London vs Berlin
Which would you pick?
The short answer
Berlin is the cheaper trip, by roughly 26% a day — $130–210 against $180–280 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in May–Jun, Sep, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇬🇧 London | 🇩🇪 Berlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $180–280 | $130–210cheaper |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $10–18 | $7–10cheaper |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $190–320 | $125–205cheaper |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $3.70cheaper | $4.60 |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $3,700 | ≈ $3,300 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇬🇧 London
Two thousand years of city stacked on itself — Roman walls under glass towers, world-class museums that cost nothing, and a pub on every corner that's older than your country.
- British Museum$Museums & galleries
- Shakespeare's Globe$Theater & shows
- Borough Market$$Markets & food
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese$Nightlife
- Tate Modern$Museums & galleries
🇩🇪 Berlin
A city that kept its scars on purpose — the Wall, the bullet-pocked facades, the memorials in the middle of everything — and then built the most relaxed capital in Europe around them. Cheap by Western standards, open all night, and not at all interested in impressing you.
- Reichstag dome$History & memorials
- Museum Island$$Museums & views
- Markthalle Neun$Food & markets
- Berghain$$Nightlife & outdoors
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe$History & memorials
Practicalities
| London | Berlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | English — though a quarter of a million Londoners speak something else at home first. | German — but English gets you through almost everything in Berlin, and in parts of Kreuzberg and Mitte it's the default. |
| Currency | Pound sterling (£). US$1 ≈ £0.79 | Euro (€). US$1 ≈ €0.88 |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0, UTC+1 in summer) | CET (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer) |
| Power | Type G plugs, 230V — the big three-pin ones; nothing else fits | Type C/F plugs, 230V — the standard continental two-pin |
| Tap water | Safe everywhere — restaurants must give you free tap water if you ask | Safe and heavily tested. Restaurants usually charge for water, tap included, so ask for a 'Leitungswasser' and don't be surprised if it's refused |
| Emergency | 999 or 112 · 111 for non-emergency medical advice | 112 fire & ambulance · 110 police · 116117 out-of-hours doctor |