Berlin WelcomeCard Public Transport and Discounts Pass Zones ABC

Central Berlin in zone A

Zone A covers the inner city inside the S-Bahn Ring, the circular railway that loops around central Berlin. Almost every landmark is here: the Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden, the Reichstag with its glass dome, the five museums of Museum Island, the Berlin Cathedral, Alexanderplatz, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie and the East Side Gallery. With the card you can hop between them by U-Bahn, S-Bahn or tram without buying a single ticket.

A favourite trick is to ride the regular bus lines 100 and 200, which link Zoologischer Garten and Alexanderplatz via the Tiergarten, the Victory Column and Unter den Linden: a sightseeing tour on a normal city bus, covered by your Berlin public transport pass. Is the Berlin WelcomeCard worth it? If you take three or more journeys a day and visit one or two partner attractions, it usually pays for itself.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport and getting around

Berlin Brandenburg Airport, opened in 2020, lies in fare zone C south-east of the city, so the ABC card covers your ride into town as well as your departure. How to get from BER Airport to Berlin city centre is easy: the Airport Express regional trains reach the Hauptbahnhof in about 30 minutes, and S-Bahn lines S9 and S45 serve other districts. Validate the card when you take your first ride.

Berlin's network runs around the clock on the main lines, with U-Bahn trains every few minutes during the day and night buses replacing most metro lines after midnight on weekdays. Zone B extends from the S-Bahn Ring to the city limits, covering districts such as Spandau and Köpenick, while zone C reaches the surrounding towns. Keep the card with you at all times, as inspectors check tickets on board.

Potsdam and the palaces of Sanssouci

Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg, sits just south-west of Berlin in zone C, so a Potsdam day trip from Berlin costs nothing extra with this card. Regional trains from the Hauptbahnhof take about 25 minutes, and the S7 takes around 40. The city was the summer residence of the Prussian kings, and its palaces and parks are listed by UNESCO together with those of Berlin.

The highlight is Sanssouci Park, with the rococo Sanssouci Palace above its terraced garden slope, the vast New Palace and the Chinese House, all set among fountains and avenues. Potsdam's old town adds the brick gabled houses of the Dutch Quarter and the Cecilienhof Palace, where the Allied leaders met in 1945. Palace tickets are separate; plan a full day.

Sachsenhausen Memorial in Oranienburg

The Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum stands on the site of the concentration camp that operated in Oranienburg, north of Berlin, from 1936 to 1945. It was a model camp for the whole system and later used as a Soviet special camp. Today the preserved gate, the roll-call ground, barracks and exhibitions tell the story of the prisoners with great care, and a visit is a moving and important experience.

Oranienburg is in zone C, so the card covers the S-Bahn line S1 or the regional train from central Berlin, about 45 minutes, followed by a 20-minute walk or a short bus ride to the memorial. Entry to the site is free. Allow at least three hours, and note that some indoor exhibitions close on Mondays in the winter season.

Partner attractions and discounts

Beyond transport, the Berlin WelcomeCard gives discounts of 25 to 50 percent at partner attractions across the city. Among them are the TV Tower on Alexanderplatz, whose viewing sphere at 203 metres offers the highest view in Berlin, the hands-on DDR Museum about daily life in East Germany, Charlottenburg Palace, the largest palace in the city, the German Spy Museum and the Panoramapunkt viewing deck at Potsdamer Platz.

Discounts also apply to many boat trips on the Spree, theatres, the German Historical Museum, the German Museum of Technology, the Tierpark zoo and the Gardens of the World. Show your card at the ticket desk before paying to receive the reduction. Berlin TV Tower tickets are best booked for a time slot in advance, so check availability before you go.