Cheap Flights to Berlin (QYG)

Expect more of the unexpected with flights to Berlin

Edgy Berlin excites, provokes and surprises

From its dark fragmented past and once-divisive wall, to its avant-garde arts and genre-smashing music scene, Berlin has always been a city on the edge. Anyone booking flights to Berlin should expect the unexpected. No surprise, perhaps, in a city so jumbled up by history and energised by extremes. Its snatches of urban art will have your head swivelling, its Prussian palaces will bowl you over and its museums leave you pondering. Mix in beerhalls, techno clubs and cabaret tents and you have a thrilling urban melange. So why not look for those cheap flights to Berlin today?

When should I book flights to Berlin?

As a city where culture is king, Berlin doesn’t have a strong an on- or off-season like some other cities. Summer is generally the more popular and expensive time. But the run-up to Christmas can be on the steep side too, as the shopping frenzy peaks. You’ll find cheap tickets to Berlin during the cooler months, especially November and January. Tickets to Berlin also rise and fall in price with the timing of its festivities – June is one of the costlier times to fly here, because of the hugely popular Carnival of Culture. The time to compare flights to Berlin, looking out for those bargains, is a couple of months before you travel.

Where can I fly to Berlin from?

Both Aer Lingus and low-cost carrier Ryanair offer direct return flights to Berlin from Dublin, but Aer Lingus heads to Tegel (TXL), while Ryanair lands at Schönefeld. It takes just over two hours to get to the German capital. KLM and Lufthansa also fly you from Dublin to Berlin, but their stopovers mean a four-hour flight time. KLM also offers a route from Cork that stops in Amsterdam before heading on to Tegel. Flight times vary from 2 hours to 8 hours on this route, though.

Getting from the airport to Berlin

Getting from Tegel International into the heart of Berlin is fairly simple. The TXL bus service is frequent, and takes only 25 minutes to reach Central Station. If your hotel is further out, then the licensed taxis in Berlin are not too pricey. Berlin’s other airport in the east, Schönefeld, links direct to the S-Bahn train network. Frequent but a little slow, these train cost €5 or less. Or you can take the faster regional RE7 or RB14 Express trains. They take only 25 minutes to reach Berlin’s Alexanderplatz.

Making the most of Berlin’s cultural kaleidoscope

It may no longer be divided, but Berlin still has a split personality. Some of its attractions uplift, like the Bundestag with its visually stunning dome, or the much-loved Berlin Zoo where you definitely can feed the animals. Some are for sombre pondering – the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the reconstructed death-strip of the Berlin Wall or the Cold War intrigue of Checkpoint Charlie. You can switch from sharing the joys of the Christopher Street Day gay parade, to wincing at the Nazi horrors in the Topography of Terror Museum. That’s Berlin – always challenging, never middling.