Most scheduled and charter flights arrive at Tegel airport, from where buses #X9 and #109 run every five to fifteen minutes to Bahnhof Zoo, while JetExpressBus TXL goes to Unter den Linden. Alternatively, take bus #109 to Jakob-Kaiser-Platz or bus #128 to Walter Schreiber Platz and transfer to the U-Bahn system (the bus ticket is valid for the U-Bahn journey). Taxis cost DM30-40/?15-20 to Bahnhof Zoo, covering the distance in about half the time. Berlin's second airport, Schönefeld , lies just beyond the southeastern edge of the city, and mainly serves eastern Europe and the Middle and Far East. Take bus #171 from the terminal building to S-Bahnhof Flughafen Schönefeld, from where S-Bahn #9 provides a direct link to the city centre. Tempelhof , the closest airport to the city centre, to which it is linked by bus #119, is used mainly by German domestic carriers and scheduled flights by very small operators. The Platz der Luftbrücke U-Bahn station is just outside.

Trains from western European destinations generally stop at both Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (shortened to Bahnhof Zoo , or Zoo Station ) and Ostbahnhof ; some also halt at Wannsee or Spandau. Bahnhof Lichtenberg , which is easily accessible by S-Bahn from all other stations, is the main terminus for trains to and from eastern Europe. The Lehrter Stadtbahnhof is currently being developed as Berlin's first-ever central rail terminal, though it is unlikely to be operational before 2005. International buses and those from other German cities mostly use the Zentraler Omnibus Bahnhof or ZOB on Masurenallee near the Funkturm. Bus #149 and U-Bahn #2 from Kaiserdamm link it with the centre.

The headquarters of the tourist office , Berlin Tourismus Marketing, at Am Karlsbad 11 (information tel 0 30/01 90 75 40 40, reservations 25 00 25, fax 25 00 24 24, www.btm.de or www.berlin-info.de ) is not open to the public, but deals with all written and telephone enquiries. Its main branch for personal callers is in the Europa-Center on Budapester Strasse (Mon-Sat 8.30am-8.30pm, Sun 10am-6.30pm); there's another in the south wing of the Brandenburger Tor (daily 9.30am-6pm) and smaller information points in the KaDeWe department store, Tauentzienstr. 24-24 (Mon-Fri 9.30am-8pm, Sat 9am-4pm), and at Tegel airport (daily 5am-10.30pm). The very helpful EurAide office in the hallway of Bahnhof Zoo (daily: June-Sept 8am-noon & 1-6pm; Oct-May 8am-noon & 1-4.30pm; www.euraide.de ) exists specifically to dispense help and advice to English-speaking travellers.

Berlin has two essential listings magazines - Tip (DM4.70/?2.35; www.tip ) and Zitty (DM4/?2; www.zitty.de ) - which come out on alternate weeks. A free magazine, 030 , is another useful source on nightlife, with good club, music and film listings. Berlin's diverse arts scene is well covered by Artery Berlin (DM3.50/?1.75), a monthly English/German publication. Another monthly, the Berlin Programm (DM3/?1.50; www.berlin-programm.de ), has more condensed listings, alongside information on opening times, and national and international train, bus and plane timetables.