Cafe Cinema beside the Hackesche Hoefe runs as a dim, smoky room with old film posters, mismatched antique furniture and a clientele that holds the place against the polish of the surrounding courtyard.
Tip: Cash easier than card; the back room is quieter. Stays open until 04:00 most nights.
Address: Rosenthaler Strasse 39, 10178 Berlin
Diener on Grolmanstrasse runs as the West Berlin artists' pub, with around 500 portrait photos of actors and writers on the wood-panelled walls; ex-boxer Franz Diener took it over in 1954.
Tip: Open from 18:00; closed Sundays. Knockwurst with sauerkraut and a beer is the order.
Berghain occupies a former Vattenfall power plant in Friedrichshain and remains the canonical Berlin techno club, with Sven Marquardt's door and Klubnacht running Saturday night through Monday morning.
Tip: No phones inside, no logo'd clothes, no big groups. Klubnacht queue moves all weekend; small groups in black after 04:00 fare better than 23:00 lines.
Tresor moved from its original Leipziger Platz vault to the Kraftwerk powerhouse on Koepenicker Strasse in 2007 and still books the harder end of Berlin and Detroit techno across multiple floors.
Tip: The Globus floor upstairs runs broader house; the cavernous Tresor floor downstairs is where the kick-drum lives. Cash only at the bar.
KitKatClub shares an industrial building with Sage Club on Koepenicker Strasse and runs an enforced fetish dress code, with tech-house and trance nights stretching from Friday through Monday.
Tip: Dress code is enforced at the door (leather, latex, lingerie or skin); jeans and street wear are turned away. Lockers and changing rooms at the entrance.
About Blank runs next to Ostkreuz S-Bahn as a collectively-run club and garden, programming queer-leaning techno, breaks and electro across an indoor floor and a wooded outdoor area.
Tip: The garden runs through the warm months and is the reason to arrive at sundown. Awareness team active; no phones on the floors.
Sisyphos took over a former dog-biscuit factory on Hauptstrasse in Rummelsburg and runs a non-stop weekend party with three indoor floors, a lake, a pizza oven and a sprawling outdoor area.
Tip: Runs continuously Friday night through Monday morning; bring layers, sunglasses and a swimsuit for the lake. S-Bahn to Rummelsburg is the easy way in.