Museum Island
Museumsinsel
Five world-class museums on the Spree island in the river, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Nefertiti bust, the Ishtar Gate and the Pergamon Altar are all housed here.
Museum Island makes up the northern half of Spree Island. Between 1830 and 1930, the Prussian royal family built five museums here, creating a 'temple of art and science'. In 1999 the island was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The five museums are: the Altes Museum (Old Museum), a neoclassical masterpiece by Schinkel, housing Greek and Roman antiquities; the Neues Museum (New Museum), restored by David Chipperfield, with Egyptian collections, whose highlight is the 3,300-year-old painted bust of Queen Nefertiti (photography prohibited); the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), with 19th-century paintings by Friedrich, Menzel and the French Impressionists; the Bode-Museum, a Baroque domed building at the tip of the island, with sculpture and Byzantine art; and the Pergamon Museum, home to the Ishtar Gate from Babylon, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Pergamon Altar. It is Germany's most visited museum, but it has been fully closed since October 2023 for major renovation; the south wing is expected to reopen in 2027. In the meantime, you can see a 360° panorama at the Pergamon Panorama across the way. The James-Simon-Galerie, opened in 2019, serves as the island's unified entrance and visitor center. Tickets: a single museum costs about 12–14 euros; a one-day Museum Island pass costs about 24 euros (covering all open museums); a three-day museum pass costs about 32 euros. Visitors under 18 enter free. Timed tickets can be booked on smb.museum. Most museums are closed on Mondays (the Pergamon Panorama is the exception). The island also has the Berlin Cathedral, completed in 1905 (climb the dome for views over the city, about 10 euros), and the Humboldt Forum, rebuilt on the site of the former Berlin City Palace, with free major exhibitions and a rooftop terrace overlooking Museum Island. Getting there: exit at Museumsinsel station on U-Bahn line U5, or walk 5 minutes from Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station; buses 100 and 300 also pass by. You can only choose about two museums per day; a common pairing is the New Museum with the Alte Nationalgalerie or the Bode-Museum.
Opening hours
Venues about 10:00 AM–6:00 PM (some until 8:00 PM Thursdays); most closed Mondays
Nearby sights
- Berlin Cathedral
- DDR Museum
- Hackesche Höfe
- Humboldt Forum
- Gendarmenmarkt
- Nikolaiviertel
- Berlin TV Tower & Alexanderplatz
- Berlin Wall Memorial