My wife and I want to attend a performance of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (a.k.a. Berliner Philharmoniker) on a Thursday night in May. I would like to dress as casually as would be appropriate, but do not want to appear rude or out-of-place. Has anyone attended such a concert in Berlin or other german cities? What kind of attire would be appropriate for a man? I am hoping that jeans and a sweater or long-sleeved shirt might be okay. My wife has a dress that I'm sure will be fine.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Jeans are not okay, as far as I remember. You don't need a full black-tie attire, but at least something a bit more formal than jeans and casual sweaters is warranted. Business-casual might do the job. You don't need ties.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
This thread in the General Europe section might be helpful to you:
ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/opera-and-traveling-the-rs-way
They're talking about the opera in that thread but I think it's good advice for the symphony as well.
**I tried to make it a hyper-link but couldn't... : /
Edit: trying again (on 1/7) to make the link...
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/opera-and-traveling-the-rs-way
Yay, it worked today. Did exact same thing last night but it didn't work.
Thanks Nigel!!
Posted by
Seattle, Wa, USA
449 posts
I copied and pasted this URL and got a message saying that it was no longer available. Was anyone successful in linking. I have a similar situation in London.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32740 posts
The link supplied by Susan is unfortunately in the old naming scheme - before the big change.
The new address protocol is, linked: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/opera-and-traveling-the-rs-way
Posted by
OP
Bakersfield, CA, USA
42 posts
The linked thread was very helpful - thank you!
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5515 posts
When I went to see the Berlin Philharmonic, I just wore black slacks and a blouse with a cardigan. I did not feel out of place. There were some people who were very well-dressed and others in more casual attire. I can't remember if I saw anyone in jeans, but I'm sure there were some people there in jeans. My seats were fairly high up ... not the cheapest, but not in a place where anyone was looking at me. I might have felt different if I were seated in the expensive seats.