Germany Guide
North Rhine-Westphalia
Nightlife
1 Alte Wartesaal Johannisstr. 11, Hauptbahnhof 
0221/912 88 50 Elegant old former station waiting-room that now provides a plush and intimate venue for various club nights.
2 Bürgerhaus Stollwerk Dreikönigenstr. 23 0221/991 10 80, 
www.buergerhausstollwerck.de . Community arts centre in a vast former chocolate factory in the Severinsviertel, the venue for small-scale drama, comedy and cabaret.
3 E-Werk Schanzenstr. 37 www.e-werk-cologne.com Beautifully restored nineteenth-century power station northeast of the centre that's now a spacious live music venue and club.
4 Lanxess Arena Willy-Brandt-Platz, Deutz 0221/80 20 www.lanxess-arena.de Purpose-built stadium-style venue – the largest of its kind in Germany – for major rock concerts and other large-scale events.
5 Live Music Hall Lichtstr. 30 0221/954 29 90 Club and live music venue in an industrial zone in Ehrenfeld. At Saturday's Rockgarden there's free beer 10pm– midnight. U-Bahn 3 or 4 to Venloer Gürtel.
6 MTC Zülpicherstr. 10 0221/240 41 88 www.mtcclub.de One of Cologne's more intimate live venues, with a varied roster of bands playing everything from psychobilly to acoustic hip-hop.
7 Musical Dome Köln Goldgasse 1 0221/734 41 50 www.musical-dome.de Purpose-built venue for big-name international musicals.
8 Nachtflug Hohenzollernring 87 0177 4000 901 www.nachtflug.com City-centre club with a regularly-changing programme of events, including the evergreen pan-sexual after-hours club Greenkomm, from 7am the first Sunday of the month.
9 Papa Joe's Buttermarkt 37 0221/257 79 31 www.papajoes.de This Altstadt jazz club claims to be Germany's oldest, with a sister bar on Alter Markt.
10 Stereo Wonderland Trierer Str. 7 DJ bar and music venue in the Kwartier Lateng, with regular live bands and a music policy that spans everything from punk chanson to electro.
11 Die Werkstatt Grüner Weg 1b 0221/356 39 15 www.werkstatt-koeln.de Hip club and live venue in Ehrenfeld, with DJs spinning trash pop, punk and electro. U-Bahn 3 or 4 to Venloer Gürtel.
12 Bastard Friesenwall 29 Café/bar in a Hinterhof close to Ehrenstrasse's shopping, and especially popular for its outside seating on two levels.
13 Blue Lounge Mathiasstr. 4–6 Bar and dance club attracting a mixed clientele, particularly popular with lesbians.
14 Brennerei Weiss Hahnenstr. 0221/257 46 38 Traditional restaurant which gradually becomes more bar-like as the evening goes on, and is popular with both gay men and lesbians.
15 Comeback Alter Markt 10 One of the nicer of the Altstadt's gay bars, with a touch of theatricality and a terrace fronting the square outside.
16 Dreiklang at ARTheater, Ehrenfeldgürtel 127 www.artheater.de Long-running club night for lesbians, gay men and gay-friendly heteros, with a similarly eclectic music policy, spinning everything from indie, Brit- and Deutsch-Pop to house. Third Fri of the month. U-Bahn 3 or 4 to Venloer Gürtel.
17 Era Friesenwall 26 The smartest of the Rudolfplatz area's many gay-oriented café-bars, and a good spot for a late breakfast.
18 Ex-Corner Schaafenstr. 57–59 The absolute lynchpin of the Rudolfplatz scene, this is one gay bar that is busy even during the week, when much of the Cologne scene is otherwise quiet. Cruisy, but jolly with it.
19 Gloria Apostelnstr. 11. One of the main gay and lesbian club venues is this 1950s theatre, complete with a beautiful café at the front.
20 
Iron Bar Schaafenstr. 45 Excellent, spacious cocktail bar in the Rudolfplatz district that also serves surprisingly good German wines.
21 Marsil Marsilstein 27. Small but perfectly formed, Marsil is the most chic gay men's bar in the city, and regularly attracts a good-looking crowd.
22 Pop-Sofa-Club at Teatro, Rudolfplatz www.pop-sofa-club.de The most successful lesbian club night in Cologne; check the website for upcoming dates.
23 Station 2b Pipinstr. 2 Cologne's biggest leather and fetish bar. Opening time: Open until 5am Fri & Sat
24 Hänneschen – Puppenspiele der Stadt Köln Eisenmarkt 2–4 0221/258 12 01 Long-established and very famous puppet theatre, whose performances are in the local Kölsch dialect, which even native German-speakers struggle to understand.
25 Kölner Oper Offenbachplatz 0221/22 12 84 00 www.buehnenkoeln.de One of the city's major postwar landmarks, Cologne's opera house presents classic and less well-known operas as well as children's opera in the Yakult-Halle, and occasional Jewish klezmer shows.
26 Philharmonie Franziusstr. 7 0211/66 96 99 90 www.koelner-philharmonie.de The city's major classical concert hall is the home for two orchestras, the Gürzenich-Orchester and the WDR-Sinfonieorchester, as well as providing a venue for jazz and pop concerts.
27 Schauspiel Köln Offenbachplatz 0221/22 12 84 00 The city's major stage for theatre is part of the same complex as the opera house. It also hosts ballet and other music-related performances. A glittering new theatre is planned to replace the existing 1950s building over the next few years.