Deutsche Bahn (DB, German Railways) runs sleek 300km/hr highspeed ICE (InterCity Express) trains, EC (EuroCity) and IC (InterCity) trains. Train tickets are considerably cheaper when purchased well in advance; book online at www.bahn.de and print print your own ticket. Cheap last-minute DB tickets for German destinations can be found at www.bahn.ltur.com. To explore the region, get the excellent-value Brandenburg-Berlin-Ticket which allows unlimited regional (RE) train travel for up to five people for one day, for €28 total (€21 after 18:00); for €39 the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket has a similar deal but for all Germany at weekends. The Quer-durchs-Land Ticket (€42 for one person, additional people €6 each) is the weekday version.
Berlin is well-connected to foreign cities by rail, with direct daily connections to Amsterdam, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Prague, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. (Picture: © Ansgar Koreng - CC BY 3.0 DE)