The Best Museums in Berlin: Which Ones to Choose for Your Interests

Berlin has more than 170 museums, so you have to choose. The must-sees are the Neues Museum for Nefertiti, the Alte Nationalgalerie for German Romanticism, the Gemäldegalerie for the Old Masters, the Jewish Museum for its architecture and history, and the Natural History Museum for dinosaurs. This guide ranks them by interest, with opening hours and prices checked in October 2026. Almost all close on Monday.

For antiquity and Egypt

The Bode-Museum at the end of Museum Island

Neues Museum: the bust of Nefertiti and ancient Egypt, in the building restored by David Chipperfield. Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm, €14.
Altes Museum: Greek, Etruscan and Roman art behind Schinkel's colonnade. €14.
Bode-Museum: sculptures by Donatello and Riemenschneider, Byzantine art and coins. €14.

All three are on Museum Island, where the €24 Museum Island ticket covers all the museums for one day. The Pergamonmuseum is closed until 4 June 2027.

For painting

Alte Nationalgalerie: Caspar David Friedrich, Menzel, Liebermann and the Impressionists. Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm, €16.
Gemäldegalerie: two Vermeers, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Bruegel. Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm, €14.

For modern and contemporary art

Neue Nationalgalerie: Mies van der Rohe's glass temple and 20th-century art. €20 ticket.
Hamburger Bahnhof: contemporary art in a former station, open until 8pm on Thursday.
Berlinische Galerie: Berlin art from Dada to today.

For history and remembrance

Jewish Museum Berlin: Libeskind's architecture and the permanent exhibition, free for everyone. Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm.
DDR Museum: everyday life in the East, open every day from 9am to 9pm.

For families and the curious

Natural History Museum: dinosaur skeletons and Knut the polar bear. Tuesday-Friday 9:30am-6pm, weekends 10am-6pm.
German Museum of Technology: aircraft, trains and the Spectrum Science Center. Tuesday-Friday 9am-5:30pm, weekends 10am-6pm.

If you only have one day

Your interest	Museum to choose
The great names of antiquity	Neues Museum
Romantic painting	Alte Nationalgalerie
The Old Masters	Gemäldegalerie
Architecture	Jewish Museum or Neue Nationalgalerie
Children	Natural History or Technology
The GDR	DDR Museum

Going further

Several museums in one stay? See whether the Museumspass Berlin suits you. A few museums are free or nearly so: see Free Berlin. When it rains, Berlin when it rains offers more ideas, and Berlin with children selects museums for families.