James-Simon-Galerie Berlin: the Museum Island Entrance, Tickets, Café and How to Get There

The James-Simon-Galerie, on Bodestraße, is the visitor centre of Museum Island. Designed by David Chipperfield's practice, this white colonnaded building opened in 2019 and is named after James Simon (1851-1932), a patron of the Berlin State Museums. It houses the ticket office, cloakrooms, a shop, a café-restaurant, an auditorium and a room for temporary exhibitions. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm and closed on Monday. Allow half an hour to pass through, plus time for a break at the café.

Highlights

The façade on the Kupfergraben

The long white colonnade stands on the canal bank, facing the Pergamon Museum. Chipperfield reworks the colonnade motif of the neighbouring museums in contemporary form, and the building is best seen from the opposite bank.

The café-restaurant and its terrace

The café-restaurant, with a terrace on the Kupfergraben, is accessible outside museum opening hours according to the SMB: a break is possible without a ticket, especially in summer.

Ticket office, cloakrooms and shop

Tickets can be bought online or on site; the cloakrooms are in the centre of the building and Wi-Fi is free. The building is fully wheelchair accessible.

The archaeological promenade

An underground passage, the Archäologische Promenade, links the gallery to the Neues Museum, for which it is the second entrance, and is also meant to serve the Pergamon Museum once it reopens.

Temporary exhibitions

The exhibition room hosts exhibitions with a separate ticket; check the programme at smb.museum before you come, as prices vary from one exhibition to the next.

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