(Advertorial) Hardly any capital is as sexy, diverse, exciting, multi-layered and queer as Berlin – whether you want to hit the darkroom on a Friday night or prefer paddling in the countryside: Berlin has got you covered. As your queer tourism platform, Place2be.berlin knows exactly where you will find what you are looking for! Here's our trailer and a few samples of what you shouldn't miss in Berlin:
Our recommendations for the queer Berlin
If you're looking for something hot, you'll find it in Berlin’s many bars and clubs for LGBTIQIA* – or in the breathtaking saunas such as Boiler: A chic 90-degree sauna with wide window fronts where employees offer different infusions every hour. Right next door, you can relax in a 60-degree sauna or alternatively recharge your batteries in the dense steam of a small hammam including a play of light. Clearly, the highlight of the basement is a central pool with waterfalls and a bubble system. From here, you have a fantastic view of all the action and can also see through a large window into the adjacent cruising steam sauna.
If you like it a little kinkier, you can hop from the Boiler to Friedrichshain, give Berghain the cold shoulder but use the same building to swear in Lab.Oratory, a gay fetish club. As another option, you may spank in Schöneberg at Böse Buben. If you're looking for a quick sexual adventure, visit JAXX in Motzstraße, a sex shop with an adjacent, often well-attended cruising cinema. Just ask at the cash desk for admission to the cinema and you will be given access to some dark, exciting, twisty rooms.
Art and culture galore - Berlin’s dedication to queer legends
One of the many realms in which Berlin excels is culture! Both big and subcultural museums and art spaces regularly show fantastic queer exhibitions. The famous Gropius Bau hosts the first retrospective of the queer artist trio General Idea in 2023/24. Consisting of Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson, the Toronto-based trio created works through a variety of media for 25 years until the mid-1990s which have not lost an ounce of relevance until today – such as One Year of AZT/One Day of AZT during the AIDS crisis, one of their best-known projects. The last living member of the group, AA Bronson, contributed to the exhibition.
Celebrating 50 years of Sonntags-Club, the Schwules Museum (Gay Museum) pays tribute to the LGBTIQ* movement of the GDR. In East Berlin, political organizations beyond state structures were banned and forced homosexuals and queer people to meet in private living rooms or in public places under the innocuous name "Sonntags im Club". Furthermore, the KINDL Center for Contemporary Art features POLY. A Fluid Show on fluidity and different perspectives on the world, love and relationships.
Berlin is likewise the city of literature, great theaters and films. At Place2Be.Berlin you will find great tips and inspiration, no matter which cultural genre your heart beats for. Whether it's cabaret at the traditional Bar jeder Vernunft or more experimental performances such as the Berliner Ensemble's Werkraum. Many exciting productions with queer references can be seen throughout Berlin's theater landscape.
Credit: Bar jeder Vernunft (XAMAX / upstruct)
Berlin is truly queer - tips for lesbians and FLINTA*
A particular perk about Berlin are the exciting spaces for lesbians, but also for trans, non-binary and genderqueer people. For example, there is a FLINTA* Thursday at "Stueck". The team is almost exclusively female and the manager is queer as well. The bar will enchant you with its hip atmosphere featuring bare walls, industrial decorative elements and minimalist furniture.
Sonntags-Club, a traditional queer institution in East Berlin, also hosts the so-called "Frauen*Freitag" every week. Women, non-binary and trans folks who have come to Berlin to play rather than to drink will find exactly what they are craving for. Be it queer-feminist sex stores, fetish evenings or tingling techno parties: kinky spaces in Berlin are not reserved for gay men only but hold space for the entire queer community for a long time already! On Place2Be.Berlin you can find up-close stories from Berlin's lesbian movement right back to the 1920s!
Hip hairstyles and cool clothes: queer shopping in Berlin
Chilling, shopping, getting pretty: Hardly any other city is so well prepared for queers in the mood for new outfits and hairstyles. Whether you like it chic, punky, fancy or butch: queer hairdressing salons are a dime a dozen here, with a few particularly great ones on Place2Be.Berlin. After all, hair is an important identity marker for many LGBTQIA* people.
The same applies to extravagant or vintage clothing. The Berlin label "Studio Obectra", for example, fuses club outfits with fetish fantasies and doesn't skimp on leather straps and metal buckles. Located in the heart of Neukölln, the store not only sells fashion for hot nights on Berlin's dance floors, but also sexy fetish accessories for very special parties. If you are a fan of vintage fashion, "Le Magass" is the right place for you. The small, fine store in Neukölln is a veteran of the Berlin second-hand scene and has one of the best hands when it comes to selecting items.
Anyone who wishes to immerse themselves in the supreme discipline of styling and create a completely new persona will be happy in Berlin: from make-up to high heel training, every discipline needed for a breathtaking appearance as a king or queen or in-between can be learned in drag workshops.
Vintage-shoping with Mavin from „Le Magass“, Credit: Alex Heigl
Ready for gaycation ...
... and no urge to stay awake for three days in a club? We have good news for you: you don't have to. Berlin can also be highly relaxing! Saunas or spas are great options anyway (you can find the best ones for queers here). Interestingly, our metropolis has also the benefits of the countryside: Berlin has beautiful lakes, many of them with areas chilling or cruising areas for LGBTIQ* folks.
With our Place2Be.Berlin city tour, you can discover the beautiful natural idyll of Tiefwerder. Another perennial favorite: kite flying on the Drachenberg - one of many great activities that are also ideal for rainbow families on a Berlin vacation as well.
Want more tips?
Discover Berlin in all its exciting diversity with www.Place2be.berlin - your exclusive LGBTIQ* tourism platform in the queerest city in Europe! Immerse yourself in the cosmopolitan and colorful capital, where love and tolerance are writ large. Or follow us on instagram/place2be.berlin !
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