Smoking in Berlin: rules, bans and where you can smoke

You cannot smoke inside restaurants, clubs, museums, stations or on public transport in Berlin, but you can smoke on terraces and in the street, except near schools and playgrounds. Since 2008 Berlin has applied a passive-smoking protection law: the ban covers enclosed spaces open to the public, with two well-known exceptions, small neighbourhood bars where smoking is allowed (*Raucherkneipen*) and shisha cafés. This guide explains where to smoke, where it is banned, what a smoker risks and the minimum age for buying tobacco. It does not cover cannabis, which has its own rules in our guide to cannabis in Berlin. Rules checked in October 2026.

The rule in short

Enclosed places open to the public: smoking is banned in restaurants, bars, discos and clubs, museums, theatres and cinemas, hospitals, public offices, sports facilities, schools and airport terminals, according to the official Berlin state website.
Outdoors: no general ban. You can smoke on terraces, in the street and in parks, with restrictions near children (see below).
Fines: up to €100 for a smoker caught breaking the rules, up to €1,000 for an operator who lets it happen.

In restaurants, bars and clubs

A Tiergarten path in autumn, one of the parks where you can smoke outdoors

The ban applies to the dining rooms of restaurants and to clubs. Exceptions are limited:

Smoking rooms: a restaurant with several rooms may have a closed, separate room reserved for smokers.
Small drinks bars (Raucherkneipen): a bar under 75 m², serving no meals and closed to minors, may allow tobacco if it is registered and shows a notice at the entrance. You will find them mostly in working-class districts such as Neukölln, Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain, marked by a "Raucherlokal" sign on the door.
Shisha cafés: allowed if they serve no alcohol and admit no minors.

In clubs the official rule is no smoking indoors; smokers go out to the courtyard or terrace, which explains the small groups outside doors at night. For nightlife, see our guide to Berlin at night.

On public transport and in stations

Smoking, e-cigarettes included, is banned on buses, trams and metro trains and on all platforms and in all stations, except in marked smoking areas. You can be fined even on an open-air platform. All network rules are in our guide to transport in Berlin.

In parks, playgrounds and the street

Smoking is allowed in most parks, such as the Tiergarten or the Tempelhofer Feld. A ban does apply on children's playgrounds in most of the city's districts: keep away from slides and sandpits. Dropping cigarette butts on the ground is frowned upon and can earn a fine; use bins or a pocket ashtray. For other uses of public space, see the rules and etiquette in Berlin.

Buying tobacco and minimum age

You can buy tobacco, e-cigarettes and shisha only from age 18. Cigarettes are sold in supermarkets, kiosks and petrol stations, as well as in late-night shops, the Spätkauf (see our guide to the Spätkauf in Berlin). Cigarette vending machines, still found in some bars, require age verification of the buyer: the simplest option for a visitor is to go to a shop.

Hotels and rental flats

Most hotels are non-smoking and charge high cleaning fees if a room smells of tobacco. Many rental flats say so in their house rules: read the listing before booking and smoke on the balcony only where allowed. To choose an area, see where to stay in Berlin.

Summary table

Place	Smoking
Restaurant, café, bar (indoors)	Banned, except closed smoking room or registered small bar
Terrace	Allowed
Club, disco	Banned indoors; smokers outside or in a dedicated area
Museum, theatre, cinema	Banned
Bus, tram, metro, stations, platforms	Banned (e-cigarettes included)
Children's playground	Banned
Street and large parks	Allowed, with discretion
Buying tobacco	From age 18