Arts & Culture · Our pick in Berlin
Museum Island in depth
The back story
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Museum Island in depth
Museum Island, at the northern tip of the Spree island in Mitte, gathers five great museums built between 1824 and 1930, joined today by the James-Simon-Galerie, the entrance building. It has been UNESCO World Heritage since 1999.
Neues Museum
David Chipperfield’s restoration kept the war’s scars alongside the new work. The Egyptian collection is the draw, above all the bust of Nefertiti in its own domed room.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Ansgar Koreng · CC BY-SA 3.0 de via Wikimedia CommonsAltes Museum
Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s colonnaded museum facing the Lustgarten holds the classical antiquities.
Book a timed slot for the Neues Museum first, and build the day around it.
Alte Nationalgalerie
Nineteenth-century art in a temple on a podium, with paintings by Caspar David Friedrich and the French Impressionists.
Bode-Museum
At the island’s northern tip: sculpture, Byzantine art and the coin cabinet.
Pergamonmuseum
The Pergamonmuseum is closed for refurbishment; check smb.museum for its reopening and for what can be visited meanwhile.
Planning your day
Hours vary by museum and by day: check each one on smb.museum, where you also buy timed tickets. The James-Simon-Galerie has the cloakroom and leads on into the Neues Museum.
Our advice: two museums in a day is plenty. Finish with coffee by the Spree and a look at the Berlin Cathedral across the Lustgarten.
Why it's on our list
- Neues Museum
- Altes Museum
- Alte Nationalgalerie
- Bode-Museum
- Pergamonmuseum
- Planning your day
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Museum Island in depth before you go.