel plans online at bvg.de
- The S-Bahn system is layed out in a circle with a major east-west axis and minor north-south connections in addition to the circle lines.
- minimized website for mobile devices
- Night service
- At night, there is Night-Bus and Metro-Bus service.
- However, major S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines run non-stop from Friday evening until Monday.
- Fees
- A "short range" ticket for 1.40 EUR covers 3 stations by U-Bahn or S-Bahn, or 6 bus stops.
- A regular ticket "AB" for 2.30 EUR gets you through all of Berlin proper. It's valid for 2 hours, with unlimited transfers and interruptions. However, you need a new ticket if you want to reverse your direction.
- Tickets can be bought at ticket machines at the stations. Tickets need to be redeemed (punched) in order to activate.
- You can buy tickets from Bus drivers and inside street cars, but not inside U-Bahn or S-Bahn trains.
- You will receive public transport tickets along with your name tag for the Chapters' conference!
- Your Conference ticket for public transports
You will receive a public transport ticket together with your name tag. It is valid for all journeys by bus, tram, train, S-Bahn and U-Bahn in zone AB and should cover all your ways. The ticket is only valid with your ID card/passport. For travelling to Schönefeld Airport you need an extra ticket for zone C which we can provide on your request.
At night, there is Night bus and Metro-bus/tram service. Major S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines run non-stop from Friday evening until Monday.
Taxi[edit]
By Car: Environmental Zone in Berlin[edit]
On 1st January 2008 the city of Berlin established an Environmental Zone. You need to have a special sticker (costs: 5-6€) to be able to drive in the inner-city (conference, accommodation, etc is here!), which marks your car to be classified in a certain exhaust emission standard. Please keep all documents providing any information on your car with you. Get a sticker before you enter the inner-circle.
By Bike[edit]
Guided bike tours and bike rental http://www.bajabikes.eu/en/sightseeing-tours-berlin
Bike Sharing http://www.callabike-interaktiv.de/index.php?id=389
Rental bike http://berlinonbike.de/