BERGHAIN-PANORAMA BAR

Berlin’s most unashamedly hedonistic clubbing experience is located far away from the madding crowds (and prying eyes) in a massive ex-power plant behind the Ostbahnhof railway station. The concrete and steel girder interiors won’t come as too much of a shock to the 1,500 revellers who regularly make this their techno haven, though the notorious tattoo-faced doorman – be prepared to queue for hours and to be turned away (no groups, keep a low profile, and don’t look like a tourist) – and blatant fetishistic sex acts might come as more of a surprise to the uninitiated.

Most of the action takes place in the cavernous main hall or the smaller upstairs (and more straight) Panorama Bar, where views over East Berlin and enormous Wolfgang Tillmans photographs take up the walls. A blacked out basement, no-photography policy and complete lack of reflective surfaces all make sure patrons can show their faces again come daybreak.