The Best Museums to Visit in Berlin

Berlin – the capital of Germany in the course of its history has borne witness to several events. It has been the centre of several incidents and actions. It has seen the birth and fall of many powerful kingdoms. It was home to many famous and influencing personalities. Therefore, there’s no denying that the city is rich in history.

So, if you’re planning to visit Berlin to learn more about the city. You can always go about visiting – tourist centres, see landmarks, the best attractions in Berlin and familiarize yourself with the city.

However, none of these will be as worthwhile as visiting museums in Berlin. It’s a proven fact that museums have always been the centre of preserving the identities of nations and cities, where you’ll find priceless information.

So, you may be wondering how many museums there are in Berlin? Well, there are more than 170 museums in Berlin. They serve different tastes such as art, history, while others cater to a variety of interests.

So, which are the top museums in Berlin? Here’s our list of the best Berlin museums that’ll give you a true glimpse of the country’s historic past.

Top Museums in Berlin

Museums in Museum Island

Located directly on the Spree River, Museum Island is home to five world-class museums. This unique collection of historic buildings were built under the rule of different Prussian kings. And today it stands as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here you’ll find:

Altes Museum
Neues Museum
Alte Nationalgalerie
Bode Museum
Pergamon

Altes Museum: Built between 1823 and 1830, the classical architecture of the museum offers a perfect setting to showcase the classic work from ancient Greece to the Roman Empire.

Neues Museum: Built between 1843 and 1855, this museum is home to several collections from the Ancient World, i.e., from the Stone Age period to the Middle Ages, but it’s best known as Berlin’s Egyptian Museum.

Alte Nationalgalerie: Set in a temple-like structure, this museum is home to a vast collection of over 3,000 paintings and sculptures from all over Europe. Amongst the stunning masterpieces on display, you’ll also see paintings by Monet, Schinkel, Adolph Menzel to name a few. It’s a delight to wander around the galleries with so many pieces of art staring back at you.

Bode Museum: This museum is home to a lovely collection of sculptures that include masterpieces by Canova, Donatello and Tacca. There are a number of galleries dedicated to Byzantine art, where you’ll see lots of interesting and beautiful pieces dating from the medieval period to the late 18th century. This museum is marvelous in itself and has lots of fantastic pieces that visitors will adore.

Pergamon Museum: This is one of Berlin’s most visited museums and for a good reason. It’s home to extraordinary archaeological excavations that includes – the Pergamon Altar, the Mshatta Facade, the Market Gate of Miletus, the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way from Babylon. If you’re a fan of history and love gazing at old historic structures, this is the place to do it.

With such a vast collection that spans several eras, it’s no wonder the Museum Island complex attracts a large number of visitors every year. It’s recommended to set aside a full day for exploring the many mesmerising sights on offer.

Hamburger Bahnhof

Hamburger Bahnhof is another popular museum in Berlin and is located inside a former train station that once connected Berlin to Hamburg. The neoclassical building has an imposing exterior and was established in 1846. It hosts one of the world’s most significant collections of contemporary art, ranging from the 1950s to the present. The museum is spread over a large area and showcases works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys and other 20th-century and contemporary artists.

Jewish Museum Berlin

The Jewish Museum Berlin is one of the most distinctive modern landmarks of the city. This architectural masterpiece was designed by Daniel Libeskind’s and is made up of a collection of vast zinc panels. The building comprises three separate structures and it’s the largest Jewish Museum in Europe. The permanent exhibits of the museum focus on Jewish life in Germany through history, with artworks, texts, and plenty of interactive elements. The museum also explores the most difficult times for Jews in Berlin leading up to and during the Second World War.

Gemäldegalerie

When it comes to art, the Gemäldegalerie – Gallery of Old Masters is one of Berlin’s finest museums. It is home to one of the world’s most important collections of European paintings from the 13th to the 18th century. There are over 3000 paintings where you’ll find masterpieces by Bruegel, Dürer, Tizian, Raffael, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Rubens. With over 70 main galleries to explore and countless small rooms to dig into – the Gemäldegalerie rightfully deserves its world-class reputation and is a delight to wander around.

East Side Gallery

Located in East Berlin, this museum consists of paintings on the longest piece of the former Berlin Wall that is still standing. After the Berlin Wall fell, 118 artists from 21 countries redesigned the 1.3 km wall which became protected just a year later. This open-air art gallery is a great spot to visit on a walking tour and take pictures. The most notable art pieces are Dmitri Vrubel’s Fraternal Kiss, other is Birgit Kinder’s Trabant car breaking through the wall and many more. Visitors keen on seeing a piece of the former Berlin Wall and contemporary art, must check this spot.

Charlottenburg Palace

The Charlottenburg Palace is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture and is home to the most fabulous art collections in Germany. The grand palace was built at the end of the 17th-century as a summer residence for Queen Sophia Charlotte, wife of King Frederick I. Today, it contains over 4,000 paintings and miniatures from the 15th to 20th centuries, as well as wall and ceiling paintings. The highlights include works by Guido Reni, Caravaggio, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, and Jan Lievens. It also includes the 18th-century collection of French paintings by Frederick II, making it one of the most important collections outside of France. After exploring the palace galleries make sure to go on a stroll along the palace gardens, they are a sight to behold.

Berlin Wall Memorial

This memorial is dedicated to the Berlin Wall that divided the city into two parts from 1961 to 1989. Visitors find it one of the most moving museums in Berlin, as it helps them understand the horrors and impact the Berlin Wall had on ordinary people’s lives. The museum goes on to explain how and why the wall came about, with a video clip of its construction. There’s a viewing platform that allows visitors to see a section of the wall as it was, complete with death strip and watch-towers. There are also plaques at ground level that mark the many escape tunnels dug by desperate East Germans, along with information about how many people died or escaped there.

DDR Museum

This is an interesting museum so make sure you stop here. Situated in the city centre, the DDR Museum is home to interactive exhibits that showcase what life was like in the old East Berlin. It’s a place to learn about ‘Ostalgie’.

There are three areas to explore – the ‘State and Ideology’ area, the ‘Life in a Tower Block’ area, and the ‘Public Life’ area. Each area represents the positive and negative sides of the old East Germany, these are made visible through the exhibitions they display.

The exhibitions also include articles, art, virtual reality, and actual pieces of items from people’s homes. There is a statue of a covert listening device, which tells visitors that they are under surveillance. The other exhibits teach visitors about fashion, work, education, environment, economy, and many other aspects of life during the communist era.

After exploring the museum don’t forget to try East German-style lemony cola (Vita Cola), it’s refreshing indeed.

Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror is located on the site of the former headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945. This outdoor museum focuses on the terrible crimes committed by Hitler’s SS throughout Europe, with photographs and texts, as well as audio and film recordings. Visitors will get a glimpse of the kind of psychological torture that occurred in the interrogation room. They will also see the cells where people were tortured and killed, as well as learn about the different methods of torture that were used. This is one of the top museums of Berlin to visit and learn about the darker side of German history. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but is very educational.

Stasi Museum

Built within the old Stasi headquarters, this museum offers an interesting insight into life in East Berlin. And the role played by the secret police in monitoring and controlling the population. As you walk around the gloomy offices and huge boardrooms, you’ll get a chilling insight into life in East Berlin under Socialist rule. Look out for the surveillance devices, featuring cameras awkwardly hidden in watering cans, ties and behind buttons. It’s certainly a weird place to visit and it’s also where the fantastic film ‘The Lives of Others’ – which won an Oscar – was filmed.

German-Russian Museum

This museum was opened in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the German surrender in World War II. The museum sits on the exact location where the German Army gave its unconditional surrender on 8th May 8, 1945. This unique museum is devoted to German-Soviet relations and focuses on the years between 1917 and 1990. The permanent exhibits of the museum include – photographs, films, audio recordings, and texts. There are also exhibits that delve deep into specific topics relating to the history of the war and German-Soviet relationships. The main highlight is the Surrender Room, which is in its original state. And a film is played here that shows the signing the Act of Surrender.

The Reichstag

This is Germany’s parliament building and one of the most visited attractions in Berlin. Although technically speaking, it’s not a museum, the Reichstag provides a unique view into Berlin’s rich and complex political history. Since its inception in 1871, the historic parliamentary building has changed hands several times and is now the city’s greatest landmark. You can book a private guided tour and get an insider’s view of the Reichstag, this includes a chance to see famous televised rooms, as well as important spaces which have not been showcased in the media. For most visitors the main highlight is the view of Berlin from the 360-degree glass dome at the top of the building.

Finally, Berlin museums are the finest and serve every type of interest. Every museum has its own unique collections and you may be wondering how many museums you can visit in a day?

Visiting 10 museums in a day is impossible, hence we advise you to visit a few of them in a day. We recommend booking a museum tour in Berlin with an expert guide who can show you the most important and interesting exhibits of a museum. Museums are the best attractions in Berlin and must not be missed.

We hope our list of the top museums in Berlin helps you plan a fantastic visit filled with art, culture, history, and fun.