Berlin Nightlife Tips
Read these 48 Berlin Nightlife Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about German tips and hundreds of other topics.
Call a cab
Out on the town and no nightbus? Call a cab with one of the following numbers:
26 10 26
21 01 01
44 33 22
6 90 22.
You can specify smoking or non-smoking.
Cafe Swing
Cafe Swing has been around forever (at least for 20 years!). It was fully renovated in 1998, but the basic atmosphere has not changed. Expect to find an "in-crowd" and prices in the midrange. It gets crowded on weekends, particularly if there are concerts at the Loft or Metropol over the street. You can sit outside and watch the busy streetlife. This cafe is an institution.
Nollendorfplatz 3 - 4
subway: Nollendorfplatz
open daily 9 a.m. - 4 a.m.
Metropol
The Metropol contains a cafe, a historic discotheque and concert hall, a big bar on the ground floor & the legendary Loft music club upstairs. Aways a good place to get to know people. Highly recommended.
Nollendorfplatz 5
subway: Nollendorfplatz
open Friday & Saturday from 9 p.m in winter, from 10 p.m. in summer. Admission for special events (ca. DM 10 - 20), student reduction.
Schwarzes Cafe
This cafe has been around for over 20 years, but it is still trendy. Open round the clock and at a central location. Quiet. Good coffee.
Kantstrasse 148
S-Bahn Savignyplatz
Open 24 hours a day
Cafe Anfall
Cafe Anfall ( = "Cafe Fit", as in nervous breakdown) is a 'scene' cafe and always very crowded. However, it provides you with plenty of entertainment, interesting people and the odd surprise. Varied music and DJs. Recommended.
Gneisenaustrasse 64
Subway Suedstern
Open daily from 4 p.m. - 4 a.m., excluding Mondays (9 p.m. - 4 a.m.)
Guppi Bar
Guppi is a new gay bar featuring special events (parties, DJs, music) on weekends. Musicstyles: house, charts, rap. Inexpensive drinks. No entrance fee except for special parties (DM 7). Located at Gleimstrasse, next to CinemaXX, Prenzlauer Berg. Open from 10 a.m. - very late at night.
Cafe am Ufer
This quiet cafe is situated on the banks of a canal in Kreuzberg. Very nice for an evening out with friends. Also an excellent choice for a late breakfast, or as a starting point for a sightseeing trip into Kreuzberg.
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44
subway: Kottbusser Tor
open daily 9 a.m. - 1 a.m., Saturdau & Sunday open until 2 a.m.
Berlin by night boat tours
These tours take place on weekends and public holidays. You will be provided with a meal, a theater performance or music. Find out details about dates and times in the program magazines "Tip" or "Zitty".
Subway 9 nightline
Subway 9 (Rathaus Steglitz to Osloer Strasse) runs from 1 a.m. - 5 a.m. in intervals of 15 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays. Check for details on the message boards on the platform.
90 Grad Update
I received an update about the popular 90 Grad club from reliable sources: Recently a bouncer turned away Britney Spears from the already crowded club! The outrage! The scandal! - The bouncer was fired, but half of Berlin laughed themselves silly. - So what does this teach us? It teaches us to seek out an alternative in the neighborhood in case we cannot get in. After all, if even ole Britney cannot enter, who can :-) ?
Hiring a cab at a cab stand
There are numerous cab stands all over town. To get a cab, go to the cab at the head of the line. Tell the driver your destination. If it is very far, he can decline, but it usually never happens. You will be expected to give a tip ranging between DM 1 and 5. Most cabbies are talkative and a good source for tourist information, so don't hesitate to ask them questions.
Floez Jazzclub
The Floez is a traditional jazz cellar known all over Germany. Concerts start at 9 30 p.m., the bar is open from 8 p.m. - 2 a.m.. Expect a somewhat older crowd, 30 - 50. Has a nice backyard, where you can sit.
Nassauische Strasse 37
subway: Guentzelstrasse
Tresor/Globus
This is one of Berlin's oldest techno clubs with resident DJs and guests from all over the world. It can get very crowded on weekends. Located at Leipziger Strasse 126 a, subway stop Mohrenstrasse or Potsdamer Platz. Definitely worth seeing.
Destille cafe & bar
At the Destille, you can watch live sports on a big screen (multiplex). Also a nice bar for meeting friends and making new acquaintances. Mehringdamm 67 (Kreuzberg), subway stop Mehringdamm.
Delicious Doughnuts
Delicious Doughnuts is a small but popular club with a good array of dance music. You can hear Japanese pop, jazz funk, electrolounge or garage, depending on the theme of the night. The club is usually very crowded. Rosenthaler Strasse 9 (Mitte).
Die Insel on the Freundschaftsinsel
The Island on Friendship Island is a cafe, bar, restaurant and disco located on a beautiful island. There is a festival of lights at the end of each summer.
Freundschaftsinsel Potsdam
S-Bahn Potsdam Stadt
phone: + (49) 331 - 29 40 84
open: 10 a.m. - midnight
Knaack-Club
Knaack-Club used to be an East German youth club. Nowadays, it is a disco with 3 kinds of music and the occasional concert. Also some bars and a billiards cafe. Haven't been there in a while, but I can still recommend the place.
Greifswalder Strasse 224
S-Bahn Greifswalder Str., bus 100, tram 2,3,4
Open Wednesdays from 8 p.m., Friday & Saturday from 9 p.m., Billiards Cafe open daily from 11 p.m. (admission)
Sundance Restaurant
A bar and restaurant with outdoor serving (ideal for very late meals) and Australian beer. hasenheide 58, subway Suedstern, open daily from 10 a.m., open end. Food is served until midnight.
Terminal Disco
This mega disco is located at Tempelhof airport, hence the name. Lots of events and parties. Columbiadamm 81, Tempelhof airport, subway Platz der Luftbruecke.
Wild at Heart
This club is a Kreuzberg classic. A varied program of bands, other live acts,, DJs and guests. Located at Wienerstrasse 20 (Kreuzberg), subway stop Goerlitzer Bahnhof, bus 129 (get off at Spreewaldplatz). Opens at 8 p.m., open end.
Abba Lounge
Abba Lounge is a cocktail bar with a well-concealed and claustrophobic club within. Guarantees a good mix of funk and soul. Stredskistrasse 64 (Prenzlauer Berg), tram 20.
Paris Bar
Paris Bar is a popular haunt of the Berlin art & media crowd. Expect to see important persons, trendy artworks and exclusive food, but also a hefty bill. Place is expensive, but has a good atmosphere.
Kantstrasse 152,
subway Uhlandstrasse, city train Savignyplatz
open Monday - Saturday, noon - 1 a.m.
SO 36
SO 36 is aconcert hall with a long tradition (I longingly recall their legendary punk concerts of the 70's and 80's). Nowadays, they have theme nights (techno music on Mondays, gay and lesbian parties on Wednesdays and Sundays, crossovers on Thursdays, and so on). Check your "Tip" or "Zitty" mag for details.
Oranienstrasse 190
Subway Kottbusser Tor
Bus 129, Nightbus 29
open Monday, Thursday from 11 p.m., Wednesday from 10 p.m., Saturday from 9 p.m., Sunday from 7 p.m.
Admission around DM 10, more for special events
Schmalzwald Club
Schmalzwald is full of wall-to-wall kistch accompanied by live hammond organ music and off-key easy listening. Schlegelstrasse 26/27, subway Oranienburger Tor, tram 1.
Bar am Luetzowplatz
This is a chic bar with an international crowd and the longest counter in town. Happy hours between 5 and 9 p.m.. Luetzowplatz 7, subway Nollendorfplatz, bus 100, 109, 129, open daily 5 p.m. - 3 a.m., on weekends until 5 a.m..
Renaissance Theater
The Renaissance Theater puts on brilliant comedies in a centrally located theater. Knesebeckstrasse 100, corner to Hardenbergstrasse, subway: Ernst-Reuter-Platz. For information call: + (030) 312 42 02.
Rani
Rani, located on Winterfeldtplatz near the Nollendorfplatz, is not only one of the best Indian restaurants in town, but also a great place to meet people, watch the busy scene on the street and sample freshly squeezed juices or vegetarian dishes. The food is cheap & plentiful, the atmosphere is friendly, even if it is crowded. Highly recommended.
Goltzstrasse 32
subway: Nollendorfplatz, Eisenacher Strasse
open daily 9 a.m. - 1 a.m
Hard Rock Cafe
The Hard Rock Cafe Berlin is a great place for good food, drinks, record release parties and shopping (T-Shirts). Meineckestrasse 21, subway Kurfuerstendamm, open daily noon - 1 a.m.
Dicke Wirtin
Dicke Wirtin is a traditional pub with great food and drinks and a somewhat older crowd. Being over 30 is not a stigma here. Cornerstr. 9, S-Bahn Savignyplatz, open daily noon - 4 a.m..
Linientreu
Linientreu is a legend of Berlin nightlife, so expect to find lots of tourists there, too. The discotheque has some specials (e.g. Saturday parties with 80's music) and plays lots of techno.
Budapester Strasse 42
subway: Zoologischer Garten
open Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 10 p.m onwards, open end
Kumpelnest 3000
Kumpelnest 3000 is an ideal place to retreat to after a long night out on the town. You'll enjoy the decor and the atmosphere - this place used to be a brothel! It is rather unique, but not expensive, centrally located, and seems to stay open forever. You can watch a cross-section of all the different scenes there. However, it tends to get very crowded on weekends.
Luetzowstrasse 23
subway Kurfuerstenstrasse, nightbus 19
open daily 5 p.m. - 5 a.m.
open end on weekends
Cafe Einstein
This cafe is actually a Viennese-style coffeehouse, a traditional meeting place for writers, journalists and artists. Readings are common. The atmosphere is quiet and cultivated. There is a good selection of newspapers and magazines. The food, however, is expensive.
Kurfuerstenstrasse 58
subway: Wittenbergplatz
open daily 10 a.m. - 2 a.m.
Duncker Club
Go to the Duncker Club if you're into new wave, goth, industrial avant-garde & the like. Young crowd. Daily program.
Dunckerstrasse 64
Subway Eberswalder Strasse
S-Bahn Prenzlauer Berg
Open Friday - Monday, 10 pm - open end
Admission ca DM 10
Yorckschloesschen
This is a nice place with a beergarden and music. Located at Yorkstrasse 15, subway stop Yorkstrasse (U7).
Cafe Lux
Cafe Lux was my favorite cafe, as it is not as 'trendy', crowded or full of obnoxious people as Cafe M (which is next door). Good breakfast (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.), nice sightseeing (guests), decent beer & drinks prices. Recommended.
Goltzstrasse 35
Subway Eisenacher Strasse or Nollendorfplatz
Open daily 9 a.m. - 2 a.m.
