As the capital city of Germany, Berlin offers a wealth of historical sites of interest, from the Brandenburg Gate and City Cathedral to the East Side Gallery that features paintings applied directly onto some of the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall.

By using car hire, Berlin has some easily accessible and exciting destinations, including the DDR Museum and the Ferncenturn TV Tower for its views. You could even take a drive alongside the River Spree to visit Museum Island and its five internationally acclaimed museums or take a quick trip to visit the historic Reichstag.

Book a hire car with a pick-up from the Berlin airports of Tegel (TXL) or Schoenfeld (SXP) – soon to be replaced by the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) – and you'll find your journey easy and stress free.

With your Berlin car hire organised you may decide to take a drive to Museum Alley for its art galleries and museums, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall checkpoint, or Zoologischer Garten Berlin, the world's most species-diverse zoo. Or you could take a picnic to Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem and enjoy tea and cake in the elegant surroundings.

The cheapest car hire in Berlin is typically available when you compare prices online and book in advance. For most tourists, an airport pick up is the most convenient way of collecting their vehicle – all the major car rental companies have pick-up points there along with many local rental firms. Your vehicle can also be collected at some convenient downtown locations in Berlin. Use the TravelSupermarket search tool to compare the best prices on Berlin car hire.

When you rent a car, Berlin becomes a great city base for further exploration of the surrounding area.

Within easy driving distance of the city are the Jewish Museum and Memorial and the Saschenhausen Concentration Camp Museum. Many visitors enjoy a day of sightseeing at the Olympic Stadium and Tiergarten, whilst others choose to drive over to Charlottenburg or travel out to Potsdam.

Drive north towards Rostock for the Baltic Sea coast and beaches, or drive south to Dresden and Leipzig for more historical architecture and evocative medieval streets. The ancient city of Dresden is regarded as one of Germany’s cultural capitals. Here you’ll find a relaxed atmosphere and nightlife as well as dozens of superb galleries. It takes less than two hours to reach Dresden from Berlin by road. Leipzig, meanwhile, at a 90-minute drive from Berlin, is a curious and mesmerising metropolis of narrow winding streets and old passageways that weave around one of the rising stars of the German shopping scene.

A drive of 90 minutes will take you to Grunewald, a large forest to the south west of Charlottenburg. It’s a great place for a family picnic or, if you’re brave enough, a swim in the Wannsee or Schlachtensee – a couple of freshwater lakes within the forest. Art lovers should head towards Kulturforum, south of Tiergarten, where you’ll find some of the world’s finest galleries housing important European works. Just 20 minutes outside of the city, you’ll also find Berlin Zoo – regarded as one of Europe’s finest.