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Berlin Nightlife

Berlin is one of Europe's most exciting and best-value party cities, a byword for alternative culture and nightlife without taboo. West Berlin is the favoured hang out of a wealthier and older crowd, while east Berlin and Kreuzberg are where the real action can be found. Berlin is also a great place to see live music. Whether it’s local bands or international stars on world tours, tickets in Berlin rarely sell out anywhere, making music far more accessible on short visits than in other major European capitals. There are also world-class theatre and opera performances and a comprehensive array of museums and galleries to choose from. Beyond this, there are all the expressions of the counterculture for which Berlin is famous, particularly in Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Friedrichshain.

Nightlife listings can be found in Zitty (www.zitty.de), Tip (www.tip-berlin.de) and Prinz (www.prinz.de) magazines. There are also club listings in the free magazine 030 (www.berlin030.de) and in the main English language paper ExBerliner (www.exberliner.com). Tickets to cultural events are available from Visit Berlin (tel: (030) 250 025; www.visitberlin.de) or directly through most venues. Tourist information offices sell tickets for the day's events at up to 50% reduction.

Bars in Berlin

Club Der Visionaere

This fantastic canal-side bar makes for one of Berlin's best summer drinking experiences. Largely outdoor, the drinking area extends to pontoons moored to the banks of the canal, which can be a challenge to negotiate after a few beers. The crowd is achingly hip and beautiful and the entire place is rocking after dark whenever it's warm. Check the website for opening details - in bad weather it stays shut.

Am Flutgraben, 12435 Berlin
Tel: (030) 6951 8942.
www.clubdervisionaere.de

Möbel Olfe

This Kreuzberg favourite is home from home to a trendy, international 20s and 30s crowd who pack into this old furniture shop to hear some of Berlin's best DJs and imbibe cheap cocktails. Thursday is gay night. It's set back slightly from the main junction at Kotbusser Tor - the entrance is actually around the back on Dresdener Strasse.

Reichenberger Strasse 117, 10999 Berlin
Tel: (030) 2327 4690.
www.moebel-olfe.de

Prater

A great favourite for locals and visitors alike, this expansive restaurant has a fantastic beer garden (Berlin's oldest!) that is a great spot to sample a large glass of Berlin pilsner and a freshly baked pretzel in the warmer months. In the height of summer, the garden is always rammed and its 600 seats in big demand, but the crowd is a very friendly one, so you'll soon find a seat.

Kastanienallee 7-9, 10435 Berlin
Tel: (030) 448 5688.
www.pratergarten.de

Clubs in Berlin

Berghain

Look no further for the ultimate Berlin techno experience - Berghain is it. A converted East German power station that has been converted into a palace to partying, this is not the place for a quiet evening out. Come early, or expect a long wait to get in, and dress well - entry is selective. Once inside, enjoy the extraordinary main dance floor or the funky upstairs Panorama Bar. Check the website for opening times as they vary.

Am Wriezener Bahnhof 1, 10243 Berlin
Tel: (030) 2936 0210.
www.berghain.de

Watergate

The lights at this benchmark Berlin club are simply astounding - this Kreuzberg club is another palace of a place that attracts a young and international crowd and hosts some of Berlin's hottest DJs and most popular parties. Music is mainly techno and house, but varies according to the party. The studenty crowd seems to love the river-view outside terrace more than anything else.

Falckensteinstrasse 49, 10997 Berlin
Tel: (030) 6128 0395.
www.water-gate.de

White Trash Fast Food

Another long-standing Berlin favourite, this expansive bar-club-restaurant-tattoo parlour offers a fun, trashy night out in a crowd of alternative types you might expect to see more readily in punky Kreuzberg than yuppie-packed Mitte. Staff work behind caged-off bars and DJs and live acts play nightly.

Schönhauser Allee 6-7, 10119 Berlin
Tel: (030) 5034 8668.
www.whitetrashfastfood.com

Live Music in Berlin

A Trane Jazzclub

This Charlottenburg jazz emporium is widely considered to be Berlin's best nightspot for live music. Open every night, it presents jazz performers from around the world, and has hosted many famous names over its long history.

Bleibtreustrasse 1, 10625 Berlin
Tel: (030) 313 2550.
www.a-trane.de

Bang Bang Club

This brilliant little venue under the arches of the S-Bahn at Hackescher Markt hosts live music most nights of the week in its dark, two-floor interior. Bands from all over Europe and North America play here, and there's often kicking club nights afterwards as well.

Neue Promenade 10, 10178 Berlin
Tel: (030) 6040 5310.
www.bangbangclub.net

Columbiahalle

One of Berlin's premier rock venues, this long time Tempelhof favourite still books the best bands and singers in Berlin, as well as offering a full programme of other events.

Columbiadamm 13-21, 10965 Berlin
Tel: (030) 698 0980.
www.columbiahalle.de

Culture in Berlin

Berliner Ensemble

The neo-baroque Berliner Ensemble was built before the turn of the century, as the Neues Theater. It was taken over by Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel and its resident company continues to show performances from Brecht's works, as well as classical and modern pieces, making it a place of homage for any Brecht fan.

Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1, 10117 Berlin
Tel: (030) 284 080.
www.berliner-ensemble.de

Philharmonie

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is renowned worldwide and its sublime performance space, the Philharmonie, matches their reputation. Within the venue, the Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie hosts chamber players, soloists and small orchestras.

Herbert-von-Karajan-Strasse 1, 10785 Berlin
Tel: (030) 2548 8999.
www.berliner-philharmoniker.de

Staatsoper Unter den Linden

The premier venue for opera, ballet and concerts was built in the 18th century, as the Court Opera House. Today, the State Opera House is under the artistic and musical direction of Daniel Barenboim and stages classical and modern opera, as well as ballet, operettas and concerts.

Unter den Linden 7, 10117 Berlin
Tel: (030) 2035 4555.
www.staatsoper-berlin.de

Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

For non-conformist and unconventional theatre and dance, the Volksbühne (‘people’s stage’) is one of the top venues in Berlin and its modern reinterpretation of drama and productions of new writing are often the talk of the town. Performances are normally only in German, however.

Linienstrasse 227, 10178 Berlin
Tel: (030) 240 655.
www.volksbuehne-berlin.de

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