132 Best Performing Arts Venues in Germany

This variety theater features a blend of circus, vaudeville, and comedy that is fairly accessible for non-German speakers.

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

Walk into the town-hall courtyard to enter the Kulturhof Flachsgasse, home of the city's art collection and special exhibitions.

Concerts and variously themed DJ nights are held at Kulturladen.

This cultural center hosts an eclectic mix of concerts of all kinds, as well as plays, dance performances, and exhibits.

Throughout the year, performances and events ranging from classical to contemporary are hosted at the Kurhaus, including performances from the Hessian State Orchestra, and the annual Wine Ball and New Year's Eve party. In addition, there are very occasional organ concerts in the Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal, which has been home to an organ since the Kurhaus was built in 1907. On organ open days, you can visit the organ room, which is usually closed to the public.

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.

Enjoy opera in an intimate setting at the Lindauer Marionettenoper, where puppets do the singing. Tickets are available at the Stadttheater box office.

In addition to carnival rides, a craft market, fireworks, and plenty of food and drink, live performances from local and international bands, as well as theater and cabaret performances, take place on six stages in the city center in late June. Since the festival is at least nominally in honor of Johannes Gutenberg, printers' apprentices are dunked in water in front of the Gutenberg Museum as part of a "printers' baptism" ceremony.

If you don't get Wagner Festival tickets, console yourself with visits to the exquisite 18th-century opera house. In May the Fränkische Festwochen (Franconian Festival Weeks) take the stage with works of Wagner, of course, but also Paganini and Mozart.

The Marktkirche is a striking, red neo-Gothic church built between 1853 and 1862, and is Wiesbaden's main Protestant church. The Walcker organ has a total of 6,198 pipes, which can be heard during the free organ recitals that are held on Saturday at 11:30 am.

German drama and opera are staged in this fine historic theater.

The Spiegelsaal (Hall of Mirrors) of the Neues Schloss is the magnificent setting for the annual international chamber music festival. Events run May until December.

Also known as Mosel in Flammen (Mosel on fire), this annual July celebration along the Zurlauben riverbank (as part of the several days-long festival, the Zurlaubener Heimatfest) involves much wine, sparkling wine, and beer, and an impressive display of fireworks.

The city of Würzburg hosts its annual Mozart Festival between May and July. More than 20 venues host events, but most concerts are held in the magnificent setting of the Residenz and feature world-class performers interpreting Mozart's works. Be sure to reserve tickets early.

Münchner Kammerspiele-Schauspielhaus presents the classics as well as new works by contemporary playwrights in a beautiful art nouveau setting. Most productions have English subtitles.

Leipzig's annual music festival is in June.

Munich's Bavarian State Opera Company and its ballet ensemble perform at the Nationaltheater.

Handily located just across the street from the Holstenstrasse S-bahn, the 2,000-seat Neue Flora attracts big crowds, who come for popular, long-running musicals such as Tarzan and The Phantom of the Opera.

This uninspired touch of socialist architecture is home to an undeniably splendid orchestra. Tickets to concerts are difficult to obtain unless you reserve well in advance. Sometimes spare tickets are available at the box office a half hour before the evening performance.

The small and alternative Neuköllner Oper puts on fun, showy performances of long-forgotten operas as well as humorous musical productions. It also is more likely than other Berlin opera houses to stage productions offering modern social commentary and individual takes on the immigrant experience—which is fitting for this international neighborhood.

Though the Passion Play theater was traditionally not used for anything other than the Passion Play (next performance: 2022), Oberammergauers have begun using it for opera or other theatrical events during the 10-year pause between the religious performances.

One of Munich's major pop-rock concert venues is the Olympiahalle.

Cologne's opera company is known for exciting classical and contemporary productions. The opera house on Offenbachplatz, originally scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2015 after a major multiyear renovation, remains delayed until 2023. Their interim location is the StaatenHaus am Rheinpark in Cologne-Deutz.

This is a major venue for comedy and cabaret.

Bad Reichenhall is proud of its long musical tradition and of its orchestra, founded more than a century ago. It performs on numerous occasions throughout the year in the chandelier-hung Kurgastzentrum Theater or, when weather permits, in the open-air pavilion, and at a special Mozart Week in March.

Cologne's WDR Sinfonieorchester performs regularly in the city's excellent concert hall.

Dresden's fine orchestra takes center stage in the city's annual music festival, from mid-May to early June.

Locals in period costume gather in town over the first weekend in September to commemorate Rothenburg's being named Free Imperial City in 1274. Concerts are played throughout the city; the highlight is the Saturday fireworks show.