Berlin WelcomeCard: Prices, Discounts and Is It Worth It?

The Berlin WelcomeCard is the city's official tourist card: depending on the version, it combines unlimited transport and discounts at more than 170 partners. It is sold everywhere, from the airports to hotels, and often appears in lists of "good deals". But is it worth it? This guide gives the prices seen in October 2026, what each version includes, examples of discounts at the most visited places, a simple calculation to decide, and the alternatives. To compare it with the other city cards, see our guide to Berlin tourist cards.

The Berlin WelcomeCard in brief

The card comes in several versions, all valid from 48 hours to 6 days:

Classic WelcomeCard: unlimited transport in the chosen zone, plus discounts of 25% to 50% at more than 170 partners, in Berlin and Potsdam.
WelcomeCard Basic: no transport, discounts only: 10 € for 72 hours and 15 € for 6 days.
WelcomeCard + Museum Island: the classic card with admission to the museums of Museum Island, from 62 €.
WelcomeCard all inclusive: from 99 €, with free admission to more than 25 sights and museums.

Berlin WelcomeCard prices

Panorama of central Berlin: the Spree, the television tower and the cathedral

Prices of the classic card, in zone AB (Berlin) or ABC (Berlin, Potsdam and BER airport):

Duration	Zone AB	Zone ABC
48 hours	28.50 €	34.50 €
72 hours	39.50 €	45.50 €
4 days	49.50 €	56.50 €
5 days	53.50 €	59.50 €
6 days	58.50 €	63.50 €

With the card, an adult can take up to three children aged 6 to 14 free of charge; children under 6 travel free. From age 15, a card or ticket is needed. The card cannot be extended, and you cannot change zone along the way.

What the card includes

Transport. The card covers the metro, S-Bahn, tram, bus and ferries of the chosen zone for its period of validity, counted from validation of the ticket or from the time printed on an online ticket. You need zone ABC to go to BER airport and Potsdam. To understand zones and validation, see our guide to public transport in Berlin.

Discounts. They range from 25% to 50% off the normal price, depending on the partner, and are listed in the card's free app. They do not apply everywhere: for example, the card is not valid for Berliner Unterwelten tours. Always check the list in the app before buying your ticket.

Discounts at the most visited places

Place	Benefit with the WelcomeCard
Television Tower	25% off (card's official website)
Madame Tussauds	25% off (card's official website)
DDR Museum	25% off the full price, at the ticket office only
Berlin Cathedral	11 € instead of 15 €
Spy Museum	Special rate for cardholders
Berlin Zoo	Card partner: check the discount in the app
Charlottenburg Palace	Card partner: check the discount in the app

Prices seen in October 2026; percentages and conditions may change, so check them before buying.

Is the WelcomeCard worth it?

The calculation is simple. Two 24-hour tickets in zone AB cost 22.40 €, three cost 33.60 €. The 48-hour card therefore costs 6.10 € more than transport alone, and the 72-hour card 5.90 € more (see also our guide to the budget for a trip to Berlin). The discounts therefore have to cover that extra cost.

Example: at the cathedral you save 4 € (11 € instead of 15 €); at the DDR Museum, a quarter of the full price of 13.90 €, about 3.50 €. These two visits are enough to cover the 48-hour card. On the other hand, if your programme revolves around free memorials, parks and walks, plain 24-hour tickets are cheaper.

The card is really worthwhile in three cases:

you travel as a family, with several children aged 6 to 14 who travel free;
you plan several paid partner sights (television tower, Madame Tussauds, cathedral, DDR Museum);
you are going to Potsdam or BER airport and buy zone ABC, which saves a separate ticket.

Alternatives to the WelcomeCard

24-hour tickets or the small-group ticket: the cheapest if you mostly visit free places.
Museumspass Berlin: 32 € for three consecutive days and more than 30 museums; it pays off from three major museums (see our guide to the Museumspass).
CityTourCard: the 72-hour AB card costs 35.60 €.
Deutschlandticket: worth comparing if you stay a long time; see the transport guide.

To choose, add up the entry prices of what you really want to see. The free activities in Berlin often reduce the value of a paid card.

Practical information

Where to buy it

The card is sold at BVG machines and counters, tourist information centres, BER airport, hotels and online on the card's official website. It also exists in digital form: the free app stores tickets bought online and shows the partners, including offline.

When to use it

For printed cards, validity starts at validation. For online tickets, it starts at the time shown on the ticket. Choose your start time carefully: a 48-hour card started at 15:00 ends two days later at 15:00.

Our advice

For a two-day weekend, the 48-hour card is only justified with several paid sights. For three days or more, compare with the Museumspass and 24-hour tickets before choosing.