These are the six Berlin cruising and fetish clubs we would send someone to. BULL, open around the clock on Kleiststraße, leads. Lab.oratory is second, for how it runs its nights. The other four are a mixed club that labels every party by who it is for, two bars with a darkroom, and a club built around SM.
The clubs, in order
Berlin cruising clubs, ranked
Bull Bar Berlin
Berlin · Germany
BULL is a gay bar on Kleiststraße in Berlin-Schöneberg, and its defining fact is that it never closes: it runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so y...
Lab.oratory
Berlin · Germany
Lab.oratory is the men-only sex club in the basement of Berghain, and it has a fair claim to being the most uncompromising venue of its kind anywhere....
Culture Houze
Berlin · Germany
Club Culture Houze is a sex-positive club in Berlin with 25 years of experience, hosting sex parties for all orientations and genders. Spread across t...
Grosse Freiheit 114
Berlin · Germany
Grosse Freiheit 114 is a bar on the Boxhagener Straße in Friedrichshain — it takes its name from its house number. It has been a fixture of Berlin's L...
Böse Buben
Berlin · Germany
Böse Buben e.V. has been going since 6 November 1996, and describes itself as Germany's gay association for flagellation and for diverse forms of sexu...
Why this order
BULL is first, and it is the easy one. It is open 24/7, it has a bar with a big choice of shots, a cloakroom and a darkroom, and its nights run through bare and safe, all-fetish, leather, rubber, naked and puppy play. Whenever you land in Berlin, it is open.
Lab.oratory is second, for how it runs its nights. Every party sets its own strict dress code: fully naked with shoes only on many nights, sportswear on others. The club is men only by default, and some nights are for FLINTA persons only, so read the night before you go.
Culture Houze is third, and it is different from everything else here. It has been open for 25 years, it spreads its play rooms over two floors, and it runs parties for many sexual orientations, marking each one with a gender icon so you can see who a night is for. Whips, ropes and slings are provided, and condoms, lube and gloves are free at the bar. It takes cash only.
Bars with a darkroom
Grosse Freiheit 114 has been part of the scene since 2005 and calls itself the only bar in Friedrichshain with a darkroom. It also has a DJ booth and a dance floor in the middle room. It is the pick if you are staying east.
Scheune, on Motzstraße, opens every day from 9 pm. The bar is upstairs and the darkroom downstairs. It runs fetish theme parties (rubber, skinhead, jeans, uniform), and Sunday is its naked party.
For SM
Böse Buben is the one on this list built around SM rather than cruising. Its calendar runs themed nights for spanking and corporal punishment, foot fetish and more, and it publishes that calendar months ahead. It says itself that the club is not barrier-free. If a structured night appeals, our guide to the play party explains the format.
Before you go
- Check the night, not just the club. Lab.oratory, Culture Houze and Böse Buben all change who a night is for and what you wear to it.
- Bring cash for Culture Houze. It does not take cards.
- Check the price for the night you pick on the club's own site before you go.
What we left off, and why
Berlin has more cruising bars than the six above. Some are missing because we cannot yet confirm them from the club's own website, and we add a club once we can. Sex cinemas are a different format and are not on this list.
Common questions
Which Berlin cruising club is open all the time?
BULL in Schöneberg says it is open 24/7. Scheune opens every day from 9 pm. Lab.oratory, Culture Houze and Böse Buben run to an event calendar, so check the night before you go.
Is there a dress code?
At Lab.oratory, yes, and it is strict: each night sets its own, often fully naked with shoes only. Culture Houze sets the dress code per party. At the bars, a dress code applies on theme nights.
Are any of these open to women or non-binary people?
Culture Houze runs parties for many orientations and labels each one with a gender icon. Lab.oratory holds some nights for FLINTA persons only.