Hamburg is often considered by many to be the “nightlife capital” of Germany. Some even consider the large harbor city to be the “nightlife capital” of northern Europe. This phenomenon occurs because the city’s Reeperbahn district, or Kiez, as locals call it, is home to one of the largest red light districts in Europe. This district is filled with hundreds of bars, sex shops, clubs, brothels (legal), and the people that often frequent such places.
It is not too hard to have a good time with so much nightlife packed into one city district. In fact, more than 90% of Hamburg’s nightlife can be found in the district, and this is no small feat considering that Hamburg is a German city-state of roughly 3 million inhabitants. A trip to this famous city district normally begins at the subway station.
After your train arrives the doors will open and you will be greeted by a packed and bustling subway station with a copious amount of police protection. Then you ascend the stairs and escalator, and make note of the strange puddles and smells that riddle the ground. As you emerge from the underground you are greeted by light, no, not the lights of day but the electroluminescence of Hamburg’s official nightlife scene. As you walk down the crowded streets anxious bouncers will try to urge you into their establishments. Some will try to entice you with free entry, but tourists should be aware that such entry is rarely free – you should try to avoid locations that solicit entry.
If you are into industrial music, dark clothing, and people dressed like vampires you can continue to the end of the street to the Grunspan or the Docks. These two locations are clubs that heavy metal bands often frequent. The locals will normally start “mosh pits” in these locations and attendance can often be dangerous.
If you like history then the Reeperbahn is also home to the club where The Beatles launched their famous career. The famed Star club is still open, and there is even a statue dedicated to famous band. If you feel like seeing some WW2 chic, then you can visit “The Bunker” at the very end of the Reeperbahn. This club is built from a WW2 bunker where people would go when the allied forces bombed this large city. This club, like most clubs in Hamburg, plays mostly house and electro dance music.
If you like to dance then there are a great number of clubs for you on the Reeperbahn. A good starting location is Grosser Freiheit Street. On this street you will find clubs such as Halo, China Lounge, Superfly, Love, and The Funky Pussy Club. All of these clubs tend to play house and electro music and often feature famous DJ’s. Cover costs are normally around 5 euros, but sometimes Americans can get discounts. All of the clubs listed have great locations and normally multiple dance floors.
If you like to visit gay nightlife then Hamburg also has a great section for you. You might want to check out the famed Frauenkneippe, or Woman’s Bar. Due to the relatively high gay population in Hamburg there are a great number of nightlife locations that patronize to the gay population.
If you are really looking for a wild time, then there is the famed HerberdStrasse. On this street women are not allowed to enter and males can feel free to find an ideal prostitute for them. In this section of town all prostitution is legal and the sex worker’s are taxed and inspected on a monthly basis.
All of these wonderful nightlife activities bring with them some amount of rowdiness. This rowdiness is kept down to manageable levels by a very large local police presence. It is not uncommon to see a group of 12 police officers in “riot gear” patrolling the local area. The strong police presence does a great job of keeping everything legal and everyone safe. With all of that said, if you’re looking to make a “euro-trip” you should plan to have Hamburg somewhere in your route.
