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Nightlife The area around Münchener Freiheit in Schwabing is the best known nightlife district, with innumerable bars, cafés, restaurants, jazz venues, dance clubs and crowds of students and youthful revellers, especially on Occamstrasse. Haidhausen offers a more alternative scene. The Glockenbachviertel, located south of Sendlinger Tor, is the focus of the gay scene, meanwhile just to the east, hip new bars are opening up on the streets radiating from Gärtnerplatz. Attracting young partygoers out of the centre is Kunstpark Ost, on Grafingerstrasse (website: www.kunstpark.de), the biggest cultural, entertainment and sports complex in Germany. Located on the site of a former dumpling factory, the 80,000-sq-metre (860,000-sq-ft) venue includes concert halls, numerous bars, clubs and live music venues, restaurants, several art studios and sports facilities. The city has a range of bars and clubs to suit most tastes but admission and drink prices can be shockingly high and bouncers have a reputation for being particularly choosy. There is a trend towards bar-bistros, bar-cafés and, as in the rest of Germany, Feierabend discos, which run 1800-2200 on weeknights and are increasingly popular with a slightly older crowd, bopping to 60s, 70s or 80s music. The hippest club nights in the city are often one-offs, so it pays to ask around. Licensing laws are not restrictive and Munich’s clubs and pubs stay open until late. The legal drinking age in pubs and clubs is 18 and the average price of a drink is €3 for half a litre of beer at a beer hall, or a bottle of beer in an average bar or club. Munich Found (website: www.munichfound.de) has English-language listings, while Flyer (website: www.flyer.de) and Prinz (website: www.prinz.de) are its German-language counterparts. Bars: One of several good bars and cafés on Türkenstrasse, Alter Simpl, 57 Türkenstrasse, is famous for its links to the satirical magazine Simplicissimus. It retains its bohemian ambience and is open until 0400 at the weekend. Havana Club, Herrnstrasse 30, offers an atmospheric interior reminiscent of 1950s Cuba, not to mention a vast array of Cuban rum and cigars. Starsky’s, located in the Kunstpark Ost, is true to its name, with lurid 1970s decor and retro funk and soul music. Tresznjewski, Theresienstrasse 72, has got that arty flair and long after midnight, when it is usually jam-packed, it becomes very flirtatious, as does legendary Schumann’s, Maximilianstrasse 36, where the cocktails are to die for. Sax, Hans-Sachs-Strasse 5, draws a mixed crowd. If you want to find the latest hip gay bars, the SUB gay centre, Müllerstrasse 43, serves up info as well as drinks. The Hofbräuhaus, Platz 9, is a Munich institution, although for a less raucous experience, head to the Augustiner Gaststätte, Neuhauser Strasse 27. If you prefer your beer al fresco, visit the beer garden in the colourful Viktualienmarkt (see Shopping). For an alternative to beer, head to the Pfälzer Weinprobierstube, Residenzstrasse 1, for a good selection of German wines and a buzzing atmosphere. Casinos: The Spielbank Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Am Kurpark, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, is open daily 1500-0200 (slot machines from 1200). Players need to provide a valid ID showing they are 21 years or older when paying the €2.50 entrance fee. Dress code is smart (jacket and tie for men). The Casino-Bus makes the 90-minute trip from Munich (Monday-Friday at 1715, Saturday at 1400) for €7.50 return. Clubs: Kunstpark Ost, Grafingerstrasse (website: www.kunstpark.de), has many good nightclubs. These include the Bongo Bar, an elegant club, with live entertainment that attracts a thirty-something clientele, Natraj Temple, a thoroughly exotic and progressive venue featuring a soporific chill-out room and hippie decor, and Nachtkantine, the best place for house and techno music, with guest appearances by well-known DJs. At Milchbar, also in Kunstpark Ost, late-night clubbers party on past daybreak. Elsewhere, top spots include the Alabamahalle, Domagkstrasse 33, with varied club nights in a massive space. Far more intimate, the Atomic Café, Neuturmstrasse 5, is a trendy spot in the city centre, featuring pop and rock music, touring DJs and some live bands. New York, Sonnenstrasse 25, is the most reliably fun gay club. If you’re feeling flash, head to Maximilian’s, Maximilianplatz 16, or P1, Prinzregentenstrasse 1. These upmarket clubs, frequented by Munich’s jet set, are exclusive, expensive and notoriously difficult to get into. To warm up for these high-profile locations, go to Park-Cafe, Sophienstrasse 7, or Reitschule, Königinstrasse 34. Live music: Muffathalle, Zellstrasse 4, is a major popular culture venue with live music, theatre and dance performances. The on-site café serves food and drink during the day, transforming into a fun and friendly club venue in the evenings. Big-name acts perform at the Olympiahalle, next to the Olympic Stadium, as well as at the Colloseum and Babylon clubs in Kunstpark Ost, Grafingerstrasse (website: www.kunstpark.de). Up-and-coming rock bands also perform at Kunstpark Ost, in the informal atmosphere of the Keller. The Nachtcafé, Maximiliansplatz 5, serves up excellent live music, daily from 2100; as the name suggests, the venue closes late (0600). Admission is free but food and cocktails are pricey. If country and western is your scene, try the Rattlesnake Saloon, Schneeglöckchenstrasse 91, on the outskirts of town. Top-quality live jazz, including appearances by world stars, can be enjoyed daily from 2100 at Unterfahrt im Einstein, Einsteinstrasse 42, and at Mister B’s, Herzog-Heinrich-Strasse 38. |
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