Berlin's museums run from Baroque rooms to natural history, and this list follows that range. The Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum both belong to the Museumsinsel, Berlin's Museum Island, while the Altes Museum, an antiquities museum, carries UNESCO World Heritage status. Away from the island you get a Baroque palace at Charlottenburg, a museum of German history on Unter den Linden, a natural history museum on Invalidenstraße and the Jewish Museum Berlin, which opens every day of the week. This list is for visitors who want more than a photo on the steps: people who will check hours before they set out, give a collection a full morning and leave the rest of the day free. Check hours before anything else: most of the state museums here close on Mondays, and the Pergamon Museum currently lists its hours as off. Each entry gives you an address, the hours and one good reason to go.
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1 Pergamon Museum
5 Am Kupfergraben, Berlin, 10117The Vorderasiatisches Museum, the Museum für Islamische Kunst and parts of the Antikensammlung under one roof
At 5 Am Kupfergraben in the 10117 postal area, the Pergamon Museum has the biggest reputation on this list and the least certain access, because its operating hours are recorded as off. Check the official site before you build a morning around it. The building dates from 1910 and is a listed architectural heritage monument, sitting within the Museumsinsel and housing the Vorderasiatisches Museum, the Museum für Islamische Kunst and parts of the Antikensammlung. Don't turn up and hope: confirm the doors are open first, and if they are not, give the morning to another collection on this list rather than waiting outside.
Dates from 1910 · Architectural heritage monument
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2 Neues Museum
1 Bodestraße, Berlin, 10178A heritage-listed museum building from 1855 on Museum Island, worth looking at in its own right
The Neues Museum at 1 Bodestraße in 10178 is one of the museum buildings on Berlin's Museum Island, housed in a building from 1855 that is listed as an architectural heritage monument. It opens 10:00 to 18:00 Tuesday to Sunday, public holidays included, and closes on Mondays and on 24 and 31 December. We'd skip the one-hour dash between other stops: arrive at opening and give the building as much attention as the display cases, because here the architecture is part of the collection. Opening times and tickets are on the official site.
Dates from 1855 · Architectural heritage monument
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3 Altes Museum
Am Lustgarten, Berlin, 10178An antiquities museum with UNESCO World Heritage status
The Altes Museum on Am Lustgarten in postal area 10178 is an antiquities museum with UNESCO World Heritage status, a title it carries without fuss. It opens 10:00 to 17:00 Tuesday to Friday and 10:00 to 18:00 on weekends and public holidays, shut on Mondays and on 24 and 31 December. A weekend afternoon here is worth avoiding if a weekday morning is free, because carved stone and old bronze reward a slow, quiet look more than a shuffle past the cases. Confirm the hours on the official site before you go.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
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4 Bode Museum
1-3 Am Kupfergraben, Berlin, 10117An art museum in a heritage-listed building that dates from 1904
The Bode Museum at 1-3 Am Kupfergraben in 10117 dates from 1904 and is an art museum in a building listed as an architectural heritage monument. It opens 10:00 to 17:00 Tuesday to Friday and 10:00 to 18:00 on weekends and public holidays, closed on Mondays and on 24 and 31 December. There is a pull toward leaving it until last, but by that point your feet are done and the clock is against you: come early on a weekday, when the 17:00 close still leaves a full morning and afternoon. Check current details on the official site.
Dates from 1904 · Architectural heritage monument
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5 Charlottenburg Palace
Spandauer Damm, Berlin, 14059A Baroque palace listed as a cultural heritage ensemble
Charlottenburg Palace sits on Spandauer Damm in the 14059 postal area and opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00, closing at 17:30 from April to October and at 16:30 from November to March. It is a Baroque palace dating from 1791, listed as a cultural heritage ensemble, and that listing covers the whole ensemble rather than a single building, so plan to spend time in the grounds as well as the rooms. Arriving at 16:00 on a winter afternoon is a waste of the trip: with a 16:30 close you will barely get through the door. Come at opening and give the palace the morning.
Dates from 1791 · Cultural heritage ensemble
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6 Jewish Museum Berlin
9-14 Lindenstraße, Berlin, 10969A museum open seven days a week, Mondays included
The Jewish Museum Berlin, dating from 2001, sits at 9-14 Lindenstraße in 10969 and opens 10:00 to 18:00 every day of the week, which makes it the obvious answer to a Berlin Monday when many museums are closed. Don't squeeze it between two other sights. A museum like this needs an unhurried visit, and the daily hours mean you can plan one on whichever day suits you. Arrive near 10:00, leave time to sit with what you have seen, and check the official site for current exhibitions and ticketing before you set out.
Dates from 2001
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-18:00
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7 Alte Nationalgalerie
1-3 Bodestraße, Berlin, 10178An art museum in a heritage-listed building that dates from 1876
The Alte Nationalgalerie at 1-3 Bodestraße in the 10178 postal area is an art museum in a building dating from 1876 and listed as an architectural heritage monument. It opens 10:00 to 18:00 Tuesday to Sunday, public holidays included, and is closed on Mondays and on 24 and 31 December. Treat it as its own destination rather than a quick add-on to a day of antiquities: paintings need the same patience as sculpture, and a gallery you rush is a gallery you have not really seen. Give it its own block of the day and check the official site before you go.
Dates from 1876 · Architectural heritage monument
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8 Gemäldegalerie Berlin
Stauffenbergstraße, Berlin, 10785An art museum that dates from 1830
The Gemäldegalerie Berlin is on Stauffenbergstraße in the 10785 postal area, an art museum dating from 1830. It opens 10:00 to 18:00 Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Go on a weekday if you can manage it. Arriving at 10:00 means the rooms are quiet and you can stand in front of one canvas for as long as you need, which is the whole point of a picture gallery. Wear shoes you can walk in for hours, take breaks between rooms, and check the official site for current hours before you visit.
Dates from 1830
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9 Egyptian Museum of Berlin
1 Bodestraße, Berlin, 10178A collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, part of the Neues Museum
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin is at 1 Bodestraße, 10178, housed within the Neues Museum. There is no standalone building with its own sign. The collection covers Ancient Egyptian artifacts and dates from 1828, and you will get more from it by folding it into the same visit as the museum that houses it rather than treating it as a stop on the way out. Give it real time, case by case.
Dates from 1828
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10 Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science
43 Invalidenstraße, Berlin, 10115A natural history museum that dates from 1810, in a listed heritage building
The Museum für Naturkunde is at 43 Invalidenstraße in 10115, a natural history museum dating from 1810 in a building recognised as a cultural heritage monument in Berlin. Tuesday through Friday it opens at 09:30 and closes at 18:00, and on Saturday and Sunday the doors open at 10:00 and close at 18:00. Weekdays are quieter, and the 09:30 start is the better window if you are bringing children who run out of patience before lunch. Check the official site before you visit.
Dates from 1810 · Cultural heritage monument in Berlin
Hours: Tu-Fr 09:30-18:00; Sa,Su 10:00-18:00
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11 Deutsches Historisches Museum
2 Unter den Linden, Berlin, 10117A museum of German history, open every day
Give the Deutsches Historisches Museum at 2 Unter den Linden in 10117 a whole afternoon, not an hour, because a museum of German history does not compress well. Founded in 1987, it opens 10:00 to 18:00 every day of the week and closes on 24 December, which makes it one of the steadier fallbacks in the city when other museums are shut. Trying to cover it in a lunch break is a poor trade. Pick one stretch of the story, follow it properly, and come back for the rest another day. Current exhibitions are listed on the official site.
Dates from 1987
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12 German Museum of Technology
Trebbiner Straße, Berlin, 10963A museum of technology with early weekday opening and public-holiday hours
For families planning a rainy day, the German Museum of Technology on Trebbiner Straße in the 10963 postal area is where we'd start. The museum dates from 1983 and opens 09:00 to 17:30 Tuesday to Friday, then 10:00 to 18:00 on weekends and public holidays. That 09:00 weekday start is the earliest on this list, which suits anyone travelling with children who wake early. Skip the generic indoor attractions built to absorb wet afternoons; this is a better use of one. Check the official site before you set out.
Dates from 1983
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