Nightlife

To find out what's happening in Hamburg, pick up a copy of Hamburger Vorschau for 2€ ($3.20). Published once a month, it's available at various tourist offices, most hotels, and most newsstands.

Theater

Hamburg is blessed with more than 40 theaters, but for most of these, a good knowledge of German is necessary. An exception, the English Theatre of Hamburg, Lerchenfeld 14 (tel. 040/2277089; www.englishtheatre.de; U-Bahn: Mundsburg), is the only English-speaking theater in the northern part of Germany. Tickets are 13€ to 32€ ($21-$51). Performances are Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm; a matinee is presented on Tuesday and Friday at 11am.

If you understand German, try the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Kirchenallee 39 (tel. 040/248713; U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof). It's one of the outstanding theaters in the German-speaking world, performing both classics and modern plays.

Other theaters are the cutting-edge Thaliatheater, Alstertor (tel. 040/328140; U-Bahn: Jungfernstieg), and the Kammerspiele, Hartungstrasse 9-11 (tel. 040/44123660; U-Bahn: Hallerstrasse). Both stage a wide range of plays as well as musical shows. A new production usually opens every month. Tickets at these theaters range from 10€ to 45€ ($16-$72). Small ensemble performances such as Evening with Marlene Dietrich are the specialty of the Schmidt Theater, Spielbudenplatz 24 (tel. 040/3177880; S-Bahn: Reeperbahn). Its companion, Schmidts Tivoli, Spielbudenplatz 27-28 (same phone), hosts musicals and other popular performances. Tickets are 9€ to 46€ ($14-$74). All of these are closed on Monday.

Two of Hamburg's busiest theaters are the Neue Flora Theater, Stresemannstrasse 159A (tel. 01805/4444; U-Bahn: Altona), and the Operettenhaus, Spielbudenplatz 1 (same phone; S-Bahn: Reeperbahn), which have enjoyed an unprecedented success with German-language versions of U.S. and British musicals. The cost of seeing shows is 32€ to 126€ ($51-$202), depending on your seat and the night you attend.

Gay Clubs

Hamburg, like Berlin, is one of the major gay havens of Europe, with a particularly dense concentration of gay boutiques and cafes along the Lange Reihe in St. Pauli. A little journal, Dorn Rosa, distributed at most gay and lesbian bars, lists (in German) the clubs, restaurants, bars, and events that cater to a gay, lesbian, and bisexual clientele.