Must-see entertainment in Berlin

  • Bearpit Karaoke

    Prenzlauer Berg

    On most summer Sundays, Berlin’s best free entertainment kicks off around 3pm when Joe Hatchiban sets up his custom-made mobile karaoke unit in the…

  • Berliner Philharmonie

    Berliner Philharmoniker

    Berlin

    One of the world's most famous orchestras, the Berliner Philharmoniker, is based at the tent-like Philharmonie, designed by Hans Scharoun in the 1950s and…

  • Komiche Oper, Opera

    Komische Oper

    Historic Mitte

    The smallest among Berlin's trio of opera houses is also its least stuffy, even if its flashy neo-baroque auditorium might suggest otherwise. Productions…

  • Cinestar Original im Sony Center, Cinema

    Cinestar Original im Sony Center

    Berlin

    A favourite among English-speaking expats and Germans, this state-of-the-art cinema with nine screens, comfy seats and top technology shows the latest…

  • Bar Jeder Vernunft

    City West & Charlottenburg

    Life’s still a cabaret at this intimate 1912 mirrored art nouveau tent theatre, one of Berlin's most beloved venues for sophisticated song-and-dance shows…

  • Staatsoper Berlin

    Historic Mitte

    After a seven-year exile, Berlin's most famous opera company is once again performing at the venerable neoclassical Staatsoper Unter den Linden, which…

  • Babylon

    Berlin

    This top-rated indie screens a smart line-up of cinematic expression, from new German films and international art-house flicks to themed retrospectives…

  • Schaubühne

    City West & Charlottenburg

    In a converted 1920s expressionist cinema by Erich Mendelsohn, Schaubühne is western Berlin's main stage for experimental, contemporary theatre, usually…

  • Freiluftkino Friedrichshain

    Friedrichshain

    Cradled by Volkspark Friedrichshain, this open-air cinema has seating for 1500 on comfortable benches with backrests, plus a lawn with space for 300 more…

  • Mercedes-Benz Arena

    Friedrichshain

    The jewel among Berlin’s multiuse indoor venues, this 17,000-seat arena regularly welcomes entertainment royalty such as Depeche Mode, Rihanna and Beyoncé…

  • Monbijou Theater

    Berlin

    Every summer, adoring theatre groupies descend upon this lovely outdoor amphitheatre near Museumsinsel (Museum Island) for crowd-pleasing classics (in…

  • Arsenal

    Berlin

    The antithesis of popcorn culture, this arty twin-screen cinema features a bold global flick schedule that hopscotches from Japanese satire to Brazilian…

  • Koka 36

    Kreuzberg

    Indie ticket agency, especially good for non-mainstream concerts and events, with great service and best-seat guarantee. Takes orders from out of the…

  • Deutsche Oper , Opera

    Deutsche Oper Berlin

    City West & Charlottenburg

    Founded by Berliners in 1912 as a counterpoint to the royal opera on Unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper presents a classic 19th-century opera repertory…

  • Maxim Gorki Theater, Theater

    Gorki

    Historic Mitte

    Artistic co-directors Shermin Langhoff and Jens Hillje have made the smallest of Berlin’s four state-funded theatres the dedicated home of what Langhoff…

  • Zoo Palast Exterior, Cinema

    Zoo Palast

    City West & Charlottenburg

    Old-school glamour meets state-of-the-art technology and comfort at this rejuvenated grand cinema, which saw international stars sashay over the red…

  • Spielbank, Casino

    Spielbank Berlin

    Berlin

    Vegas it ain't, but there are still plenty of opportunities to challenge Lady Luck over a game of poker, roulette or black jack at this casino. Slot…

  • A-Trane, Jazz Bar Entrance

    A-Trane

    City West & Charlottenburg

    Herbie Hancock and Diana Krall have graced the stage of this intimate jazz club, but mostly it’s emerging talent bringing their A-game to the A-Trane…

  • Blue Man Group, Theatre

    Blue Man Group

    Berlin

    This musical and visual extravaganza, starring slightly nutty and energetic guys dipped in Smurf-blue latex suits, performs at its own permanent theatre,…

  • Radialsystem V

    Friedrichshain

    'Space for arts and ideas' is the motto of this progressive performance space in an old riverside pump station. Its programming blurs the boundaries…

  • Kino Central

    Berlin

    This teensy, alternative cinema has a stealth location in the back of the graffiti-festooned courtyard of the Haus Schwarzenberg culture centre. It…

  • Freiluftkino Kreuzberg

    Kreuzberg

    This beloved open-air cinema screens international current-season, classic and cult flicks in digital quality on the courtyard lawn of the Kunstquartier…

  • Sophiensaele

    Berlin

    Back in the 1990s, Sascha Waltz transformed the Sophiensaele into Berlin’s number-one spot for experimental and avant-garde dance. Dance is still big here…

  • Chamäleon Theatre

    Berlin

    A marriage of art nouveau charms and high-tech theatre trappings, this intimate venue in a 1920s-style old ballroom hosts 'contemporary circus' shows that…

  • Lichtblick Kino

    Prenzlauer Berg

    With space for only 32 cineastes, there’s not a bad seat in the Lichtblick, one of Berlin’s smallest cinemas. It's run by a collective and known for its…

  • Silent Green Kulturquartier

    Berlin

    This event venue is part of the historic former Wedding crematorium and presents mostly experimental music, dance and other performances in the former…

  • Hebbel am Ufer

    Kreuzberg

    Germany’s most avant-garde and trailblazing theatre comes with a mission to explore changes in the social and political fabric of society, often by…

  • Berliner Ensemble

    Berlin

    The company founded by Bertolt Brecht in 1949 is based at the neobaroque theatre called Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, where his Threepenny Opera premiered…

  • Waldbühne Berlin

    Berlin

    Summers in Berlin just wouldn’t be the same without this chilled spot for big-name rock, jazz and comedy acts as well as symphonies under the stars. The…

  • Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin

    Berlin

    Europe’s largest revue theatre puts on innovative, high-tech and visually stunning shows that are an artistic amalgam of music, dance, costumes,…

  • Zeughauskino

    Historic Mitte

    Under the same roof as the Deutsches Historisches Museum, this compact cinema presents a diverse program of sophisticated non-mainstream movies from…

  • Musik & Frieden

    Kreuzberg

    The old Magnet Club space was reborn as Musik & Frieden, but still presents a winning mix of concerts and parties alongside the occasional comedy night or…

  • Hertha BSC

    Berlin

    Many Berliners live and die by the fortunes of the local soccer team, Hertha BSC, which has seen its shares of ups and downs in recent years, but has…

  • Bi Nuu

    Kreuzberg

    This smallish, frill-free indie and alternative venue, in the crimson-lit catacombs below Schlesisches Tor U-Bahn station, presents genre-spanning gigs by…

  • Pierre Boulez Saal

    Historic Mitte

    Open since 2017, this intimate concert hall was designed by Frank Gehry and conceived by Daniel Barenboim as a venue to promote dialogue between cultures…

  • Deutsches Theater

    Berlin

    Steered by Max Reinhardt from 1905 until 1932, the DT still ranks among Germany's top stages. Now under artistic director Ulrich Khuon, the repertoire…

  • Astra Kulturhaus

    Friedrichshain

    With space for 1500 in the former cultural hall of a Cold War–era train repair station, Astra is one of Berlin's bigger indie concert venues, yet it often…

  • Privatclub

    Kreuzberg

    In a former red-brick post office, this retro-styled venue draws an easygoing crowd with concerts and parties that don’t chase the latest trends. Expect a…

  • Kantine am Berghain

    Friedrichshain

    Big bad Berghain's little sister has taken over the former staff canteen of the giant ex-power station. The space holds up to 200 people and mostly puts…

  • Kino International

    Friedrichshain

    The East German film elite once held its movie premieres in this 1960s cinema, whose glamourous get-up of chandeliers and glitter curtains is a show in…

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