The Next Day #132: Christmas & New Year’s Guide Berlin
What’s on in Berlin over the holidays
Berlin slows down between Christmas and New Year. The city's usual pace gives way to something quieter. Club queues and gallery openings make room for long dinners at home with friends, away from the fireworks chaos on Silvester night.
It's when no one worries about missing out. Time to do everything you planned all year but never got to: explore the museums on Museum Island, catch films in Berlin's beautiful cinemas, spend an afternoon at Vabali or another spa you kept postponing, check out newly opened bookstores like Chapters Berlin. And finally, spend hours exploring Dong Xuan Center.
Days start getting longer, barely noticeable at first, but you feel it. Temperatures drop below zero some mornings, and the city wears winter well: sharp light, empty parks, Berlin's characteristic edge softened by the cold. A good season for staying in. For cooking at home and learning to make pierogi. For reading the books stacked by your bed or discovering interesting Berliners. For planning the year without the noise. For listening to the year’s best albums or diving deep into Japanese Music.
The calendar thins out but doesn't stop. Between December 24 and January 4: marathons at Renate, Berghain on New Year's Day, Diane Arbus at Gropius Bau, a 38-hour session at OXI. But nobody's keeping score.
The calendar thins out but doesn’t stop. Between December 24 and January 4, there are still options: marathons at Renate, Berghain on New Year’s Day, Diane Arbus at Gropius Bau, a 38-hour session at OXI if you want to lose yourself in sound. But the calendar loosens its grip. Berlin at year's end is about slowing down with the people you chose to be here with.
And while you're at it, answer our survey and help The Next Day figure out what you want to do in 2025.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a beautiful new year. We're taking a break and will be back on January 7th.
Lalai & Mateus
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💦 SWEAT
The End: Renate Closing 86H
Wed-Sun, 31.12-04.01, 10 pm-10 am. Renate, Friedrichshain. €22-59
86-hour NYE marathon with Ben Sims, Lewis Fautzi, Félicie, Stephanie Sykes, Jana Falcon, Anna Schreit. Techno, house, breakbeat across multiple floors. The closing party that isn't closing: Renate had a plot twist and continues in 2026.
CHRISTMAS REUNION - OBXENE X TOILET SESSION
Thursday, 25.12, 11 pm - 8 am. ÆDEN, Kreuzberg. €17
Groovy, playful techno with Punktmidi (live), Tasha Safari, ALIS., Molly Lollen.
CDV x Sonnenraum: Rhadoo, Petre Inspirescu, Melchior & Pronsato LIVE
Fri-Sun, 26-28.12, 10 pm - 10 am. Sonnenraum, Treptow/Kreuzberg. €25
36-hour marathon. Romanian minimal legends Rhadoo and Petre Inspirescu, Janina. Extended sets, microhouse precision.
LAYERS XMAS XTRAVAGANZA
Sunday, 28.12, 4 pm - 2 am. Paloma, Kreuzberg. €16-20
Feminist DJ collective with a 100% women lineup playing sexy house. Lydia Eisenblätter, Jana Falcon, Cristalyne and others. Intimate venue - soft winter light through the windows, special Xmas drinks, dances deep into the night.
Tresor invites Richie Hawtin: Minus+
Monday, 29.12, 11 pm - 11 am. Tresor/Globus, Mitte. €25
Minimal techno legend set featuring Richie Hawtin, Marc Houle (live), and Vera Logdanidi. If you’re in Berlin and want to catch a rare Hawtin set in town.
OXI NYE - 38 hours
Wed-Fri, 31.12-02.01, 10 pm - 12 pm. OXI, Lichtenberg/Friedrichshain. €22-52
38-hour marathon spanning techno, house, groove, latincore, bass. DjRUM anchors with deep hypnotic sets. Also in the line-up: Yazzus, Courtesy, Call Super, CEM b2b JASSS, HEDDA. Queer and FLINTA crowd.
Primal Instinct NYE 30H Party
Wed-Fri, 31.12-02.01, 11 pm - 6 am. Haus der Visionäre, Treptow/Kreuzberg. €40
30-hour marathon curated by Chlär. Steffi, Ian Pooley, Hadone, BLANKA, Amaliah, DJ AYA, Vera Grace. Warehouse and club room, techno and house.
GEGEN & PRNCPTL - RSO 33H
Wed-Fri, 31.12-02.01, 11:59 pm - 10 am. RSO, Niederschöneweide. €59
33-hour industrial/tecnhno/hard techno marathon with Dasha Rush, KEMI, Akua b2b Tasha, Doppelgang, Katy de Jesus. Relentless, uncompromising, long line-up. Don’t forget to check the dress code.
Silvester Klubnacht
Thursday, 01.01, 1 am. Berghain | Panorama Bar | Lab, Friedrichshain.
New Year’s Day tradition across three floors featuring a dream line-up: Beste Hira, Jelena, Philippa Pacho, John Talabot, Lea Occhi, André Galluzzi, The Hacker, Curses, Bell Towers.
twin
Friday, 02.01, 10 pm - 8 am. OHM, Mitte.
Five uninterrupted hours with DVS1. Deep, shifting, patient - the kind of set that earns its length. House and techno without rush.
🔊 FREQUENCY
Captain Naylon: Beirut meets Berlin
Saturday, 27.12, 8 pm - 6 am. Panke, Wedding. €15/€20
Improvised music and experimental exploration: Beirut meets Berlin. On the decks: Mieko Suzuki, june as, Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanese improv pioneer). Live: Audrey Chen, Kaffe Matthews, Tony Elieh, Maurice Louca.
👁️ WATCH
Die Wildente (The Wild Duck)
Thu-Sun, 25-28.12, 7:30pm / 8pm; & Sat-Sun, 03-04.01, 7:30 pm. In DE with EN surtitles (04.01). Directed by Thomas Ostermeier. Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz. €7-€60.
A modern take on Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, where exposing buried lies ignites a moral conflict between truth and the fragile illusions that sustain family life.
Orlando
Sat-Sun, 27-28.12; and Thursday, 01.01, 6 pm. In DE with EN surtitles (01.01). Directed by Katie Mitchell. Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz. €7-€60.
A fluid stage-and-video adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, playfully dissolving gender, time, and identity with artistic freedom.
Die Nacht von Lissabon (The night of Lisbon)
Saturday, 27.12, 7:30 pm. Directed by Hakan Savaş Mican. In DE with EN surtitles. Maxim Gorki Theater, €12-€ 40.
A powerful adaptation of Remarque’s The Night in Lisbon, tracing love and desperation as two refugees flee fascist Europe in search of freedom.
East Side Story – A German Jewsical
Wednesday, 31.12, 6:30 pm; Thursday, 01.01, 6pm. Directed by Lena Brasch. In DE with EN surtitles. Maxim Gorki Theater. €12-€ 40.
An absurd musical about postwar Germany, Jewish return, memory, denial, and identity - mixing satire, history, pop culture, and dark humor.
Die drei Leben der Hannah Arendt (The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt)
Friday, 26.12, 8 pm; Sat, 27.12 and Fri, 02.01, 7:30 pm. Directed by Theresa Thomasberger. In DE with EN surtitles (27.12 &02.01). Deutsches Theater. €22-€38.
A theatrical portrait of Hannah Arendt’s life, exploring exile, friendship, and the courage to think freely amid the turmoil of the 20th century.
Einfach das Ende der Welt: Deutsches Theater ((It’s Only The End Of The World)
Sunday, 04.01 – 6 pm. In DE without surtitles. Directed by Christopher Rüping. Deutches Theater. €8-€59. (Last Performance in this season)
After years away, a successful artist returns home, confronting distance, silence, and the fragile question of whether reunion is still possible.
The Barber of Seville by Gioacchino Rossini
Thursday, 25.12; and Sunday, 28.12, 5 pm. Directed by Katharina Thalbach. In IT with DE and EN surtitles, Deutsche Oper Berlin. €26-€108
A witty, high-energy opera where clever Figaro helps young lovers outsmart a greedy guardian - Rossini’s comic classic in a vibrant seaside setting.
Die Fledermaus (The Bat) by Johann Strauß
Saturday, 27.12; Wed, 31.12, 6pm; and Saturday, 03.01, 5pm. Directed by Rolando Villazón. In DE with DE and EN surtitles. Deutsche Oper Berlin, € 26-€144.
A sparkling Viennese operetta of disguises, revenge, and champagne-fuelled chaos, where waltzes and irony expose bourgeois hypocrisy.
La Bohème
Saturday, 27.12; Tuesday, 30.12; and Friday, 02.01, 7:30 pm, Directed by Lindy HumeIn IT with DE and EN surtitles, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, €11-€115.
Puccini’s La Bohème: a tender love story of young artists in 19th-century Paris, caught between freedom, poverty, and the fragility of life.
🖼️ LOOK
The next 24-hour screening of Christian Marclay’s The Clock will take place from January 2 to January 3, 2026. Entry is free from 8 pm until 10 am the following day. Neue Nationalgalerie will also be open on December 25, 26, 31, and January 1.
As a little Christmas gift, I'm sharing the guide to 14 current exhibitions in the city. So you don't miss what's worth seeing.
🎬 SCREEN
Latin Blood: The Ballad of Ney Matogrosso (2025 - Brazil), Esmir Filho: From repressed childhood to revolution on stage: Ney Matogrosso transforms Brazil through music and boldness. Jesuíta Barbosa embodies the queer icon who defied dictatorship with a countertenor voice and glitter. Visceral performance, vibrant cinematography. → Netflix
Sentimental Value (2025 - Norway), Joachim Trier: Two sisters face their absent father’s return after years away. Delicate family drama from the director of “The Worst Person in the World,” starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning. Grand Jury Prize at Cannes 2025. → Cinemas (Yorck)
Sound of Falling (2025 - Germany), Mascha Schilinski: Four generations of women on a northern German farm, lives intertwined across a century of inherited trauma. Non-linear, haunting, 2.5 hours of lyrical sorrow. → Cinemas (Screening at various cinemas)
The Cure: Songs of a Lost World (2024/2025), Nick Wickham: A 4K remastered, recut, and remixed film of The Cure’s only full performance of Songs of a Lost World, recorded at London’s Troxy (2024). A complete 31-song set, with a new surround sound mix by Robert Smith, moving between the band’s most melancholic recent work and timeless classics like Disintegration. → Cinemas (Yorck)
Bugonia (2025), Yorgos Lanthimos: Emma Stone is a pharma CEO kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists (Jesse Plemons) convinced she’s an alien. Remake of “Save the Green Planet!”, sharp political satire. It has a controversial ending. → Cinemas (Screening at various cinemas)
✨ MISC
Soma & Soul: Day Retreat
Sunday, 28.12, 1 - 6:30 pm. Yoga at Lobe Block, Wedding. €89 (In DE)
Yin Yoga, cacao ceremony, mantra singing, and nature mandala creation. Five-hour somatic journey to close out 2025 with nervous system regulation and embodied transition into the new year. Includes ceremonial cacao and New Year's goodie bag.
LIQUIDROM NYE 2025
Wednesday, 31.12, 9 pm - 1:30 am. Liquidrom, Kreuzberg. €89
Float in a 36°C saltwater pool under the dome with underwater music, light show, and a DJ set. Only 90 spots. Crémant at midnight. Textile required (swimwear, mesh shirt). Your warm-water alternative to packed dancefloors.
🍝 TASTE
Lo Füfu Pop-Up at Flatto
Fri-Sat, 26-27.12, from 7 pm. Flatto, Reinhardtstr.19, Mitte.
After Lo Füfu’s sudden closure, head chef Amodio brings his seasonal best-of menu to Flatto: premium fish and seafood with well-paired drinks. Limited seating in a monumental former butcher shop. Book via OpenTable or email.
Estelle Dining: Osteria
Saturday, 27.12, from 6 pm. Estelle Dining, Prenzlauer Berg. €39,90 set menu
Estelle transforms into a casual Italian osteria. Three-course set menu with antipasti, house-made pasta, and dolci. Italian wines, Negroni to start, limoncello to finish. Simple, delicious, no frills.
Trio Berlin Silvester Schwips
Wednesday, 31.12, 11 am - 3 pm. Trio Berlin, Mitte.
Start your New Year's Eve early at Trio Berlin. No reservations needed - just drop by for bubbles, snacks, and good company before the evening madness begins.
Kanal61 NYE 2025
Wednesday, 31.12, from 6 pm (table available at 6 and 6h30 pm). Kanal61, Erkelenzdamm 61, Kreuzberg. €120 per person
Ring in 2026 with a sharing menu at Kanal61. Choose meat, fish, or vegetarian (no vegan options). Special bottles and wines by the glass. Reserve via their website or email for groups of 8+.
🏃🏻♂️➡️ COMMUNITY PICKS
RUN-N-RAVE x BAMNAT SOUL FOOD SUNDAY
Sunday, 28.12, 11 am. Meet at BAMNAT, Kreuzberg. Free (2-for-1 food deal after)
Community long run (7km) followed by Korean soul food at BAMNAT. Meet at the restaurant, bag drop, run together, eat after. Low-key way to move and connect during the holidays.
📌 SAVE THE DATE
Here you find a list of must-see rock shows in January in Berlin.
TIME TRAVEL HEAR TODAY: Four nights, four unique constellations with immersive concert installation with Moor Mother, ensemble mosaik, Alya Alsultani, Dudu Kouaté, and more. Experimental hip hop, free jazz, philosophy, performance. January 7–10, 2026, Neue Nationalgalerie. €17.
CTM Festival 2026: If you’re into experimental music, this is your festival. Earth, Blawan, Emma Ruth Rundle, Ellen Arkbro, spatial sound programme. 23.01 - 01.02.2026. Berghain, Radialsystem, and more.
Christian Löffler & Sven Helbig: Until We Meet Again Tour: Electronic meets orchestral composition. The German producer Löffler collaborates with composer Helbig for a live performance at the Philharmonie. 02.02.2026, Philharmonie Berlin. €55.
Strom Festival 2026: Electronic music at Philharmonie Berlin feat. Alva Noto (rare live AV), Fennesz & Oscar Jockel world premiere with Berliner Philharmoniker members, Ellen Allien, Ben Klock b2b Fadi Mohem, Azu Tiwaline & Cinna Peyghamy. 06-07.02.2026, Philharmonie Berlin. €58/day.
Jon Hopkins: Quantum Sound at Funkhaus: Spatialised listening sessions and live piano improvisation celebrating Hopkins’ new album. 14.02.2026, Funkhaus Saal 1. Tickets €50.
Sessa: São Paulo-born artist presents his beautiful album Pequena Vertigem de Amor - nocturnal MPB meets psychedelic soul, crooked funky grooves, acoustic guitar, and Afro-Brazilian percussion. 19.02.2026, Mikropol. €25.