Stadtgarten

Stadtgarten is a concert venue, restaurant and club all in one, with a generous outdoor dining area and beer garden, located directly adjacent – as the name would suggest – to the Stadtgarten park. The building itself is fairly centrally located near Hans-Böckler-Platz off Venloer Strasse and boasts a rather impressive history that reaches back into its jazz stage days in the 1950s. Today, Stadtgarten hosts more than 400 highly diverse musical events every year. However, it’s remained loyal to its jazz and improvisation roots, with music from these genres slated to play a stronger role in the months to come.

While Stadtgarten is just that bit more elegant than other concert venues, it’s not at all stuffy or impersonal. You get the impression that the artists, who perform on the main stage against the backdrop of a glittering curtain, feel particularly at home and well taken care of – delivering direct benefits to the audience too, who tend to be more switched on and open to what’s going on in front of them than in other venues across the city.

The diverse and sophisticated schedule in combination with a stylish, welcoming atmosphere makes Stadtgarten one of Cologne’s greatest – in all senses of the word – venues in the city. The sound, too, is convincing: the concert hall was designed specifically as such, with a team of highly professional sound technicians behind the scenes. It’s not for nothing that in 2016, Stadtgarten deservedly received the APPLAUS award for concert venue schedules.

Electronic (live) music enthusiasts might want to check out another highlight in Stadtgarten’s basement, home to the legendary Studio 672, which in decades past left a clear mark on Cologne’s distinctive techno sound. However, rather than rest on its laurels, the club has embraced a new generation of electronic artists and DJs who regularly play the venue.