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Nightlife
Berlin is quite simply one of Europe’s most effervescent party cities. The old divides are still there when it comes to nightlife and the Western centre, somewhat ironically, lags behind the real action in the resurgent East. Berlin today is a byword for alternative culture and within the city pretty much anything goes. Punk and various forms of anarchy are struggling to survive among the style bars and yuppie haunts in Kreuzberg but the avant-garde cultural scene and accompanying drinking culture has moved on to Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and increasingly to Friedrichshain. Likewise, the city’s gay scene is divided between staid Schöneberg, Kreuzberg and edgier Prenzlauer Berg.
For a first-time visitor, Mitte is probably the better bet, starting around the Hackesche Höfe and working up Oranienburger Strasse to the numerous bars that first greeted the Western hordes after the Wall fell. Tacheles, at the end of the street, is worth a visit for the spirit of culture and anarchy it once implied. For the real experience of Berlin, however, it has to be Prenzlauer Berg (Prenzl’berg for short). Some of the more established places are reasonably easy to find but the real fun starts with the wild bars and impromptu clubs that seem to spring up from nowhere one week and disappearing forever the next.
Entry to bars is officially restricted to those 18 years and older. There is often a cover charge of around €2.50–10 for discos and nightclubs but given the city’s relaxed attitude to style, most do not have dress codes and there are no fixed closing times. The average price of a drink while out and about in Berlin is €5–6.
Listings can be found in Zitty (website: www.zitty.de), Tip (website: www.tip-berlin.de) and Prinz (website: www.prinz.de) magazines. There are also club listings in the free magazines, Flyer (website: www.flyer.de/berlin) and 030 (website: www.berlin030.de).
Bars: For those looking to spend their money in a trendy atmosphere, the Bar am Lützowplatz, Lützowplatz 7 (website: www.baramLuetzowplatz.com), between the Tiergarten and U-Bahn Nollendorfplatz, offers high-priced cocktails. On the other side of Nollendorfplatz is Hafen, Motzstrasse 19, a popular gay bar. Other established bars are Wirtschaftwunder, Yorckstrasse 81, with 1950s decor, and the small, crowded Zoulou Bar, Hauptstrasse 4, which always has an interesting mix of people.
Bars line the scruffy streets of Oranienstrasse and Wiener Strasse in Kreuzberg, many doubling up as cafés during the day. Café Bar Morena, Wiener Strasse 60, is an institution. The nearby Wiener Blut, Weiner Strasse 13, is a good local, while Madonna, Weiner Strasse 22, is a bit rougher.
In East Berlin, there are too many things happening to list them all here. Good places to start on Oranienburger Strasse (the geile Meile) are the funky Bar Lounge 808, Oranienburger Strasse 42–43, Reingold, Novalisstrasse 11, for cocktails and jazz, or Mitte Bar, Oranienburger Strasse 46, which is popular as much with the arty local set as it is with students. There is also the well-established Obst und Gemuse, Oranienburger Strasse 48/49. In trendy Prenzlauer Berg, the most buzzing bars are the hip-hop temple, H20, Kastanienalle 16, and Prater, Kastienalle 7–9, with its beer garden, theatre and bar. You can also try Icon, Cantianstrasse 15.
The most unusual bars in the city are the unsicht-Bar, Gormannstrasse, and the Nocti Vagus, Saarbruecker Strasse 36–38, both of which serve food and drink in complete darkness. During 2003, both venues will stage events such as music evenings, plays and scent experiences.
Cabaret: The legacy of 1930s Berlin and Marlene Dietrich lives on. Over-the-top commercial cabaret is best seen at the Friedrichstadtpalast, Friedrichstrasse 107 (website: www.friedrichstadtpalast.de), with musical revues that combine glittering costumes with elements of dance and theatre into the floorshows at one of Europe’s largest revue theatres. Wintergarten – Das Varieté, Potsdamer Strasse 96 (website: www.wintergarten-variete.de), offers dinner and variety shows. More off beat shows can be found at independent venues in the area to the north of the Hackesche Höfe and in Prenzlauer Berg.
Casinos: Spielbank Berlin is part of the new Potsdamer Platz development and is located opposite the Grand Hyatt hotel, Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 (website: www.spielbank-berlin.de). There is no specific dress code, although a passport is required, along with the €5.11 entry fee. The casino is open daily 1130–0300 to those aged 18 years and over; guests must bring identification, such as a passport. Casino Berlin, situated on the 37th floor of the Forum Hotel, Alexanderplatz, is open daily 1500–0300. The entrance fee is €5 and a jacket and tie are required. Players must be over 18 years and a passport is required for entry.
Clubs: There are a number of tourist-orientated discos in the Ku’damm area but a better bet in West Berlin is 90 Grad, Dennewitzstrasse 37, with a young crowd dancing to funky beats and house on the gay nights (Thursday and Saturday). SO36, Oranienstrasse 190, in Kreuzberg, has different moods and music styles, depending on the night. It also hosts concerts. Then there is the singles-orientated Balhaus Berlin, Chausseestrasse 102, where you can invite people to dance via a telephone on your table.
There is an eclectic array of clubs in East Berlin. In Mitte, one of the current hip places to see and be seen is the Sage-Club, Köpenicker Strasse 78, with its painfully trendy atmosphere and plenty of up-front house music. In Prenzlauer Berg, Knaack Club, Greifswalder Strasse 224, is a multilevel club with a wide variety of sounds and concerts early in the week, whileHavanna, Haupstrasse 30, offers salsa, merengue and funk. The halcyon days of out-and-out techno (the soundtrack for the fall of the Wall in 1989) live on in Casino, Mühlenstrasse, and in Matrix, Warschauer Platz 18.
Comedy: The Quatsch Comedy Club can be found on Friedrichstrasse 107 (website: www.quatschcomedyclub.de). Acts are stand up and sometimes include double acts.
Live music: In addition to the clubs that double up as live music venues mentioned above, Berlin has a variety of spots in which to witness live bands. The jazz and blues scene is particularly happening and popular spots include A Trane Jazzclub, Bleibtreustrasse 1, and B-Flat, Rosenthaler Strasse 13, as well as some nights at Flöz, Nassauische Strasse 37, and Quasimodo, Kantstrasse 12A. Major rock concerts take place at Columbiahalle, Columbiadamm 13–21 (website: www.columbiahalle.de), and occasionally at large sporting venues like the Velodrom, Paul-Heyse-Strasse 26, Prenzlauer Berg, and Max-Schmeling-Halle, Am Falkplatz, Prenzlauer Berg. Open-air concerts are held at the Waldbühne, Am Glockenturm, near the Olympic Stadium.
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