Budapest
This venue has táncház (folk music and dance) programs several times a week, especially on Wednesday at 6.30pm and Friday at 8pm, as well as concerts by…
Must-see entertainment in Central Europe
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…
Dresden
This institution can be found at the junction of the Neustadt's two most happening streets. As its name suggests, this cavernous party pit is set in a…
Leipzig
Led by Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, the Gewandhaus is one of Europe’s finest and oldest civic orchestras. With a history harking back to 1743, it…
Salzburg
Designed by architect Clemens Holzmeister in 1956 and built into the sheer sides of the Mönchsberg, the cavernous Grosses Festspielhaus stages the…
Graz
A visit to the opera here is also stepping foot into an opulent neobaroque and neorococo backdrop splashed in gold, white and red tones. There's space for…
Vienna
Fringe live acts, alternative beats and album launches are the mainstay of B72’s entertainment line-up, which all attract a predictably youthful crowd…
St Pauli & Reeperbahn
Around since the 1960s, Gruenspan has evolved since its time as a notorious drug den into one of St Pauli's best live music venues. Just about any musical…
Prague
This repertory cinema shows a varied program of underground films, selections from film festivals, documentaries, big-budget movies, and classics from…
Salzburg
Opera, operetta, ballet and musicals dominate the stage at this elegant 18th-century playhouse. There’s a strong emphasis on Mozart’s music, with the…
Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter
In the bowels of the Central Passage shopping centre on Király utca, Gödör has maintained its reputation for scheduling an excellent variety of indie,…
Brno
This legendary music club, theater and performance space draws many of the best alternative bands from around Europe. Check the online programme to see if…
Budapest
Hosting a fantastic line-up of mainly Hungarian jazz and classical performances, the Budapest Music Center comprises a classy 350-capacity concert hall …
Kraków
This popular student club is a great place to catch up-and-coming Polish rock and indie groups, as well as visiting international acts. Check the website…
Salzburg
This office sells tickets for the Salzburg Festival, which range in price from €11 to €430. Tickets sell like hot cakes – so either book well in advance …
Erfurt
Not only children will be enchanted by the adorable marionettes and puppets that perform at this cute theatre in a historic woad storehouse (reached via…
Thuringian Forest & the Saale Valley
You can’t swim in the 'People's Baths' (an early-20th-century, heritage-listed public pool) any longer; instead you’ll be showered with theatre, recitals…
Salzburg
Salzburg’s hottest live-music venue, Rockhouse presents first-rate rock, pop, jazz, folk, metal and reggae concerts – see the website for details. There’s…
Kraków
This 'Cellar Under the Rams' has been a legendary place since it came into being in 1956 as a 'literary cabaret'. Nowadays, the program is a bit sporadic,…
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…
Hamburg
Attending a concert here is an essential part of visiting Hamburg's most exciting architectural icon. With a full program, a number of different…
Kraków
This is the city’s best-known theatre company and it has attracted the cream of its actors. To overcome the language barrier, pick a Shakespeare play you…
Szeged
The kind of small, basement music club that no self-respecting university town would be without. Gets pretty crowded during the academic year for live…
Bratislava
The neo-Renaissance venue of the Slovak National Theatre, which dazzles with its silvery roof and statue-studded facade, hosts opera, ballet and modern…
Kraków
This important theatre focuses on Polish classics and large-scale productions. It’s in a large and opulent building (1893) that’s patterned on the Paris…
Kraków
The Cinema Under the Rams is hidden inside a historic palace on a corner of the Main Market Square. There are three screening rooms given over to the best…
Zürich
With a fabulous lakeside location, this multifaceted performing-arts centre stages rock, jazz and hip-hop concerts, original-language films, and theatre…
Budapest
There’s folk music and dance at what is also called the FMH at 7pm usually on alternate Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays (see the website). A children’s…
Warsaw
There are eight auditoriums, several of them quite grand, at this multiplex cinema housed in the Palace of Culture & Science. A good range of films are…
The Zillertal
For year-round Spass (fun), you can’t beat this lively barn and marquee combi. Lederhosen-clad folk stars get beer glasses swingin’ in summer, while…
Warsaw
Performs a repertoire ranging from medieval mystery plays to contemporary works, but is most famous for its performances of Mozart’s operas.
Olomouc
From opera to ballet, all affordably priced. Consult the website or ask at the Olomouc Information Centre to see what's on during your visit. Buy tickets…
Erzsébetváros & the Jewish Quarter
The 'Spare Key' is a fine little drinking venue with a varied menu of live music most evenings and occasional táncház (Hungarian music and dance). The…
Berlin
The antithesis of popcorn culture, this arty twin-screen cinema features a bold global flick schedule that hopscotches from Japanese satire to Brazilian…
Berlin
Every summer, adoring theatre groupies descend upon this lovely outdoor amphitheatre near Museumsinsel (Museum Island) for crowd-pleasing classics (in…
Eastern Kraków
The Kraków Opera performs in the strikingly modern building at the Mogilskie roundabout. The setting is decidedly 21st century, but the repertoire spans…
Ljubljana
Metelkova's biggest and best venue to catch live alternative, indie and rock music several nights a week. There's an open-air performance space from May…
Weimar
Expect a grab bag of classic and contemporary theatre, opera and concerts at this esteemed space. Performances are in German (musical recitals the obvious…
Bremen City
Bremen’s concert hall stages classical concerts, opera and a large variety of special events, many by visiting performers, in a venue whose acoustics are…
Stuttgart
Stuttgart’s grandest theatre presents a top-drawer program of ballet, opera, theatre and classical music.
