How much does it cost to visit Berlin? A locals perspective

Is Berlin cheap or expensive? In the past there’s been a variety of ways of measuring the cost of visiting a city. The Economist, as you may remember, came up with the Big Mac Index to give you an idea of your purchasing power across different countries. The Post Office in the UK has a Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer where they monitor the price of eight typical items that tourists buy when they visit a destination. Some of the stuff they measure feels pretty useless to me: the price of coke, bottled water, sunscreen and cigarettes. Is that really what you need to know before visiting a city?

I wanted to come up with a guide to the cost of visiting Berlin, one that reflects the things travellers actually look for. With my 14 years experience of living in Berlin and help from a few fellow Berliners, I narrowed it down to these items.

1. Cost of a night in a hostel in Berlin is…

You have a wide variety of hostels to choose when visiting Berlin. I have just updated my guide to the best hostels in Berlin but to summarise, if you are looking for something cheap and not so cheerful, then you have the option of staying at the A&O Hostel, not too far from the city’s main train station. Honestly, their hostels are depressing and it is also in a part of town which has not much going on- worst introduction to Berlin. If you are on a tight budget, then I would recommend Die Fabrik in Kreuzberg which has a great location or Industriepalast Hostel in Warschauer Strasse is great, also purely in terms of location. Rooms for a bed in a dorm start at around €20-€25 a night. Or the Sunflower Hostel is also great value for their capsule dorms.

2. A decent cup of coffee in Berlin costs…

A cappuccino or americano at any späti (corner store) is still your cheapest option. For something better, LAP coffee , a popular chain coffee that is mushrooming all over Berlin, has espressos from €1.50 and Americano coffee from €2.

3. Favourite visitor attraction in Berlin?

Still good news: my favourite Berlin visitor attractions are free. Whether you want to visit the Urban Art Gallery ( a museum dedicated to urban art ) the Bundestag’s glass dome (free, but you need to book a slot in advance online), and Tempelhofer Feld, the old airfield turned park, remain unmissable and cost nothing beyond your time. Here is my guide to the best things to do in Berlin for free.

4. Best and cheapest way from Berlin Brandenburg (BER) airport to the city?

Berlin now has just the one main airport, BER aka Berlin Brandenburg since Berlin Tegel and Berlin Schönefeld closed. A bus and S-Bahn or U-Bahn combination remains the cheapest route in. As of today, a single tickets covering the airport zone (tariff zone ABC) cost €5.00. If you’re staying more than a week, it’s worth thinking about investing in a Deutschlandticket at €63 a month, which covers the airport run plus everything else.

5. Best value lunch in Berlin

Kreuzberg is still the neighbourhood to head to for inventive, good-value lunches in Berlin. My favourite is Sahara Imbiss ( multiple branches in Kreuzberg and Neukolln ) for their falafell rolls with peanut sauce which cost €4.50. I used to go to Al Andalos in Neukolln where you can a small falafel roll for €1.50 but I see they have closed down so Sahara Imbiss is my recommendation, in terms of price and quality. Checkout my recently updated guide to the best cheap eats in Berlin

6. Best streetfood snack in Berlin?

The most iconic streetfood item to choose when in Berlin of course has to be currywurst. Konnopke Imbiss, in Prenzlauer Berg has been serving currywurst since 1930. A portion of currywurst starts from €3.80 and fries cost an additional €3.50.

The other star of Berlin’s streetfood scene has to be the doner kebab which was invented by Kadir Nurman who started serving fron a small street-food stall near Zoologischer Garten train station in 1972.

One of the best cheapest doner kebabs in Berlin is Gemüse Kebap ( Address: Boxhagener Str. 50, 10245 Berlin, Germany. Costs just €3.99. They also do an excellent seitan durum too!

7. Cheapest beer in Berlin?

Beer is no longer cheap, compared to €2 beers I could buy back when I moved to Berlin in 2012.

Cheapest beer in Berlin – Spatis or late night kiosks which are spread throughout the city, serve a wide range of German, Czech and Polish beers. Most have the odd bench outside, so if you’re lucky you might be able to bag a seat. My hood, Prenzlauer Berg , I have seen a spati next to Eberswalder sell Sternberg, ( iconic beer from Leipzig) sell for as little as €0.70!

Queer friendly alternative bar ( with a football table in the basement ) Tristeza ( Pannierstraße 5, 12047 Berlin in Neukölln) offers Sterni’s for €2.20 ( need to check current prices) and draft beer starts at €3.50. For the cheapest beer in Europe, checkout my Cheap Beer Index

8. A day travel pass in Berlin costs…

The single AB ticket rose to €4.00, and the day ticket (Tageskarte AB), covering unlimited travel within the city for 24 hours,costs €11.20.

Cost of a bed in a dorm	€25
Decent cup of coffee	€2.00
Your favourite visitor attraction in the city	€0.00
Best and cheapest way from the airport to the city.	€5.00
Best value lunch in the city	€16.50
Best streetfood snack in town	€3.99
Pint of beer	€0.70
A day travel pass	€11.20
TOTAL	€96.20