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…
Must-see entertainment in Germany
Berlin
Fancy taking in a piano concert in a former bus and tram repair station in industrial Wedding? The brainchild of Christoph Schreiber, this unusual…
Kreuzberg
One of Berlin’s finest music venues has set up in the gorgeous slender-columned and brick-vaulted stables of a 19th-century Prussian regiment. The low-key…
Düsseldorf
No German language skills are needed to enjoy the enchanting line-up of acrobats, comedians, magicians, artistes and other variety acts performing under…
Dresden
Small, smoky and smooth, this converted space has concerts featuring regional talent almost nightly (usually jazz, but also blues and rock), then turns…
Fairy-Tale Road
Founded in reaction to mainstream theatre in the 1950s, Göttingen’s Junges Theater has long since professionalised, and enjoys a high reputation…
Historic Mitte
This lovely classical music venue – a Schinkel design from 1821 – counts the top-ranked Konzerthausorchester Berlin as its ‘house band’, but also hosts…
Bremen City
The local Bundesliga team Werder Bremen is less a football team than a sporting religion. Worship takes place at the Weserstadion, where a seat costs €35…
Thuringian Forest & the Saale Valley
In a converted shed near Jena-West train station, this joint feeds the cultural cravings of the indie crowd with a potpourri of live concerts, dance…
Fairy-Tale Road
Started as a cabaret and culture venue in 1971, Apex offers the perfect combination of art gallery, performance venue and restaurant. The food (served 6pm…
Leipzig
Leipzig’s Opernhaus (opera house) has a 300-year-old pedigree, though the building only went up in the 1950s. The program is an eclectic mix of classics…
Frankfurt & Southern Rhineland
Industrial 1920s brick surrounds provide great acoustics at this live music venue, where punk, alternative, metal and rock bands take to the stage…
Hanover
This spacious art-house cinema is on the top floor of a magnificent expressionist building designed by Fritz Höger, the architect of Hamburg’s Chilehaus…
Neukölln
Neukölln’s refurbished prewar ballroom has an anti-elitist crossover repertoire, including intelligent musical theatre, original productions and…
Baden-Baden
The Baden-Baden Theater is a neo-baroque confection of white-and-red sandstone with a frilly interior that looks like a miniature version of the Opéra…
Cologne
An institution in Cologne's alternative scene, this club in the hip cross-cultural Ehrenfeld borough has programming as eclectic as the crowd. Depending…
Berlin
Hidden in the Edison-Höfe, a stylishly renovated light-bulb factory, this cellar venue hosts fine jazz and blues concerts (many of them free), as well as…
Kreuzberg
Named after a David Lynch road movie, this kitsch-cool dive with blood-red walls, tiki gods and Elvis paraphernalia hammers home punk, ska, surf-rock and…
Frankfurt am Main
This excellent art cinema is attached to Frankfurt’s cinema museum, the Deutsches Filmmuseum. Many films are screened in their original languages.
City West & Charlottenburg
As its name implies, comfort levels are elevated in this mini-multiplex specialising in quality international films presented in their original language…
Neukölln
Run by the Italian documentary filmmaker Carla Molino and friends, this 52-seat indie cinema with quality sound, projection and seating presents a smartly…
Neukölln
This vivacious bar offers stand-up and improv shows in English five nights a week, with many free shows and a lot of varied performances from Berlin's…
Cologne
Although a bit dated and grungy, this ex-factory remains an essential concert venue in town with concerts covering the entire sound spectrum from indie…
Frankfurt & Southern Rhineland
The grandiose, golden-hued Staatstheater was built on Hitler’s orders to thank the Saarlanders for their 1935 vote to rejoin Germany. It opened in 1938…
Erfurt
Drag shows, musicals and even dinner and theatre nights take centre stage in this cultural centre, which seats, feeds and waters up to 500 at its cabaret…
Historic Mitte
Tipi stages a year-round program of professional cabaret, dance, acrobatics, musical comedy and magic shows starring German and international artists. It…
Kreuzberg
A 1950s cinema has been recycled into a rock-indie-electro-pop hub with mosh-pit electricity and a crowd that cares more about the music than about…
Nuremberg
Nuremberg's magnificent state theatre serves up an impressive mix of dramatic arts. The renovated art nouveau opera house presents opera and ballet, while…
Frankfurt am Main
Check out the walls for photos of jazz greats who’ve played at this venue since it opened in 1952. In addition to concerts, there are jam sessions on…
Berlin
This five-screen indie cinema, upstairs in Court I of the Hackesche Höfe complex, presents a well-curated mix of European art-house movies, documentaries…
Hanover
This huge circular venue beyond the Hauptbahnhof has a buzzing cafe-bar, theatres and various rooms used as venues where you can catch a wide program of…
St Pauli & Reeperbahn
The booking policy at this unhurried pocket-size club with plush decor skews towards lo-fi indie-folk-rock and usually features prestardom international…
Hanover
In this large old building and its surrounding grounds, you’ll find a mixed bag of live music, music theatre and dance offerings. It’s great in summer…
Frankfurt am Main
The city's huge cultural complex includes Oper Frankfurt, Frankfurt's main opera company, and Schauspiel Frankfurt, its largest theatre company. Tickets…
Aachen
This cavernous basement joint does double duty as an art-house cinema and a sweaty dance club that draws mainly from Aachen's huge student population. DJs…
Harz Mountains
For something a little different and as German as the great writer Goethe himself, catch a steam train to the top of the Brocken for limited-date summer…
Munich
Charismatic Lithuanian maestro Mariss Jansons has rejuvenated this orchestra's playlist and often performs with its choir at such venues as the Gasteig…
Freiluftkino Insel im Cassiopeia
Friedrichshain
Part of the Cassiopeia beer garden and club complex on the RAW Gelände, this 350-seat outdoor cinema shows an eclectic roster of indie movies in their…
Hamburg
Built in 1908, the Laeiszhalle was Hamburg's premier address for classical concerts and opera. That mantle has passed to the extraordinary new…
Munich
This intimate watering hole brings some of Munich's baddest cats to the stage. You never know who'll show up for Monday's jam session, and Tuesday to…
