Hi
beatfreak and welcome to the boards.
Aaah, I remember the 2nd Summer of Love ('88) when that whole scene took off (I was in Germany and the UK at the time - fab!). No doubt you're tracking where your fave DJs will be while you're travelling, but here are a few more venue suggestions:
Paris - greatest venue (IMHO) is
Batofar, red boat on the Siene down near the library at Quai de la Gare (Metro: Biblioteque). I'm also a fan of pre-clubbing drinks at
Buddha Bar (rue Boissy d’Anglais, Metro: Concorde) just for the grooviness of it, although staying on til close it not a bad thing if you want a chilled funky vibe. There are many other places like
Le Loco (i remember when it wasn't "club of the moment" and now it has queues adn is huge!),
Le Queen (now a super-venue),
The Rex (DJ on Friday night otherwise live music),
Les Bains (the "beautiful people's original club) and
Hotel Costes (
the place for models and ueber-DJs) that might picque your interest too.
Berin - one of my old "hometowns"! As
Herrbert wrote, Tresor is good (I miss the mecca of E-Werk now it's closed down), but there are quite a few more Clubs popping up all the time. Check out
Bunker (corner Albrechtstr. & Reinhardstr., Mitte, Metro: U6 Oranienburger Tor) and
Sternradio (Alexanderplatz 5, Mitte district - some nights are good, some not so much). Otherwise, have a look through this list:
www.footprintguides.com/Berlin/Clubs-Bars-and-Clubs.php and see if anything suits. Also,
Strand Bar (Beach Bar) in Summer is a cool place to hang out for a while, depending on the music on the night.
Frankfurt - if you're spending a night here, the Club scene is one of the few attractions of the city (my best friend lives there and will vouch for this!).
Cocoon is my first choice (Sven Vath!), at Carl-Benz-Str. 21 (
www.cocoonclub.net ), otherwise I hear good things about
Deelite Bar (Holzgraben 6) on some nights and
O25 (Ostparkstrasse 25,
www.o25.de/ ) for a mix of styles.
Bremen - aah, my other old "hometown". I used to go to a live music venue called Die Lila Eula, but it was more for bands (and in a dogdy but cool end of town - aren't they all?!). I haven't been back for many years, but one place was
Aladin (Hannoversche Strasse 11) which has different nights dedicated to different sounds (can't believe it's still there!). Also look at
Tower (Herdentorsteinweg 7a, just near the train station) as they alternate (in a very German way) between heavy metal. hardcore dance and lighter house and clubs in the
Breitenweg area (again near the train station).
Munich - I love clubbing here as there are lots of little special nights every week, plus a great complex called
Kunstpark near the Ostbahnhof (east train station) that has far too many venues to count, but each one offers different sounds depending on your mood, just stand outside and decide which one(s) to visit. There is also a
Pascha club in Munich (Maximiliansplatz 5) if you wanted to check it out.
Spain - Barcelona in particular, try
Up & Down (Numancia 179),
MareMagnum (harbour at the end of Las Ramblas) is a complex of lots of different clubs and again just listen for what suits, Port Olimpic also has a large complex with different clubs (like Maremagnum) and great in Summer when the terrace bar sections are open.
Moog (great name!) at Arc de Teatre, 3 (Metro: Drassanes) is worth a visit. Another to look at is
Razzmatazz (Almogavers, 122
Metro: Marina,
www.salarrazzzmatazz.com ) as it's actually 5 rooms in 1 club that all offer different music (techno to rock to top 40 to bands to r&b). There's also a
Pascha club here too (surprise!).
Amsterdam - such a choice!
Escape is the most well-known place and can get a little crowded (!) but has guest DJs from all over so worth checking out what's on (Rembrandtplein 11)particularly Saturdays when "Chemistry" is the night.
Supper Club (21 Jonge Roelensteeg) in the disco part is rather hip and trendy (it was the original "beds in a club" concept) and might have good DJs, just depends on your luck.
Melkweg (Lijnbaansgracht 234) is usually a good live music veneu but also has dance nights on the weekend. I liked
Cool Down Cafe (in rembrandtplain, haven't been in a few years) for being a real example of what was popular in mainstream Dutch music (lots of Dutch bands played) but I'm not sure what it's like now.
Paradiso (Weteringschans 6 just on Leidseplein, dance night on Fridays),
Trance Buddha (Oudezijds Voorburgwal 216, a real Goa-themed club) and
Mazzo (Rozengracht 114, smaller and friendlier club with different nights so check what's on when you're there) are also long-time favourites of mine.
Summer (June onwards) sees a lot more outdoor venues, particularly in Italy and Spain, and they are only open for a few months, so check what's on when you know where you'll be and when.
And one last point - you'll find that the word "Club", although sometimes used in Europe, actually refers to strip clubs. "Disco" is more commonly used when trying to find out where to go for techno and dance. A mistake you might not want to make!
Enjoy - whatever your bpm!
