Berlin is a city of contrasts, freedom and constant change. Between rave and vernissage, trendy bar and Späti, the metropolis combines style, hedonism and a very special lightness.
Red velvet, antique wooden benches, elegant murals and a golden disco ball as a landmark and reminder of the building's glorious history; the "Luna d'Oro" restaurant opened around a year ago in the carefully renovated dance hall of "Clärchens Ballhaus", the Berlin institution on Auguststraße.
Where Charleston and Foxtrot swirled through the nights a hundred years ago, German cuisine classics and excellent espresso martinis are now served. One floor above, in the old hall of mirrors, people still dance today: swing, salsa, tango. It's also wonderful to sit outside, under trees with fairy lights at the back. The Mitte bohemians meet at the nearby Gipsdreieck with its wine bars in the fading afternoon light and later move on towards Torstraße.
The "Clärchens" is a fine example of what Berlin represents: an eventful history, legendary nights and the power to constantly reinvent itself. The dance clubs also tells of a cheerfulness that many do not at first associate with Berlin.
In this city, the night is more raw and anarchic than in probably any other European metropolis; it thrives on the call of freedom, on excess without a closing time and on its electronic music scene - but there is more to the myth of Berlin as the eternal party city than rave and the unrestrained desire for intoxication. Whether it's Gallery Weekend, Art Week or a small vernissage, whether it's a party dinner, a natural wine bar, a trendy bar or a casual drink at a Späti: Berlin always combines style with its hedonism.
The nightlife districts are Mitte, Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Friedrichshain. The old west (Charlottenburg, Kantstraße, Savignyplatz) is worth a detour. Queer scene around Nollendorfplatz, but actually everywhere. Berghain, Tresor and Sisyphos are among the legendary techno clubs.
Cult restaurants with a celebrity factor: Borchardt (politics, media), Paris Bar (cultural workers, artists), Grill Royale (all). For a good drink with Veronika in the Fotografiska Museum, Buck & Breck (speakeasy), Green Door Bar (Schöneberg), Bar Tausend (hidden under S-Bahn tracks) and Velvet.
For theatre, shows, vaudeville, performance, discourse: Friedrichstadt-Palast (largest stage in Europe), Berliner Ensemble, Volksbühne.
Route