Berlin Nightlife
It is impossible to stroll the streets of Berlin without finding a pub, restaurant, café, theatre, nightclub or cinema. There is something for everyone in this vibrant city.
Since the re-unification of Germany, visitors will be able to find a large mixture of bars - from quieter watering holes in the east to the full glitz and glam of the west. Berlin's nightlife is varied and provides nocturnal activities for everyone, as well as offering considerably lower drinks prices than other European cities.
Western Berlin has four main areas for pubs and bars. Charlottenburg, which offers a party scene for goodtimers, Kreuzberg, where you will find your fair share of punks and political activists, with Nollendorf and Winterfeldplatz attracting a slightly more mature crowd.
Bar hopping within the various areas is simple and probably the best way to explore the city as locals tend to stick to one area at a time. However, be warned, prices in the west tend to be slightly higher as there are more options for the over 30 age group.
The eastern part of the city is home to a number of smaller, cosier bars, as well as a handful of more modern cafes and restaurants. Tourists are advised to check out the Berlin Mitte and Friedrichshain section where a clutch of trendy bars can be found. From Mitte, tourists work their way up the Oranienvurger Strasse to the bars that first greeted the hoards of West Germans after the Berlin Wall was brought down.
Prenzlauer Berg – or Prenzl'berg for short – is not to be missed. This is where some of Berlin's more established bars and clubs are. As well as a host of up-market restaurants, this area of the city offers some wild clubs and music venues that are open into the early hours.
If it is clubs that you are after, Berlin is the place to be. Although there are a number of tourist-orientated venues in the Ku'Damm region, it may be better to stick to some of the more well-known places such as 90 Grad, which attracts a young and trendy crowd on practically every night of the week and has two gay nights on Thursday and Saturday.
Berlin's gay scene is one of the largest and wildest in Europe, with the bars of Motzstrasse and Fuggerstasse in Schoneberg, Schonhauser Allee in Preuzlauer Berg and Oranienstrasse in Kreuzberg all enjoying a mixed crowd throughout the week.
Those looking to visit some classier drinking establishments should take a trip to the cocktail bars located between the Tiergarten and U-Bahn Nollendorfplatz. For an opportunity not to be missed, tourists are advised to visit the unsicht-Bar on Gormannstrasse and the Nocti Vagus, which both serve food and drink in complete darkness to heighten the senses.
For a more cultural night, don’t forget to take a trip to the Komische Oper, an opera house which stages comic performances. Berlin also has a record number of live music and cabaret venues.
Berlin is a city in which pretty much anything goes. It has something for everyone, with its avant-garde cultural scene, as well as a varied mix of up-beat bars and wild clubs.
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Nightlife
