Betty F***

A long established bar, popular with an older, arty clientele. It has a very cosy feeling, like being in someone's front room. Check out if there are any shows on when you are visiting Berlin. This is a very different venue from other gay bars in the city.

An alternative gay bar in Kreuzberg, with a quirky interior featuring walls lined with pink fur and kitsch accessories. It's not a huge bar, so it can get extremely busy at peak times. If you have been to places like the Retro Bar or Vauxhall Tavern in London, then Roses would be worth a visit.

Small, smoky place with friendly bartenders were you get in touch with other guests quickly. Often popular later in the evening as people move on from other nearby bars to see if they can make some late night connections.

There’s some serious queer history behind Neues Ufer. Opened as Anderes Ufer in 1977, it became one of Berlin’s pioneering openly gay and lesbian cafés, with David Bowie a regular when he lived nearby. Today it remains a relaxed café-bar, with drinks, outdoor seating and plenty of Bowie memorabilia adding to the character. It sits further south in Schöneberg than the main gay nightlife around Motzstraße and Fuggerstraße, but that gives it more of a neighbourhood feel. The crowd mixes long-time LGBTQ+ regulars, locals, visitors and Bowie fans, making it particularly good for conversation and an earlier drink rather than a big night out.

Berlin's most popular bar among bears and their admirers, located on Fuggerstrasse in Berlin's gay village. Now with tables outside as well as inside, the bar offers a broad range of drinks and a friendly, yet cruisy atmosphere. The darkroom is open once again, and there is a smoking room inside the bar too. Come and say hi to Kim, the handsome owner, and the other great guys behind the bar. Closing time depends on how long guests stay drinking! Men only.

GEM Bar is a small, polished gay cocktail bar where conversation takes priority over booming music. Dark wood, marble and intimate seating give it a grown-up feel, while the drinks list goes well beyond basic beer and long drinks. Karaoke occasionally turns the volume up, but most evenings are deliberately relaxed. Its Fuggerstraße location puts GEM right inside Schöneberg’s main gay neighbourhood. Prinzknecht is almost next door, Woof is just along the street and Blond, Dreizehn and several other gay bars are only minutes away. The crowd is mixed but tends towards middle-aged and older gay men, with plenty of regulars alongside visitors looking for somewhere quieter to start the evening.