When service stops and when Hesse bans dancing, how the six-week trade notice works and what it costs, terraces and noise, what the bill and the team cost, and when Frankfurt fills.
Frankfurt’s night runs on both banks of the Main. By the main station, the Bahnhofsviertel is one of the city’s key nightlife hubs, known for its dense club scene, and the Innenstadt keeps central clubs such as Gibson and Silbergold close to the Zeil. South of the river, Alt-Sachsenhausen’s apple wine taverns and cobbled lanes turn into a party quarter after dark, and in the Ostend, Hanauer Landstraße mixes clubs, restaurants and bars, Fortuna Irgendwo among them. Fairs at the Messe bring trade visitors through the year, from Ambiente in winter to the book fair in October. Clubs can run until 5 a.m., when a short Sperrzeit begins. What limits the night more is the calendar: Hesse’s holidays come with dance bans.
In Frankfurt the closing hour is the easy part. Hesse’s holiday dance bans are what decide which nights you can sell. Trade notices for bars and clubs go to the Ordnungsamt of the City of Frankfurt (Gewerbeangelegenheiten).
The Sperrzeit is lifted in the night to 1 January, the nights from the Friday before Fastnacht to Ash Wednesday, and the night to 1 May. For an event or a single venue the Ordnungsamt can bring it forward, push it back or lift it, for a limited time or revocably, with conditions. The holiday dance ban does not apply on 1 May or 3 October, and is longer on the silent days.
Letting a guest stay after the Sperrzeit starts is an offence, and so is a guest staying on after being told to leave.
Read the ruleThe Sperrzeit for bars, restaurants and public entertainment venues starts at 05:00 and ends at 06:00. It is lifted in the night to 1 January, the nights from the Friday before Fastnacht to Ash Wednesday, and the night to 1 May.1
An application not decided within three months counts as granted.
Read the ruleFor specific events and single venues, the local authority can bring the Sperrzeit forward, push its end back or lift it, for a limited time or revocably, and can add conditions at any time.
Ask the Ordnungsamt about its fee and usual terms before you plan around it.1
The night before Ascension or Corpus Christi can run as a club night, but the dancing has to stop by 04:00.
Read the ruleOn public holidays, public dance events are banned from 04:00 to 12:00. The ban does not apply on 1 May or the Day of German Unity.3
The dancing on the Wednesday night before Easter has to stop by 04:00.
Read the rulePublic dance events are banned from 04:00 on Maundy Thursday, from 00:00 on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, from 04:00 on Volkstrauertag and Totensonntag, and from 17:00 on Christmas Eve.
Ask the Ordnungsamt when each ban ends and about an exemption for a single holiday, and check the current law before you plan one of these nights.3
The notification names the type of operation and any outdoor service.
Read the ruleHesse has no hospitality licence for new venues. Where alcohol is served, the trade notification must reach the authority at least six weeks before opening, with proof that you applied for a Führungszeugnis and a Gewerbezentralregister extract, an extract from the debtors’ register and a tax certificate, none older than three months.
The authority may let you start earlier or waive a requirement in a single case.2
Parking spaces can be used all year, except loading zones, fire lanes, disabled bays and taxi ranks.
Read the ruleSeating on public streets, squares and parking spaces needs a special-use permit (Sondernutzungserlaubnis) from the Amt für Straßenbau und Erschließung. Apply 6 to 8 weeks ahead. There is no right to one: it is revocable at any time, runs for one continuous period and needs a new application before it ends.
Furniture must be uniform and light in colour, with no tents, pavilions or windbreaks, and the area and 10 metres around it must be cleaned daily.4
At a venue licensed before 1 May 2012, occasional music in the garden needs an exception permit from the Ordnungsamt, applied for in good time: €90 unless the work is unusually large.
Read the ruleA garden on private land (Wirtschaftsgarten) needs a building permit from the Bauaufsicht, for up to five years, at €100 to €1,500 depending on the case. Once the application is complete, the decision takes at most three months.4
Check the area type before you sign a lease, and plan the terrace around the nearest homes.
Read the ruleWhether a terrace may serve, how large and at what hours often depends on the noise assessment. Day limits run from 06:00 to 22:00 and the night limits are much lower. They also vary by area: low in residential areas, higher in mixed ones and least strict in commercial ones.4
It does not handle complaints, so it will not settle a dispute with neighbours.
Read the ruleFrankfurt has no night mayor. Its Nachtrat is a politically independent, honorary body attached to the city’s Stabsstelle Stadtmarketing, working as adviser, source of ideas and supporter.
Bring it ideas and projects for the night.11
Check each door person’s certificate before the first shift.
Read the ruleGuarding the entrance area of a hospitality disco needs a Sachkundeprüfung (expert knowledge exam) before the IHK, under § 34a of the trade code (GewO). The employer may use only reliable people with an IHK certificate of instruction.
Ask the IHK or the Ordnungsamt whether a venue’s own employed door staff are exempt.5
A 16 or 17-year-old can have beer or wine in a bar but never a spirit.
Read the ruleBeer, wine and sparkling wine may not go to under-16s, and other alcohol, spirits included, not to under-18s. Fourteen and 15-year-olds may have beer, wine and sparkling wine with a parent or guardian.6
A club night is for adults only.
Read the ruleUnder-16s may stay in a bar or restaurant only with a parent or guardian, or from 05:00 to 23:00 for a meal or a drink. Guests aged 16 and 17 may not stay unaccompanied from midnight to 05:00, and night bars and night clubs may not admit children or young people at all.
Plan door checks around these hours for any all-ages early evening.7
Price at least one soft drink on the menu with that in mind.
Read the ruleAlcohol may not be served to anyone visibly drunk. Where alcohol is served, at least one non-alcoholic drink must cost no more than the cheapest alcoholic drink, also compared by the litre.2
Hesse has no hospitality licence for new venues. A bar or club that serves alcohol files a complete trade notification with the Ordnungsamt at least six weeks before it opens, and the authority checks the operator’s reliability.
The notification states the type of operation, a club or a bar for example, and any outdoor service.2
In the standard case the notification and the reliability check cost no more than €100 in all. A notification for a venue without alcohol costs €33, receipt included.4
A garden on private land needs a building permit from the Bauaufsicht. Seating on the street needs a special-use permit from the Amt für Straßenbau und Erschließung, applied for 6 to 8 weeks ahead.4
Issued by the Ordnungsamt of the City of Frankfurt (Gewerbeangelegenheiten)
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the Ordnungsamt before acting on it.
Gibson prices its tables per person rather than per table, so the bill below works out a whole table, with VAT and a service charge inside it.
| Minimum spend | €1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 10%, added by the venue | €100.00 |
| VAT on drinks 19%, included in the prices | €175.63 |
| Guest pays | €1,100.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Drinks, including cocktails and bottles, carry the 19% standard rate.8
Food served for eating on the spot carries the 7% reduced rate, so a table with food on the bill splits between 19% and 7%.8
Admission to concerts and comparable performances is 7%. Ask a tax adviser or the Finanzamt whether a DJ club night’s entry counts; the guide assumes 19%.8
Ask a tax adviser or the Finanzamt how VAT treats a mandatory service charge; the example taxes it at the drinks rate.8
Tips are tax-free for the employee when guests give them voluntarily on top of the price. A mandatory service charge is not voluntary, so it may not fit that wording.9
Rough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
€12 to €20
Typically about €15
Door prices for regular club nights on three clubs’ own pages: €12 at Silbergold, €15 at Gibson and €18 to €20 at Fortuna Irgendwo. Gibson says its door usually costs €12 to €18. Special nights such as Gibson’s Halloween cost more.
€250 to €1,500
Of the clubs on this page, only Gibson prints a table minimum, and it is per person: €50, €75 or €100 with a table reservation, without saying how many sit at a table. So this is a general estimate for the lowest table, generalised from the Berlin and Vienna estimates, before the service charge.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Price sources: Silbergold, Gibson, Gibson tables, Fortuna Irgendwo.
Rising staff costs are the worry Frankfurt’s night-time businesses name most often, so start with the statutory floor and how tips are taxed.
Minimum wage €13.90 an hour, since 1 January 202610
The statutory minimum wage is €13.90 an hour gross from 1 January 2026, and €14.60 from 1 January 2027.10
Tips that guests give voluntarily on top of the price, with no legal claim to them, are tax-free for the employee.9
In a survey of 129 Frankfurt night-time businesses for the city, rising staff costs were the challenge named most often. Rising fees and charges and bureaucracy were named too.11
Frankfurt’s year runs on two clocks: the fairs at the Messe, and the holidays, when Hesse stops public dancing in the morning and for longer on its silent days.
A public holiday. The Sperrzeit is lifted in the night to 1 January.
Official siteMesse Frankfurt’s January fair for home and contract textiles.
Official siteThe consumer goods fair, held at the same time as Christmasworld and Creativeworld.
Official siteThe Sperrzeit is lifted every night of the carnival days, so bars and clubs can stay open through.
Messe Frankfurt’s big March fair: ISH, for heating, ventilation and water, or Light + Building. Check which one is on.
Official siteNo public dancing from 04:00 on Maundy Thursday, and none from midnight on Good Friday, a public holiday, and Holy Saturday.
Official siteA public holiday, so Easter Sunday night is a holiday eve. No public dancing from 04:00 to 12:00.
Official siteThe folk fair on the Ratsweg fairground, in front of the Eissporthalle.
Official siteA public holiday. The Sperrzeit is lifted in the night to 1 May, and the holiday dance ban does not apply.
Official siteA public holiday on a Thursday, so Wednesday night is a holiday eve. No public dancing from 04:00 to 12:00.
Official siteThe folk festival in the city forest that the tourist board calls Frankfurt’s unofficial holiday. Many people go after work on the Tuesday.
Official siteA public holiday in the middle of the Wäldchestag weekend.
Official siteA public holiday in Hesse, on a Thursday, so Wednesday night is a holiday eve.
Official siteFour days with a parade. The organiser puts its crowd at around 150,000.
Official siteA riverside folk festival at the Mainkai and Römerberg, open to 01:00 on Friday and Saturday, with fireworks on the Monday.
Official siteTen days of live music on the Roßmarkt, celebrating Frankfurt’s apple wine.
Official siteOne of Europe’s largest cultural festivals, on both banks of the Main, with music stages, late museums and closing fireworks.
Official siteA five-day Messe Frankfurt trade fair that has drawn more than 112,000 trade visitors. Check the next dates on its site.
Official siteThe folk fair’s second run on the Ratsweg fairground.
Official siteA public holiday on which the holiday dance ban does not apply.
Official siteThe book fair, with about 4,000 exhibitors and more than 230,000 visitors.
Official siteNot a holiday in Hesse. Clubs from Gibson and Silbergold to Ponyhof put on Halloween nights that weekend.
Silent days: no public dancing from 04:00.
Official siteOver 230 stalls from the Römerberg to the Hauptwache and Roßmarkt, open to 21:00 daily.
Official siteNot a public holiday, but public dancing is banned from 17:00.
Official siteTwo public holidays in a row.
Official siteNot a public holiday, and the Sperrzeit is lifted in the night to 1 January. Tanzhaus West lists a New Year’s Eve night.
Official site
Pick a bank of the Main first. The Bahnhofsviertel is known for its dense club scene, while Alt-Sachsenhausen packs its bars and party clubs into a few cobbled lanes.
One of the city’s key nightlife hubs by the main station, known for its dense club scene and broad boulevards such as Kaiserstraße.
Central clubs such as Gibson, Velvet and Silbergold, with rooftop bars a draw of their own.
Apple wine taverns and cobbled lanes that turn into a party quarter at night, with bars packed round Frankensteiner Platz and Affentorplatz.
The Bridge Quarter in Sachsenhausen’s going-out district, where traditional apple wine pubs sit next to urban cafés.
Along Hanauer Landstraße, a run of nightlife spots, numerous clubs, restaurants and bars among them.
Many small, stylish bars on Oeder Weg and Friedberger Landstraße, with a strongly local crowd and few tourists.
Berger Straße, full of cafés and shops, with kiosks round the Uhrtürmchen as meeting points.
A pub scene along Leipziger Straße and Adalbertstraße, with fewer clubs than the centre or the Bahnhofsviertel.
Fortuna Irgendwo on Hanauer Landstraße leads, and four of the ten are in the Innenstadt.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fortuna IrgendwoClubOstend and Hanauer Landstraße · Hanauer Landstraße 192, 603141920 | Fri and Sat nights to 04:00 | Not listed | Entry €18 to €20 at the door | 4,100 |
| 2 | GibsonClubInnenstadt and the Zeil · Zeil 85-93, 6031319211817 | Thu 22:00 to 04:00; Fri, Sat and holiday eves 23:00 to 05:00 | Not listed | Door usually €12 to €18; table minimum €50 to €100 per person | 3,500 |
| 3 | VelvetClubInnenstadt and the Zeil192211 | Mon and Wed 22:00 to 04:00, Fri and Sat 23:00 to 05:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 1,100 |
| 4 | Tanzhaus WestClub1923 | Fri and Sat club nights, 18+ | Techno, trance and house | Not listed | 900 |
| 5 | SilbergoldClubInnenstadt and the Zeil · Heiligkreuzgasse 221924 | Fri and Sat from 23:59 | Techno and house | Entry €12, students €7 | 600 |
| 6 | PonyhofClubAlt-Sachsenhausen · Klappergasse 16, 605941925 | Night events from 23:00, mostly Fri and Sat, plus concerts | Not listed | Not listed | 600 |
| 7 | ElferClub1926 | Parties from 23:00, plus concerts | Not listed | Not listed | 600 |
| 8 | OberbayernClubAlt-Sachsenhausen · Kleine Rittergasse1927 | Motto parties Fri and Sat, 18:00 to 05:00 | Not listed | Party packages €22 and €36 per person | 400 |
| 9 | The CaveClub1928 | Not listed | Rock and alternative | Not listed | 250 |
| 10 | NachtlebenClubInnenstadt and the Zeil · Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 45, 603131929 | 18+ parties from 23:00, concerts on other nights | Not listed | Not listed | 40 |
Ranked by monthly Google searches worldwide for each venue’s name, mostly with Frankfurt, as Ahrefs estimates them. Few rooms publish a capacity, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site or socials show open are listed. Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Behind the clubs is a city of about 760,000 people, with millions of overnight guests on top.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
The Sperrzeit (closing hour) runs from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. for bars, restaurants and public entertainment venues. It is lifted in the night to 1 January, the nights from the Friday before Fastnacht to Ash Wednesday, and the night to 1 May. The Ordnungsamt can change it for an event or a single venue, and an application not decided within three months counts as granted.
Yes. On public holidays, public dance events are banned from 04:00 to 12:00, except on 1 May and 3 October. The ban starts at 04:00 on Maundy Thursday, Volkstrauertag and Totensonntag, at midnight on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and at 17:00 on Christmas Eve. Check the current law before you plan one of these nights.
Hesse has no hospitality licence for new venues. Where alcohol is served, a complete trade notification must reach the Ordnungsamt at least six weeks before opening, with proof that you applied for a Führungszeugnis and a Gewerbezentralregister extract, an extract from the debtors’ register and a tax certificate, none older than three months.
The city’s guide of May 2024 says a notification with alcohol costs no more than €100 in the standard case, reliability check included, and €33 without alcohol. Ask the Ordnungsamt for the current schedule. A garden on private land needs a building permit costing €100 to €1,500.
16 for beer, wine and sparkling wine, and 18 for spirits and other alcohol. Night bars and night clubs may not admit children and young people at all.
19% on drinks and 7% on food served on the spot. Concerts and comparable performances are 7%; ask a tax adviser or the Finanzamt whether a DJ club night’s entry counts. The guide assumes 19%.
The statutory minimum wage is €13.90 an hour gross from 1 January 2026, rising to €14.60 from 1 January 2027. Tips guests give voluntarily on top of the price are tax-free for the employee.
Guarding the entrance area of a hospitality disco needs a Sachkundeprüfung before the IHK under § 34a of the trade code, and the employer may use only reliable people with an IHK certificate of instruction.
Seating on public streets, squares and parking spaces needs a special-use permit from the Amt für Straßenbau und Erschließung, applied for 6 to 8 weeks ahead; there is no right to one. A garden on private land needs a building permit from the Bauaufsicht, for up to five years, decided within three months of a complete application.
Whether a terrace may serve, and at what hours, often depends on the noise assessment. Day limits run from 06:00 to 22:00, night limits are much lower, and both vary by area: low in residential areas, higher in mixed ones and least strict in commercial ones.
Regular club nights cost about €12 to €20 at the door, from Silbergold, Gibson and Fortuna Irgendwo’s own pages. Of the clubs listed, only Gibson prints a table minimum, €50 to €100 per person, and about €250 to €1,500 for the lowest table is a general estimate from Berlin and Vienna.
No. Frankfurt has a Nachtrat (night council), a politically independent, honorary body attached to the city’s Stabsstelle Stadtmarketing. It advises and supports, and does not handle complaints.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
BerlinBerlin, Germany
The Sperrzeit until 8 January 2027 and none after, the licence and the new notice, door staff, noise, VAT on drinks, minimum wage and the year’s big nights.
Read the guide
MunichBavaria, Germany
The 5 to 6 a.m. Sperrzeit, Bavaria’s silent days, the KVR licence, terraces, noise, VAT on drinks, the minimum wage and the year’s big nights.
Read the guide
HamburgHamburg, Germany
A weekday Sperrzeit and none at weekends, the licence and its fees, the Reeperbahn glass ban and weapons-free zone, VAT on drinks, the minimum wage and the year’s big nights.
Read the guide
