Gay intro

No one needs to be closeted in a city where even the mayor is out; Burgermeister Klaus Wowereit is the darling of paparazzi and theatre folk. Berlin’s thriving gay scene dominates the area around Nollendorf Platz (Schöneberg) and in Kreuzberg as well as in Tiergarten (around the Löwenbrücke). Dark rooms, cellars, and parties labelled fetish, underwear, or sex abound. The lesbian scene leads a largely nomadic existence from one monthly party to the next (see www.venus-island.de to check the party schedule at Alt Treptow 6 in Treptower Park), but it does have some cafés to call home. Pick up Siegessäule’s free, bi-lingual Out in Berlin at the tourist office for a good run-down of places to eat, drink, and meet Mary.