10Best Loves Berlin in Spring and Fall

Berlin gets icy cold in the winter and hot and humid in the summer, not to mention the crowds you'll have to face during summer vacation and the Christmas holiday. When you visit Berlin during the city's shoulder seasons in spring and fall, you'll enjoy discounts on hotels and airfare while still benefiting from relatively warm weather and sparse tourist crowds.

Spring comes late in Berlin -- usually lasting from mid-March through the month of April -- and with it comes sunshine, colorful floral displays and locals emerging to soak up the vitamin D they've been deprived of all winter. Aside from visiting Berlin's best attractions, you can sunbathe in the city's many green spaces and check out what's blooming in the gardens. If you're lucky, you might catch the stunning display of cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden.

September might just be the perfect month to plan a trip to this German capital. Temperatures still hover in the 70s, and aside from the occasional rainy day, you can expect plenty of sunshine and none of the crowds of summer. Enjoy people watching from the city's outdoor cafes or do some leaf peeping in the Britzer or Botanical Gardens. Autumn in Berlin also brings a great lineup of events. Berlin Festival starts up in September and carries on throughout October with a host of international opera, theater and orchestral performances.

While spring and autumn are excellent times to visit Berlin, both seasons require a little extra planning when it comes to packing. Even in April or September, you might have that one chilly day, so bring plenty of layers and be ready for any condition. Luckily, Berlin is full of things to do even when the weather isn't ideal.