Nightlife

Berlin’s nightlife is not a myth. The clubs are real, the hours are real, and the culture that has built up around them is genuinely distinct from anywhere else. But it’s worth understanding what you’re getting into before you show up on a Friday night expecting to walk into Berghain.

The club scene is the most well-known part. Berghain, Tresor, Watergate, Sisyphos, About Blank — these are the venues that the city is famous for, and they live up to their reputations in different ways. The queues are real, the door policies are real, and the experience inside is unlike most clubs in the world. But the scene extends well beyond them. Smaller clubs, one-night venues in borrowed spaces, outdoor parties in summer, and a constantly shifting landscape of new projects mean that the city’s nightlife is never static.

Bars are the other half of the picture. Berlin has an enormous number of bars at every price point and in every style. Dive bars in Neukölln and Friedrichshain that open at 6pm and feel like they’ve been there forever. Natural wine bars in Kreuzberg run by people who take it seriously. Cocktail bars that opened last year and already have a queue on weekends. Kneipe culture — the traditional Berlin pub — is alive in older neighbourhoods if you know where to find it.

The city runs late in a way that affects everything else. Dinner at 9pm is normal. A concert that starts at 11pm is unremarkable. These guides help you find what’s worth staying up for.