The Berlin Philharmonie, at the Kulturforum near [Potsdamer Platz](/fr/attractions/potsdamer-platz), is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker, led since the 2019/20 season by Kirill Petrenko. Designed by Hans Scharoun and opened on 15 October 1963, it set a model copied all over the world: the orchestra in the centre, the audience all around, even behind the stage. Its tent-like silhouette and golden façades make it one of the most recognisable buildings in Berlin. For the orchestra's November 2026 concerts, tickets cost €40 to €114; the Wednesday lunchtime concerts are free from September to June, and the guided tour of the building costs €10.
Highlights
Hans Scharoun's architecture
After winning the competition in 1957, Scharoun built the Philharmonie from 1960 to 1963, a few hundred metres from the line of the Wall, then on the edge of West Berlin. The tent-shaped roofs and the gold aluminium cladding, added only between 1978 and 1981, are best seen from the forecourt on Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße.
The "vineyard" main auditorium
Scharoun described a valley with the orchestra at its base, surrounded by "vineyards" of seating. Some 2,440 seats rise in terraces around the stage; from behind the orchestra, you see the conductor face on.
The Kammermusiksaal
The Chamber Music Hall, on the right in the photo, opened in 1987, some twenty years after the main auditorium. Designed by Edgar Wisniewski, Scharoun's pupil and later partner, it follows the principle of a central stage, here hexagonal and surrounded by galleries, with 1,136 seats. It has its own box office, at the southern entrance.
The Berliner Philharmoniker
The orchestra, whose chief conductor was Herbert von Karajan from 1956 to 1989, often performs each programme on three consecutive evenings, Thursday to Saturday. Kirill Petrenko conducts a Respighi and Martucci programme on 26, 27 and 28 November 2026. Concerts are also streamed live and on demand on the orchestra's platform, the Digital Concert Hall.
Free lunchtime concerts
Every Wednesday at 13:00, from September to June, a 40 to 50-minute concert is given in the foyer of the main auditorium: chamber music by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Karajan-Akademie or other Berlin orchestras. Admission is free but numbers are limited: a token is handed out at the Philharmonie entrance, with no reservations. It is standing room only; the foyer catering is open from 12:00 to 12:50.
The guided tour
Public tours take place several times a month, in German and English, for up to 25 people. The price is €10, €5 for students and disabled visitors, free for children and school pupils. They can only be booked online; the next month's dates are published on the 20th. The meeting point is the artists' entrance to the main auditorium, on Potsdamer Straße.
Buying tickets
Sales open in large blocks: concerts from December 2026 to April 2027 go on sale on 10 October 2026 at 12:00. Buy online, by phone or at the box office (northern entrance), with a €3 fee per ticket online and by phone. Under-30s pay €18 on presentation of ID. Standing tickets are sold at the box office on the evening of the concert, and for sold-out concerts, last-minute tickets may go on sale at the box office two days before the first evening.
The Musikinstrumenten-Museum
Right next door, at Ben-Gurion-Straße 1, the Musical Instrument Museum displays several centuries of European instruments. Under refurbishment until 31 October 2026, it opens on Wednesday 13:00-17:00, Thursday and Friday 13:00-20:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00-17:00; from 3 November 2026, Tuesday to Sunday (Tuesday 09:00-13:00 only). Admission €10, reduced €5, free for under-18s.
Infos pratiques
Tips
For the lunchtime concert, arrive early: tokens are handed out while places last and cannot be reserved or passed on (prices checked in October 2026). Under-30s can get the ClassicCard (€28 a year), which gives tickets at €16, or €11 two hours before the concert. The hall doors open 30 minutes before the start and latecomers are not admitted; the cloakroom is free and there is no dress code. After a lunchtime concert, the [Gemäldegalerie](/fr/attractions/gemaldegalerie-berlin) and the [Neue Nationalgalerie](/fr/attractions/neue-nationalgalerie) are a few minutes' walk away.
How to get there
Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, 10785 Berlin, at the Kulturforum. U-Bahn U2 (Potsdamer Platz or Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park); S-Bahn S1, S2, S25 and S26 (Potsdamer Platz); regional trains RE3, RE4 and RE5 (Potsdamer Platz). Buses 200 and 300 (stops Philharmonie or Varian-Fry-Straße), M48 and M85 (Kulturforum or Varian-Fry-Straße; the Kulturforum stop towards Schöneberg is closed for the Museum der Moderne building site), M41 (Potsdamer Platz) and M29 (Potsdamer Brücke).
Opening hours
Nearby
Comments
No comments yet.