The Performing Arts
The local symphony orchestra and boys choir are very active, and an annual Handel music festival is held in late May or early June. You can get information on schedules, venues, and tickets by calling tel. 0551/56700 or by contacting the tourist office. Tickets are 12€ to 133€.
For 100 years, the Deutsches Theater, Theaterplatz 11 (tel. 0551/49690; www.dt-goettingen.de), has been staging classical and contemporary drama. Its counterpart, the Junges Theater, Hospitalstrasse 6 (tel. 0551/495015; www.junges-theater.de), has produced experimental works for 40 years. Performances of both are held Tuesday to Sunday, with tickets costing 10€ to 15€ for adults and 7.50€ to 11€ for students. The box office is open Monday to Saturday 11am to 1pm and 6 to 8:30pm.
Bars
We recommend Ratskeller as the place to dine in this university center. Its beer cellar is also the most evocative spot to have a beer, or many beers if you like to drink as the locals do in this 600-year-old establishment. More half-liters are consumed here than at any other place in town. As you lift a mug, imagine that you're standing in the footsteps of previous patrons such as Otto von Bismarck, the Brothers Grimm (they were former faculty members at the university), or, more ominously, Werner Heisenberg, head of the German A-bomb project. One of the more offbeat social centers is KAZ (Kommunikations Aktions-Zentrum), Hospitalstrasse 6 (tel. 0551/53062; www.kaz-goettingen.de), where everyone from seniors to anarchists meet for drinks in one of the two on-premises pubs. One also serves traditional German cuisine; the other offers sandwiches. Within the complex, political forums, local discussion groups, and cultural associations meet regularly. Opening hours change with the seasons and the scheduling of volunteers and group discussion leaders, but in most cases, the center is open Monday to Thursday noon to 2am, Friday noon to 4am, and Saturday 11am to 1am.
Live Music
Live jazz is featured 1 night a week (exact night varies -- call for details) at the excellent Blue Note, Wilhelmsplatz 3 (tel. 0551/46907); on other nights, musicians explore blues, salsa, African, reggae, and other Caribbean styles. It's open Sunday to Thursday 10pm to 2am, Friday and Saturday to 3am. Cover for most bands is 10€ to 18€; cover when there is no live music is usually 5€. Popular with locals and students, Irish Pub, Mühlenstrasse 4 (tel. 0551/45664), hosts live music every night of the week, from local rockers to visiting Irish folk bands. The pub serves Guinness, Kilkenny, and hard cider. There's never a cover, and it's open nightly 5pm to 2am.
Student Taverns
A visit to Göttingen is traditionally capped by a trip to one of the student taverns, such as the cramped but convivial ADe, Prinzenstrasse 16 (tel. 0551/56545), open daily 6pm to 1am, or Irish Pub.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
