Germany, Berlin, Clarchen's Ballhaus, old beer hall

Getty Images

Clärchens Ballhaus

Top choice in Berlin

LoginSave

Yesteryear is now at this early-20th-century dance hall where groovers and grannies hoof it across the parquet without even a touch of irony. There are different sounds nightly – salsa to swing, tango to disco – and a live band on Saturday. Dancing kicks off from 9pm or 9.30pm. Ask about dance lessons. Tables can only be reserved if you plan on eating.

Pizza and German staples provide sustenance all day long, in summer in the pretty garden, in winter in the upstairs Spiegesaal (Mirror Hall; pizza €6.60 to €14, mains €6.50 to €20). Minimum spend of €25 for groups of 10 or more.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Museum island on Spree river and Alexanderplatz TV tower in center of Berlin, Germany

    Museumsinsel

    0.41 MILES

    Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel …

  • Neues Museum und Alte Nationalgalerie (right) at Museumsinsel in Berlin.

    Neues Museum

    0.47 MILES

    For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…

  • The Museumsinsel in Berlin

    Pergamonmuseum

    0.37 MILES

    The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp…

  • BERLIN, GERMANY- October 15, 2014: Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed starting on 13 August 1961. East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. October 15, 2014 in Berlin

    East Side Gallery

    2.41 MILES

    The East Side Gallery is the embodiment of Berlin’s grit and guts.

  • Berlin city Germanyu 1610343451

    Fernsehturm

    0.66 MILES

    Germany's tallest structure, the TV Tower is a Berlin icon.

  • Topographie des Terrors, Museum

    Topographie des Terrors

    1.49 MILES

    This compelling exhibit tells stories of terror and persecution in Nazi Germany.

  • Schloss & Park Sanssouci

    Schloss & Park Sanssouci

    17.64 MILES

    This glorious park and palace ensemble is what happens when a king has good taste, plenty of cash and access to the finest architects and artists of the…

  • Schloss Sanssouci

    Schloss Sanssouci

    17.35 MILES

    Frederick the Great's famous summer palace, this rococo gem was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747 and sits daintily above vine-draped…

View more attractions

Nearby Berlin attractions

1. me Collectors Room

0.05 MILES

Founded by private art collector Thomas Olbricht, this modern, non-elitist space presents curated highlights from his own collection and also serves as a…

2. KW Institute for Contemporary Art

0.07 MILES

Founded in the early 1990s in an old margarine factory, nonprofit KW played a key role in turning the Scheunenviertel into Berlin’s first major post-Wall…

3. Museum the Kennedys

0.1 MILES

US president John F Kennedy has held a special place in German hearts since his defiant ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’ ('I am a Berliner') solidarity speech in…

4. Jüdische Mädchenschule

0.1 MILES

This 1920s former Jewish girls' school, which was forcibly closed by the Nazis in 1942, was injected with new life as a cultural and culinary hub in 2012…

5. Sammlung Hoffmann

0.14 MILES

Blink and you’ll miss the doorway leading to the Sophie-Gips-Höfe, a trio of courtyards linking Sophienstrasse and Gipsstrasse. The former sewing-machine…

6. Heckmann-Höfe

0.15 MILES

For a retreat from the urban frenzy, skip on over to this idyllic 19th-century courtyard complex linking Oranienburger Strasse with Auguststrasse. Aside…

7. Neue Synagoge

0.17 MILES

The gleaming gold dome of the Neue Synagoge is the most visible symbol of Berlin’s revitalised Jewish community. The 1866 original was Germany's largest…

8. Friedhof Grosse Hamburger Strasse

0.2 MILES

What looks like a small park was in fact Berlin’s first Jewish cemetery, destroyed by the Nazis in 1943. Some 2700 people were buried here between 1672…