Historic Mitte
This beautifully restored 1920s ‘palace’ stages crowd-pleasing musicals and concerts in its glamorous historic grand hall. More intimate programs like…
Must-see entertainment in Germany
Kreuzberg
This fringe theatre in a repurposed 19th-century ballroom presents cutting-edge and often provocative intercultural plays around the issues of migration…
Cologne
While its historical theatre on Offenbachplatz remains closed for extensive renovation until 2022, this dynamic ensemble presents its classical and…
Papa Joe’s Jazzlokal 'Em Streckstrump'
Cologne
Traditional jazz – Dixieland, New Orleans, Swing – riffs nightly in this museum-like place where the smoky brown walls are strewn with yesteryear’s…
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Berlin
This venerable 'people's theatre' opened in 1914 and was known for its nonconformist, radical and provocative productions under its long-time director…
Kreuzberg
Cosy and knick-knack-laden, this Kreuzberg institution has plied an all-ages, all-comers crowd of jazz and blues lovers with tunes and booze for over 30…
Wiesbaden
Dostoevsky gambled at this historic casino. To do the same (or have a drink at its bars), men will need a jacket, a button-down shirt and non-sports shoes…
Kreuzberg
With its L-shaped bar and leather sofas, this low-key, living-room-sized cellar club hosts the kind of music that doesn’t always find a home in Berlin’s…
Prenzlauer Berg
This living-room-style comedy club delivers an assembly line of belly laughs in cosy digs at a former bank building. Check the schedule for English…
Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler
Historic Mitte
The gifted students at Berlin’s top-rated music academy stage as many as 400 performances annually, many of them in the Neuer Marstall, where the Prussian…
Museumsinsel & Alexanderplatz
Ensconced on the 2nd floor of a former East Berlin telephone exchange, this indie troupe is a lab for contemporary plays that often push the thespian…
Kreuzberg
Berlin’s oldest English-language theatre puts on an engaging roster of in-house productions, plays by international visiting troupes, concerts, comedy,…
City West & Charlottenburg
One of Berlin's oldest live music clubs, Quasimodo has pulled jazz, blues, rock, soul, funk and Motown aficionados into its intimate cellar space since…
Prenzlauer Berg
For cutting-edge, experimental dance, there are few better places in town than this unpretentious space tucked into an old factory once owned by the…
Frankfurt am Main
This Musikkeller (music cellar), an intimate basement venue with vaulted stone ceilings and just half a dozen tables, features a wide-ranging program of…
Kreuzberg
Just opposite Tempelhofer Airport, this former US Air Force sports hall hosts up to 3500 fans for everything from international artists to punk festivals…
St Pauli & Reeperbahn
An essential part of the St Pauli night, this burlesque show in a tiny venue divides visitors. Some love it as a less sleazy counterpoint to the table…
Münster
At this performance venue and cultural centre, the schedule – featuring the likes of classical music, jazz, Afro beats or poetry slams – is like the…
Prenzlauer Berg
Modern venue with 7500 seats for concerts, competitions and sporting events, including home games by the Füchse Berlin, a professional handball club…
Frankfurt am Main
Schauspiel Frankfurt, the city's largest theatre company, is based at the vast Städtische Bühnen cultural complex. You can book tickets by phone or online.
Frankfurt am Main
Underground in the Hauptwache U-Bahn/S-Bahn station, on the B Level. Posters and brochures announcing upcoming events line the walls, making this a good…
Munich
It's not one of Germany's premier ice-hockey outfits, but EHC München's games at the Olympic ice rink are exciting spectacles nonetheless; the team…
Museumsinsel & Alexanderplatz
Near Alexanderplatz. Aside from regular tickets to events around town, this outfit also sells last-minute tickets for same-day performances at half price…
Central Germany
This classic venue hosts folk, rock and occasional avant-garde concerts and regular DJs. Check the program for times. Take tram 8 to Burg Giebichenstein,…
City West & Charlottenburg
Sells leftover tickets for same-day performances at half price between 2pm and 7pm, by phone or in person.
Zentraler Kartenvorverkauf – Marienplatz
Munich
One of the best places to buy tickets to cultural and sporting events. Located in the entrance to the U·STYLE Galeria Kaufhof clothes shop in Marienplatz…
Nuremberg
This centrally located temple to dance has been around for decades, but is still one of the most popular venues at weekends. Mostly mainstream music and a…
Munich
The Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel performs at the Theater im Marstall behind the Nationaltheater.
Munich
Tickets for cultural and sporting events in Munich are available from this office within the Neues Rathaus. Enter from Dienerstrasse.
Munich
The adorable singing and dancing marionettes performing at the Münchner Marionettentheater have enthralled generations of wee ones.
Lübeck
Notable for the colourful statues on its roof, this concrete monolith is where big international names perform when in town.
Bremen City
The highly acclaimed Bremer Shakespeare Company mixes the Bard (in German) with fairy tales and contemporary works.
Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut
Heidelberg
The German-American Institute hosts concerts, lectures and films several times a week; many events are in English.
Wiesbaden
Arthouse films screen in their original languages at this cinema 500m south of the Hauptbahnhof.
Central Germany
Live music and parties here in all musical directions. Check the homepage for what's on when.
Frankfurt am Main
Orfeo’s Erben screens non-dubbed art-house films (celluloid and digital).
Historic Mitte
Tickets for the Komische Oper can be bought online or at the box office.
