Travel bucket list idea:
Berlin, Germany
Over the centuries, Berlin has amassed an impressive hoard of treasures, starting with the collections of culture-mad Friedrich the Great, followed by a succession of emperors – their royal curators and architects equipped with lavish budgets – and rounded off by the spoils of a globe-spanning German Empire.
Most are now conveniently housed on one small ‘Museum Island’, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site boasting five adjacent world-class museums, covering 6,000 years of cultural and art history. An essential stop on any Berlin itinerary.
Berlin, Germany
Experience
Reopened in 2006 after a major refurbishment, the museum now houses a fine collection of Byzantine art, coins, medals, and most notably, one of Europe’s finest collections of sculpture.
Adult price: £8
Good for age: 18+
Berlin, Germany
Another of the Museum Island favourites, the Neues Museum houses collections that could not be accommodated in the Altes museum, notably the Egyptian Collection and other prehistoric and early historic collections.
Adult price: £10
Good for age: 18+
Berlin, Germany
The Alte Nationalgalerie, one of the three internationally-renowned galleries on Museum Island, showcases one of the world’s largest collections of 19th-century sculpture and paintings, with additional collections of neoclassical, Romantic, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork.
Adult price: £10
Good for age: 18+
Berlin, Germany
Experience
The first museum to be built on Museum Island, set in a stunning neoclassical building, the Altes Museum houses exhibits from the Collection of Classical Antiquities. The permanent Greek collection is displayed on the ground floor, with special exhibitions on the second.
Adult price: £8
Good for age: 18+
Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s most popular museum is a tour de force of treasures amassed by German archaeologists during their plunderings of the ancient world. The superb site pulls together three previous museums covering Islamic art, classical antiquities and the ancient Near East.
The antiquities collection at the Pergamon includes a wealth of finds from famous archaeological sites such as Priene, Olympia, Miletus, Cyprus and Didyma, in what’s now Greece and Turkey.
Adult price: £12
Good for age: 18+
Take the S-Bahn S1, S2, or S25 to Friedrichstrasse, or S5, S7, S75, or S9 to Hackescher Markt. Or take the U-Bahn line U6 to Friedrichstrasse.
The Berlin Museum Pass permits entry to all the major Berlin museums for three days, for about EUR25. It comes with a guide containing helpful information and listings of participating museums.
The more comprehensive Berlin Welcome Card gives you up to 50% off entrance to most of the city’s top attractions, including its art galleries and museums, and includes free public transport and a free handy guide book. The price varies depending on the number of days you want – from 48 hours to 6 days.
All of the museums are open all year round, seven days a week.
