Berlin is quite simply one of Europe's most effervescent party cities. The old divides are still there when it comes to nightlife: the Western centre, somewhat ironically, lags behind the real action in the resurgent East. Berlin today is a byword for alternative culture and in the city pretty much anything goes. Punk and various forms of anarchy are struggling to survive in Kreuzberg amongst the style bars and yuppie haunts but the avant-garde cultural scene and accompanying drinking culture has moved on to Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and, increasingly, to Friedrichshain. Likewise, the city's gay scene is divided between staid Schoneberg, Kreuzberg and edgier Prenzlauer Berg.
For a first-time visitor, Mitte is probably the better bet, starting around the Hackesche Hofe and working up Oranienburger Strasse to the numerous bars that first greeted the Western hordes after the Wall fell. Tacheles, at the end of the street, is worth a visit for the spirit of culture and anarchy it once implied. For the real experience of Berlin, however, it has to be Prenzlauer Berg (Prenzl'berg for short). Some of the more established places are reasonably easy to find but the real fun starts with the wild bars and impromptu clubs that seem to spring up from nowhere one week disappearing forever the next.
Listings can be found in Zitty (website: www.zitty.de), Tip (website: www.tip-berlin.de) and Prinz (website: www.prinz.de/berlin) magazines. There are also club listings in the free magazines Flyer (website: www.flyer.de/berlin) and 030 (website: www.berlin030.de).
Entry to bars is officially restricted to those 18 years and older. There is often a cover charge for discos (EUR2.50-10), but given the city's relaxed attitude to style, most do not have dress codes and there are no fixed closing times.
Bars
For those looking to spend in a trendy atmosphere, the Bar am Lutzowplatz, Lutzowplatz 7, between the Tiergarten and U-Bahn Nollendorfplatz, offer high-priced cocktails. On the other side of Nollendorfplatz is Hafen, Motzstrasse 19, a popular gay bar. Other established bars are Wirtschaftwunder, Yorckstrasse 81, with 1950s decor and the small, crowded Zoulou Bar, Hauptstrasse 3, which always has an interesting mix of people.
Bars line the scruffy streets of Oranienstrasse and Wiener Strasse in Kreuzberg, many doubling up as cafés during the day. Cafe Bar Morena, at Wiener Strasse 60, is an institution. The nearby Wiener Blut is a good local and Madonna a bit rougher.
In East Berlin, there are too many things happening to list. Good places to start on Oranienburger Strasse (the geile Meile) are the funky Bar Lounge 808, numbers 42-43, or Mitte Bar, number 46, which is popular as much with the arty local set as it is with students. In trendy Prenzlauer Berg the most buzzing bars are the hip hop temple H20, Kastanienalle 16, Prater, Kastienalle 7-9, with its beer garden, theatre and bar and Icon, Cantianstrasse 15.
Cabaret
The legacy of 1930s Berlin and Marlene Dietrich lives on. Over-the-top commercial cabaret is best seen at the Friedrichstadtpalast, Friedrichstrasse 107 (website: www.friedrichstadtpalast.de), with musical revues that combine glittering costumes with elements of dance and theatre into the floorshows at one of Europe's largest revue theatre. Wintergarten - Das Variete, Potsdamer Strasse 96 (website: www.wintergarten-variete.de), offers dinner and variety shows. More off-beat shows can be found at independent venues in the area to the north of the Hackesche Hofe and in Prenzlauer Berg.
Casinos
Spielbank Berlin is part of the new Potsdamer Platz development and is located opposite the Grand Hyatt at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 (tel: (030) 255 990; fax: (030) 2559 9149; e-mail: info@spielbank-berlin.de; website: www.spielbank-berlin.de). There is no specific dress code, however a passport is required (along with the EUR5 entry fee). It is open daily 1130-0300. Casino Berlin is on the 37th floor of the Forum Hotel, Alexanderplatz (tel: (030) 2389 4144; fax: (030) 2389 4113), and is open 1500-0300. The entrance fee is EUR5 and guests must bring identification (eg a passport) and jacket and tie are required.
Clubs
There are a number of tourist-orientated discos in the Ku'damm area, but a better bet in West Berlin is 90°, Dennewitzstrasse 37, with a young crowd dancing to funky beats and house on the gay nights (Thursday and Saturday). SO36, Oranienstrasse 190, in Kreuzberg, has different moods and music styles depending on the night, as well as concerts. If you want something quite alternative, visit the fetish club gone big-time: the Kit-Kat Club has moved into the old Metropol, Nollendorfplatz 5. Dress code is fetish gear or nothing.
There is an eclectic array of clubs in East Berlin. In Mitte, one of the current hip places to be seen is the Sage-Club, Kopenicker Strasse 78, with its painfully trendy atmosphere and plenty of upfront house. In Prenzlauer Berg Knaack Club, Greifswalder Strasse 224, is a multi-level club with a wide variety of sounds and concerts earlier in the week, while Pfefferberg, Schonhauser Allee 176, is an intimate reggae/roots haunt. The halcyon days of out and out techno (the soundtrack for the fall of the Wall back in 1989) live on in Casino, Mühlenstrasse, and in the venerable Tresor, Leipziger Strasse 126A.
Live music
In addition to the clubs that double up as live music venues mentioned above, Berlin has a variety of spots to see live bands. The jazz and blues scene is particularly happening; popular spots include A Trane Jazzclub, Bleibtreustrasse 1, and some nights at Flöz, Nassauische Strasse 37 and Quasimodo, Kantstrasse 12A. Major rock concerts take place at Columbiahalle, Columbiadamm 13-21 (tel: (030) 698 0980; website: www.columbiahalle.de), and, occasionally, at large sporting venues like the Velodrom and Max-Schmeling-Halle. Open-air concerts are held at the Waldbuhne, Am Glockenturm, near the Olympic Stadium.
