Berlin on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Yes, Berlin is one of the best big Western European capitals for a budget trip, because so many of the main historic sites are free and street food is cheap. Plan on about €90 per person per day (bed in a shared double €45, food €25, sights €10, transport €8), or less in a hostel.
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | €45 | €80 | €170 |
| Food & drink | €25 | €45 | €90 |
| Sights & tickets | €10 | €25 | €50 |
| Local transport | €8 | €11 | €25 |
| Per person, per day | €88 | €161 | €335 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Berlin day-cost table.
Free things to do
- The Reichstag dome (free, register online in advance and bring ID)
- The Brandenburg Gate and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, with its free information centre
- The Topography of Terror documentation centre
- The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse
- The East Side Gallery, 1.3 km of painted Wall
- Tempelhofer Feld, the former airport turned park, and the Sunday Mauerpark flea market and karaoke
Cheap eats
- Currywurst from an Imbiss: roughly €3.50–5, €6–8 with fries
- Döner kebab: roughly €6–9
- Banh mi: roughly €6–9
- Gözleme at the Maybachufer market: roughly €4–6
- Berliner Pfannkuchen (jam doughnut) from a bakery: roughly €1.50–3
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers stay in Friedrichshain, near the East Side Gallery and the nightlife, where a double costs roughly €80–120 a night, or in Kreuzberg and Neukölln. Hostel dorm beds are often roughly €25–45 a night. A city tax of a percentage of the room price is added.
Getting around cheaply
Buy a 24-hour, 72-hour or 7-day AB ticket for the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses, or a short-trip ticket for a few stops; bike hire is also cheap and the city is flat. From BER airport, take the train on an ABC ticket (roughly €4.70–5 single), about 30 minutes to the Hauptbahnhof.
A sample budget day
- Morning: Bakery coffee and a Pfannkuchen (about €4), free Reichstag dome and Brandenburg Gate
- Lunch: Döner in Kreuzberg (about €8)
- Afternoon: Free Holocaust Memorial and Topography of Terror, then the Berlin Cathedral (about €10)
- Evening: Pho in a Vietnamese restaurant and a Späti beer by the canal (about €14)
- Total: about €90 with a budget bed (about €45) and a day of public transport (about €8)
More ways to save
- Register for the Reichstag dome several days ahead; it is free but slots fill.
- Rent a bike for a day instead of taking many short U-Bahn rides; Berlin is flat with good cycle lanes.
- Eat in Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Wedding, where döner, Turkish and Vietnamese food is cheapest.
- Visit in November or between January and March for lower room prices, avoiding fair and festival weeks.
- Picnic in Tiergarten, Tempelhofer Feld or Mauerpark with supermarket food rather than eating near the Brandenburg Gate.
- Carry some cash for cash-only bars and cafés, withdrawn from a bank ATM.
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Common questions
How much money do I need per day in Berlin?
About €90 per person on a budget, about €160 mid-range and about €335 in comfort, including a bed in a shared double.
What is free in Berlin?
The Reichstag dome, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial, the East Side Gallery and Tempelhofer Feld.
How do I get from BER airport cheaply?
Take the FEX express or a regional train to the Hauptbahnhof on an ABC public transport ticket, about 30 minutes.