148 Best Bars in Germany

Around the corner from the Hofbräuhaus, Bar Centrale is a friendly Italian café by day, but come evening, it morphs into a dimly lit lounge, with cocktails (many with an Italian bent) served at cozy tables in the retro-looking interior. There's also a small, ever-changing menu of international dishes and a nice selection of Italian wines by the glass.

This bar has a black-on-black design, good looks all over, great service, and endless drink options. It's also within one of the hottest hotels in town.

Choose from a long list of creative craft cocktails at this dimly lit late-night haunt which also features live jazz.

Bar Hemingway lures a clientele mostly in their thirties with the best cocktails in town.

In the grand tradition of upscale clubs, Bar Tausend is well hidden behind a steel door under the Friedrichstrasse S-bahn tracks and guarded by a discerning doorman. The futuristic main bar area, basically a long tunnel with circular lights at either end and mirrors above, looks like something out of the classic German film Metropolis. It would feel a bit claustrophobic if not for the excellent cocktails and stylish clientele. Hidden behind the bar is an even harder-to-get-into restaurant, whispered about by Berlin foodies—the so-called Tausend Cantina. For an unforgettable meal, call in advance for reservations.

This small vaulted cellar lounge, whose comprehensive cocktail list offers more than 180 classics and house creations, is much loved by both locals and visitors.

Folk and rock music are regularly featured here.

The only indication anything exists behind this bar's curtained facade is a glowing photograph of the head of Samuel Beckett in the window. Press the buzzer and if there’s space, you’ll be ushered into the dimly lit, gentlemen’s club-like surroundings. Settle into a leather armchair and choose from sophisticated cocktails like the Lusitanian or the Widow’s Kiss, all crafted with artisanal spirits. Or, try a classic martini—one of the best in town. Reservations are recommended.

The candlelit, rough-wood tables, water-stained walls, and frequent appearances by local musicians just dropping by for a few tunes give this cozy cocktail bar an artsy, old-world feel. Lovingly nicknamed "the Gramophone Bar" for the old gramophone that sits in its window, Bellmann is a place to linger and chat over a glass of wine or a whiskey from the outstanding collection.

The famous Biergarten am Chinesischen Turm is at the five-story Chinese Tower in the Englischer Garten. Enjoy your beer to the strains of oompah music played by traditionally dressed musicians.

This restaurant and bar is popular with university students, and has live music most Thursdays. Specialty drinks include cocktails made with local apple cider. There also are a few small, efficiently decorated, budget-priced rooms upstairs.

College students and a mostly young crowd raise their glasses and voices above the din at Café Bar Belushi.

Try your luck on the machines and tables of the casino in Konstanz. You must be over 21 to enter the casino.

Like the rest of the Marriott Hotel, this sports bar is designed to make Americans feel at home. The walls are lined with team jerseys, autographed helmets, and photographs of professional athletes. The 23 TVs can be tuned to the American Forces Network, which carries the full range of American sports. Food leans toward buffalo wings, hamburgers, and brownies.

Discreetly positioned on a quiet corner an easy meander down from the Reeperbahn is one of St Pauli's coziest cocktail bars. Inside, red leather stools flank an enormously well-stocked bar staffed by knowledgeable and friendly bartenders.

It may not be much more than a series of wooden rafts and a few shoddily constructed shacks, but this club is one of the most beloved outdoor venues in town. The place is packed at all hours, either with clubbers on their last stop of the evening, or with locals and tourists soaking up the sunshine on a Sunday morning.

The nightspots in Kampen are generally more upscale and more expensive than the pubs and clubs of Westerland. This is one of the most classic clubs on Sylt—a bar and dance spot that attracts a hip crowd of all ages.

Just south of Wittenbergplatz, the dance club Connection is known for heavy house music and lots of dark corners.

The oldest jazz cellar in Germany, Der Frankfurter Jazzkeller was founded by legendary trumpeter Carlo Bohländer. The club, which once hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, now offers hot, modern jazz, but there is always some kind of cover. There are jam sessions on Wednesday and "Latin-funky" dances on Friday. Jazzkeller is located on a small alleyway off Fressgass, which just adds to its charm and legend.

There's a stylish bar here, as well as one of Hamburg's largest venues for live music acts from around the world. Once the stage has been cleared, techno and house parties keep Docks rocking late into the night.

Aachen's most popular bar is a good place to mingle with locals of all ages at old wooden tables, enjoying an impressive selection of Belgian beers in a historic building from 1658. There are free concerts every Monday, apart from a short break in summer.

The nondescript exterior of this extraordinary bar in St. Pauli leaves much to the imagination, but its perpetually closed curtains hide a bar with a unique concept. Drip is famous for its speakeasy vibe and unique spirits, which are infused using cold brew drippers (hence the name). Easily one of Hamburg's best cocktail bars, it is popular with both locals and tourists. As a bonus, its location offers a great view of the harbor.

This Wedding brewery has major bragging rights within Berlin's craft beer scene. Not only has it been around since 2001, it also offers something the newcomers don't: a beer garden. The brewery’s taproom is hidden away on the ground floor of an undistinguished apartment complex; finding it is like discovering buried treasure. The brewery usually has three concoctions on tap, which can include anything from the typical pilsner or hefeweizen to the unusual smoky Rauchbier to drinks with playful names like the Weddinator or the Black Mamba. There's also a small distillery on the premises, where ambitious and talented owner Martin Eschenbrenner tries his hand at schnapps and whiskey.

Facciola looks like a lovely little wine bar from the outside—large windows with some greenery, a red awning, a handful of Berliners sitting on the stoop. Inside, the bartenders make the environment more than cozy, though. Fresh Italian foods and snacks are available on candlelit tables, but it’s the impressive selection of Italian wines that make the place stand out—and the over-the-top-friendly bartenders. Don't miss Aperitivo Thursdays, when light Italian snacks are served with every drink.

The full name is Fox and Hound English Pub and Lounge, which says it all. Patrons of this traditional British pub in the middle of Frankfurt are mainly British and come to watch the latest football (soccer to Americans), rugby, and cricket matches. Enjoy the authentic British pub food including fish and chips, 35 whiskies, bitters, and stout. Monday is steak night, with American-style sirloins and rib eyes.

Housed in an imposing barracks complex built in the nineteenth century, Frappant is a meeting point for all Hamburg creatives. This enormous building is not only an independent art gallery with rotating exhibitions but also a bar and club. In summer, vernissages give way to parties that inevitably end up in its massive garden. Even just the architecture of the building, with its perfectly preserved redbrick facade, is reason enough to swing by.

Wednesday through Monday, the cozy tavern-restaurant at the Gasthof Fraundorfer hosts traditional music, yodeling, and folk dancing.

This nightclub in the heart of the Zeil attracts a mostly young crowd with its live music performances by international musicians. It's open Thursday and Sunday from 8 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11 pm. Concert tickets from €21.