113 Best Performing Arts Venues in Germany

The Tanzfabrik is Berlin's best venue to see young dance talent and the latest from Europe's avant-garde. Additionally, contemporary artists come to learn and practice here in dance classes and workshops, often in their Kreuzberg studio at Möckernstrasse 68. The company holds additional dance festivals at Grüntalerstrasse 9, also in Wedding, on occasion.

In the august setting of the Schauspielhaus (city theater), the Tanzpalast attracts a thirtysomething crowd. This was the place to be seen in GDR Leipzig.

The white, tentlike Tempodrom, beyond the ruined facade of Anhalter Bahnhof, showcases international music and rock stars.

This is the best-known theater company in town, with a variety of theater (German only), opera, and concert performances in both the historic theater in a modern second stage in an adjoining building.

Baden-Baden has one of Germany's most beautiful performance halls in the Theater Baden-Baden, a late-baroque jewel built in 1860–62 in the style of the Paris Opéra. It opened with the world premiere of Berlioz's opera Beatrice et Benedict. Today the theater presents a regular series of dramas.

Operas are staged regularly at the Theater Bonn, which also hosts musicals and performances by world-renowned dance companies, including ballet.

The late-19th-century Theater des Westens, one of Germany's oldest musical theaters, features international musicals such as Ghost and Dance of the Vampires.

Built in 1787, this gorgeous neoclassic theater is still in regular use and has resident drama, ballet, and musical theater ensembles ranging from classic to contemporary.

Opera, theater, and ballet performances as well as concerts are staged in this popular modern theater.

Bad Tölz is world renowned for its outstanding boys' choir. When not in Munich or out on tour, the choir gives regular concerts in the Kurhaus.

This former planetarium on the edge of the Hofgarten hosts more than 450 concerts annually and is the home of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, which plays from September to June.

This traditional wine festival takes place in early August in the Olewig district of Trier. As well as local wine, there's live music and various regional culinary specialties to be enjoyed.

Trier's Christmas market features nearly a hundred wooden huts selling Christmas decorations, toys and candles, as well as Glühwein (mulled wine), sausages, and potato cakes. It takes place on the main market square and in front of the impressive backdrop of Trier cathedral.

Concerts, theater, exhibitions, and other events are staged at this sociocultural center and cabaret stage housed in a former cloth factory.

A state-funded foundation for young European musicians, this is also a traditional setting for chamber music concerts, just a short walk up the hill from the main train station.

The Volkstheater presents plays, from the classics to more contemporary works, musicals, dance performances, and concerts.

Opera lovers swear that there are few more intense operatic experiences than the annual Wagner Festival in Bayreuth. The festival is held in July and August, but you'll need to start planning your trip around 9 months in advance. First, register on the website of the Bayreuther Festspiele Kartenbüro ( ticketshop.bayreuther-festspiele.de/en). Then, on 1 December the year before your desired festival visit, all registered users will receive a notification that the booking system is open. A maximum of eight tickets can be purchased per performance on a first-come, first-served basis; these tickets are hotly contested, so don't make any travel or accommodation arrangements until you're sure you have them. If you manage to get tickets, try to book your hotel accommodation as soon as possible; Bayreuth rooms sell out fast, so you may even need to stay outside the city. For those who are unsuccessful, there's a box office open on the day of each performance where you can buy returned tickets, but don't rely on being able to secure tickets this way. 

Two Zentraler Kartenvorverkauf ticket kiosks are in the underground concourse: one at Marienplatz, and one at Karlsplatz (Stachus).

Across the street from the main train station, this is the place to check out a current calendar of events and buy discount tickets. There is also an i-Punkt kiosk at the Stuttgart Airport, Terminal 3, Level 2.

This 19th-century train station has been repurposed as a theater and concert venue.

A number of agencies, including the Hamburg tourist office at Landungsbrücken, sell tickets for plays, concerts, and the ballet. Tickets can also be booked online or via the hotline in English.

Leipzig's annual music festival is in June.

A 30-minute ride outside Düsseldorf by car, train, or S-bahn (from the Hauptbahnhof) will get you to the industrial city of Wuppertal, whose main claim to fame is its transit system of suspended trains that often run directly over the River Wupper, the Schwebebahn. It's also well known for the Tanztheater Wuppertal, the world-famous dance-theater company of the choreographer Pina Bausch (1940–2009).