Class Reunion Venues: How to Find the Right Place

Choosing a venue stalls a surprising number of class reunions before a date is even on the calendar. In the group chat, someone suggests the old local bar, someone else wants a barbecue, and a third person now lives 500 kilometers away and is quietly hoping for somewhere halfway. If you pick the venue using clear criteria, you avoid weeks of back and forth and make it much easier for former classmates to commit.

This guide builds on our walkthrough for organizing a class reunion and focuses on a single question: where will the reunion happen, and what do you need to sort out before you book?

Which venue works for 10, 30 or 60 people?

Your headcount shapes the venue far more than anyone's personal preference. For 10 people a reserved table is enough, around 30 people need a private room or clubhouse, and 60 or more call for a hall or an outdoor site with its own facilities.

A small group of around 10

If only your close circle is getting together, a big table at a restaurant or your old hangout is all you need. There is usually no room hire, and everyone orders and pays for themselves. The downside is noise in the main dining area. Long conversations and passing old photos around work far better on a quiet weeknight than on a packed Saturday evening.

The whole class, around 30 people

This is the classic reunion size, and a separate private room pays off here. You get your own door, can play some background music and run a slideshow on a screen without bothering other diners. A good alternative is the function room of a local sports or social club, which often comes with a kitchen and a bar, so you can cook yourselves or bring in a caterer.

A full year group of 60 or more

Once several classes come together, restaurants quickly feel cramped. Your options are event halls, community centers or, in summer, a picnic area with a covered shelter, which many local councils rent out for a fee. For an outdoor site, check toilets, power and rain cover, because otherwise one thunderstorm can end the evening after an hour.

What does the venue cost: room hire, minimum spend and budget

Costs usually come down to room hire, a minimum spend, or a mix of both. Putting these terms in writing before you confirm protects you from surprise charges at the end of the night.

Many restaurants charge nothing for a private room but expect a minimum spend. A typical example: the room is reserved for 25 people, as long as each guest spends at least 30 Euro on food and drinks. If only 20 people show up, the group still pays the minimum for 25, which comes to 750 Euro. So plan around firm commitments, not the length of your contact list.

Clubhouses and community centers tend to charge room hire instead, often around 100 to 300 Euro per evening (as of 2026). On top of that come final cleaning and sometimes a deposit, while drinks are often sold through the club and stay fairly cheap. Also ask about closing time, any drinks package and the deadline for free cancellation.

To set a budget per person, divide the fixed costs by the expected number of guests and add a buffer for last-minute dropouts. Our guide to calculating event costs shows how to keep fixed costs and per-head costs neatly apart.

A reunion at your old school: permission and plan

Meeting in your old school building brings back the most memories, but you will need permission. Start with the school leadership, and for use outside school hours, often the authority or organization that runs the building as well.

Send your request in writing and several weeks in advance, since schools often plan room use a whole term ahead. Include the date, time, rough headcount and a named contact person. A Saturday morning or early afternoon, when a caretaker can unlock the doors, is the most realistic slot. Alcohol is generally not allowed on school grounds, and food is often restricted too. That is why a two-part plan works well: first a school tour of about an hour, then everyone heads to a restaurant or clubhouse.

The tour is a great chance to involve former teachers. Schools usually cannot share private addresses for privacy reasons, but they will often forward an invitation. On site, photos outside your old classroom, a look through old yearbooks or a group picture on the front steps get the stories flowing. If you have time, add a short guided walk around your hometown, which many local tourist offices offer for groups.

When everyone lives far apart: travel and accommodation

If your classmates are spread across the country, easy travel matters more than nostalgia. Either choose a place roughly in the middle, or stay in your hometown and make sure train links and accommodation are covered.

Start by looking at where people live today. If you are already gathering contact details while finding old classmates, note their current city at the same time. If most people still live nearby, your hometown is the obvious choice. If the class is split across three or four major cities, a city between them with good long-distance rail links can shorten everyone's journey, even if it means skipping the school tour.

If you stay in your hometown, a venue within walking distance of the station helps a lot. Check the last train or bus of the evening and mention it in the invitation. Anyone traveling from further away will need a bed, and a block of rooms at a nearby hotel or a list of guesthouses makes saying yes much easier. Our guide to organizing guest accommodation explains how to prepare this. For longer trips, consider a whole weekend: drinks at a bar on Friday, then the school tour and dinner on Saturday. Carpools from the same region cut costs even further.

Decide by poll, not in the group chat

A short poll with two or three shortlisted venues leads to a decision much faster than an open discussion in your messaging group. The order is what matters: date first, then venue.

That order follows from how planning works. Which room fits depends on headcount, and headcount depends on the date. So begin with a date poll covering two or three weekends and ask at the same time who is likely to come. With that number, shortlist suitable venues, such as a restaurant's private room, a clubhouse and a picnic shelter, and put them to a vote with price per person and location.

An open question in the group chat, by contrast, quickly triggers dozens of messages, several new suggestions and no decision at all. With a poll, everyone sees the same options, votes can be counted, and the quieter members of the class get heard too. Planning apps that let guests vote through a link without creating an account, and later RSVP the same way, are especially handy. Before you book, visit the favorite in person and work through the checklist on this page, so room size, costs and deadlines are all settled in writing.