Finding out what’s happening in Berlin

It can be tough arriving in a new city and not knowing where tonight’s party/band/theatre/movie event is going down. Luckily for the Berliner, there are a few magazines which keep us all up-to-date on the latest offerings, with detailed lists organized by date and category. They are all in German, but with some basic vocabulary (eg. Film = Kino, Theatre = Theater, Music = Musik, Party = well, Party usually. There, that’s not so tough is it?)

TIP

This, with Zitty, is one of the grandfathers of the city magazine scene. It comes out fortnightly (every two weeks for those non-British Commonwealth readers here), and is full of articles, reviews and the all-important info about the goings-on in the Hauptstadt. In fact, this listing usually makes up at least half of this quite chunky magazine. All events are sorted first by date, then by type (music, film, theatre, party) and at the back there’s a handy address section so you can actually find out where, for example, the Acud actually is. Don’t want to blow 3 Euro on the magazine? Then try their website where the handy calendar on the first page let’s you knwo what is happening on any given day.

Zitty

The other major city magazine in town, Zitty also comes out fortnightly but alternating with Tip (ie. Tip comes out one week, Zitty the next, Tip the week after). Make sure you check the dates to find out which is the best match for the time you’re here. Aside from general design (Zitty tends to a bit more of a grunge image) the magazines are relatively interchangeable. What appears in one will appear in the other and it usually just comes down to a question of editorial and layout preferences. Zitty is also organised by date and event and also has an up-to-date website.

[030]

If you don’t really want to lug around a big magazine like the two above, pick up a copy of [030] . This magazine is free, often found in places like McDonald’s or movie theatres and is a more slimmed down version of the above two. You won’t find tonight’s backyard squatters DJ event in it, but it does list all the bigger things such as movies, clubs and larger concerts.