Best Museums Berlin – guide and tips

Altes-Museum-Museum-Island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
  1. 3 Things I Love about Berlin
  2. Best Museums Berlin – guide and tips
  3. Best Area to Stay in Berlin: an insider’s guide
  4. Top 5 brunch places slash cafes in Berlin (plus my favourite WiFi café)
  5. Top 5 Markets of Berlin
  6. Top 5 Street Food in Berlin
  7. Top 10 wild things to do in Berlin
  8. Vintage Shopping Berlin: 7 best shops for thrifting
  9. 3 days in Berlin: the ultimate highlight itinerary
  10. Day trip to Nuremberg Germany

I made it no secret that Berlin is one of my favourite cities in the world. My first trip there was a month long travel writing program with CTR that sparked my travel bug. Unfortunately, producing the guidebook didn’t leave me too much time to visit the museums, so I returned a year later to see them all. Even though I’m not an avid museum girl, they’re definitely a good option for the rainy days and there’s so much to learn. I want to give an overview of all the ones I visited as well as a review of the Museum Pass:

Contents

Berlin Museum Pass

The 3-day museum pass is probably the most economical way to enjoy the museums of Berlin. Granted, I was still a student during my last visit and it cost me 12 euros instead of the full price 24 euros. I got mine at the Pergamon Museum but you can also book online to save queuing time.

Museum-Pass-Museum-Island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat

The full list of museums can be viewed here.

Pre-book your 3-Day Museum Pass here

But the likelihood is you probably won’t visit more than three per day. Below are the ones that I had picked based on popularity and own interest. Although I had visited the Botanical Garden separately since it was a fair distance out of the city.

You can also buy standalone tickets to the Museum Island for 15 euros for a day or individually in advance with skip the line option here.

Around Museum Island

Museum Island is where the biggest museums congregate. It’s five to ten minutes’ walk to the Hackerscher Markt or Alexanderplatz U and S Bahn station. It’s located in the center of Berlin and surrounded by the river Spree, and even if you don’t want to visit the museums, admiring their exterior is a must.

Pergamon

By far my favourite museum out of them all, the Pergamon is the Museum of the Near East. The highlight is the Ishta Gate of Babylon, and there are numerous reconstructions of ancient sites in this small but informative museum.

Ishta-Gate-Pergamon-Museum-Museum-Island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
Part of the Ishta Gate with colourful tiles and lions that protect the way

It was partially under construction during my visit, which didn’t affect the overall experience. Pergamon mostly house Assyrian and Mesopotamia artifacts and is currently home to the center for Islamic Act as well. The audio guide, included, is pretty comprehensive too.

Roman-archway-Pergamon-Museum-Museum-Island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
This one is a roman reconstrcution

Fun fact: it took 20 years to build in the early 20th century.

Pro tips: go there as soon as it’s open as it is the most visited museum in Germany.

Address: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Fri – Weds 10:00 – 18:00, Thurs 10:00 – 22:00

Admission fee: 12 euros, concession 6 euros

Neues Museum

The Neues Museum, Berlin | Laugh Travel Eat
The Neues Museum is right next to Pergamon

Neues Museum is most famous for housing the bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. It has an amazing Egyptian Collection and some Greek and Roman artifacts. A less famous but equally stunning artifact is the Berlin Gold Hat, a conical gold headdress dated back to the Late Bronze Age.

The audio guide, which is included in the ticket price, is pretty decent and the top floor also has a surprisingly good prehistoric section.

The museum was built in the 19th century in the neoclassical style and suffered some damage in WWII. It was originally built to house the extended collections of Altes Museum.

Pro tip: don’t miss the bust of Nefertiti and the Berlin Gold Hat

Address: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Fri – Weds 10:00 – 18:00, Thurs 10:00 – 22:00

Admission fee: 10 euros, concession 5 euros

Old National Gallery

Old-National-Gallery-Museum-Island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
The beautiful Old National Gallery

Forming a cluster with the two museums above, the Old National Gallery has a breathtaking exterior. It has a split staircase leading to a columned top reminiscent of the Greek Parthenon and built using a pinkish sandstone. It houses a wide range of artwork including those of Monet, Impressionist, Romantic and Neoclassical style as well as statues. Some that stood out to me is the Eamus Status of the Princess group.

inside-bode-museum-museum-island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
One of the many halls inside the Old National Gallery

Address: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Fri – Weds 10:00 – 18:00, Thurs 10:00 – 22:00

Admission fee: 8 euros, concession 4 euros

Old Museum (Altes Museum)

Altes-Museum-Museum-Island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
The pretty Old Museum in front of Lustgarten

The neo-classical museum with columns that faces the Lustgarten is the Altes Museum. It houses an array of Greek arts, mainly sculptures and funereally stuff and is smaller than the two above. It’s a cool building with a decent history covered throughout the exhibit. It was badly damaged in the war and the restoration had just finished in the last five years.

inside-old-national-gallery-museum-island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat-2
Inside the dome of Old Museum

Address: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Fri – Weds 10:00 – 18:00, Thurs 10:00 – 22:00

Admission fee: 10 euros, concession 5 euros

Bode Museum

bode-museum-museum-island-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
The Bode Museum – which is a historical building itself

The Bode Museum is in its own corner of the Museum Island and has a characteristic circular dome. In fact, it is itself a historically protected building. Its collection mainly consists of sculptures and Byzantine artwork, but the place is worth seeing just for the interior.

Address: Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Fri – Weds 10:00 – 18:00, Thurs 10:00 – 22:00

Admission fee: 10 euros, concession 5 euros

Other Berlin Museums

Anne Frank Zentrum

A small museum hidden on the other side of Hackerscher Markt, the highlight really is just Anne’s mural outside the building. This is a small center with a small exhibition, and it’s not really worth going if you have been to Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. The timeline of Anne’s life alongside the German Occupation (a spread of Nazi/Rise of Hitler) is pretty cool. Also, there is a multimedia room on a youth’s view on Anne Frank. There is also a computer that lets you digitally visit the house. 

Address: Rosenthaler Str. 39, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Tues – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Admission fee: 5 euros, Concession 3 euros

Website

Museum of Natural History

Museum-of-Natural-History-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
The classical exterior of Natural History Museum

The main reason I visited this museum was to see the Archeopteryx – one of the best-preserved fossil of a feathered ancient bird.

inside-Museum-of-Natural-History-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
Natural History Museum display

They have a great collection of dinosaur fossils, too. Only limited English translation is available in the museum exhibits. But at least the main signboards have them. The museum is absolutely overrun with school children, but it testified to the museum is a great place to bring your little ones.

Address: Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Tues – Fri 9:30 – 16:00; Sat – Sun: 10:00 – 18:00

Admission fee: 8 euros, concession 5 euros (group and family tickets available)

Website

German technology museum

German-technology-museum-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
The very modern German Technology Museum

Another great museum for family to visit, the German Technology Museum is in Kreuzberg and is a massive complex of buildings with five parts.

inside-German-technology-museum-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
Learn some aircraft history

There’s even an airplane on top of the glass and steel structure – and it certainly made my inner child scream in delight. It covers a myriad of science topics, from rail, ship and aircraft history to the art of metallurgy and chemicals. Even though it’s a museum catered for children, I did enjoy my visit there.

 Address:  Trebbiner Str. 9, 10963 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Tue – Fri 9:00 – 17:30; Sat – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Admission fee: 8 euros, concession 4 euros (family and group tickets available) 

Museum of Decorative Art

Museum-of-Decorative-Art-Berlin-Germany-Laugh-Travel-Eat
The “Mode” section of the Museum of Decorative Art

Even further from the Museum Island, the Museum of Decorative Art is in Postdamer Platz, right next to the culture forum opposite the philharmonic. I’ve only visited the fashion section, which isn’t bad and have English translation as well.

Address: Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin, Germany

Opening times: Mon – Fri 10:00 – 18:00; Sat – Sun 11:00 – 18:00

Admission: 8 euros, reduced 4 euros

Website

Pre-book your 3-Day Museum Pass here

Note: this post contain affiliate links. This means I get a % of the sale at NO COST to you

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