Berlitz Pocket Guide Berlin

You’ll need to plan carefully for a thorough exploration of Berlin; with a total area of 880 sq km (340 sq miles) it is bigger than most European capitals. Since the reorganisation of the municipal transport system, virtually the whole of the city is accessible via underground (U-Bahn), district railways (S-Bahn), bus or tram. You should have no difficulty in reaching the outlying areas, including Grunewald and Potsdam, by public transport, which runs 24 hours a day. There is absolutely no need for a car in Berlin.

Also to be found in these districts is Berlin’s large community of immigrants, originally called Gastarbeiter (‘guest workers’), most of them from Turkey, who add considerable colour and flavour to the city’s social and gastronomic life.

Beyond sightseeing, the most fascinating thing about Berlin is its people.

Despite its stone, steel and glass, Berlin is the greenest metropolis in Europe, with almost 40 percent of its area occupied by lakes and rivers, parkland and woods.