Special opening hours are in place for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state museums) in summer 2021. Free online timeslot reservations are essential for all museums.
Almost all of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (national museums and galleries) are open in summer 2021 but with special arrangements that require time-slot reservations for all museum visits, one-way systems inside the buildings, and other hygiene measures as prescribed by the authorities including a mask but the requirement for a negative test on the day of the visit is no longer applicable. Opening hours are generally Tuesday to Sunday from around 10 am to 6 pm. Currently, only the Neue Nationalgalerie is open until 8 pm on Thursday evenings.
Most of the Berlin state museums open again in summer 2021 including on Museum Island (Altes Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Pergamonmuseum, and Das Panorama), at Kulturforum (Gemäldegalerie, Kunstegewerbe, Neue Nationalgalerie (from 22 August 2021), and most temporary exhibitions in other venues), the Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum Europäischer Kulturen, and (from 20 July) parts of the Humboldt Forum. The Ethnological and Asian Art museums are due to open partly from end September 2021.
Time-slot reservations are essential for all museums during 2021 — buy tickets and make reservations online at Tiqets, GetYourGuide, or at SMB. Tickets sell out fast, especially on weekends — check the different suppliers, as some may still have timeslots available when SMB has sold out. Tickets are currently only sold around two weeks in advance but longer planning should be possible again later in the year. Leftover tickets, if any, will be available for sale at the museums. Many multiple-museum tickets and passes are again accepted. Combination tickets and area passes are mostly not sold at the moment, although the Berlin Museum Pass is again available.
Opening hours are generally Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 on Museum Island, other museums generally open at 11:00 on weekends. Currently, the top museums are not open on Thursday evenings (except the Neue Nationalgalerie) or on Monday.
See Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums for the latest information. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
Berlin Museums Closed or Reopening During 2021
Although construction and restoration work continues on many Berlin State Museums, by the end of 2021 all museums should be open, although some major exhibitions remain closed.
The following Berlin museums will open / re-open during 2021:
- The Humboldt Forum in the rebuilt Berlin Schloss on Museum Island opened partly in December 2020. The two major museums opening here towards the end of September 2021 are the Etnologisches Museum / Ethnological Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Museum for Asian Art. Both museums will only be completely open in 2022.
- The Neue Nationalgalerie / New National Gallery reopened 22 August 2021. It exhibits mostly 20th-century European and Western paintings and sculptures mostly from pre-1970.
The following major museum exhibitions remain closed in 2021:
- The Pergamon Museum is being renovated and some halls may be closed but most of the museum remains open. The hall with the Pergamon Altar will only be fully accessible around 2025/26 but glimpses of the temple may be possible before then and some statues may be seen in the special Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama exhibition.
Opening Hours on Museum Island Berlin 2021
The regular opening hours of the traditional museums on Museumsinsel Berlin:
- The Altes Museum, Altes National Galerie, James Simon Galerie, Neues Museum, Altes Museum, the Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama Exhibition, the Pergamonmuseum itself, and the Bode Museum are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm,
closing at 8 pm on Thursday.
No museums are open on Mondays, however, if Monday is a public holiday, most museums will be open using Sunday opening hours.
Most exhibitions in the Humboldt Forum are open from 20 July 2021 (and free until end October 2021). The two top museums here (Ethnological and Asian Art) are not open yet.
Tickets may be bought online from SMB but buying from Tiqets or GetYourGuide is a lot simpler and cost the same as the official museum website. Timeslot reservations are essential for ALL museums at the moment and not only the Pergamon and Neues Museum.
Opening Hours of Kulturforum / Cultural Forum Museums in Berlin
The museums in the Kulturforum area (Gemäldegalerie, Kupferstichkabinett, Kunstbibliothek, special exhibitions) are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am on weekdays (11 am on weekends) and closing at 6 pm. Only the Neue Nationalgalerie is open Thursdays until 8 pm.
The Gemäldegalerie, Kupferstichkabinett, and Kunstbibliothek are open on Thursday nights until 8 pm. Temporary exhibitions in the other museums often have late hours on Thursdays as well.
The Musical Instruments Museum has shortened its opening hours to Tuesday to Sunday from 14:00 to 19:00 and is often closed on holidays – it is not really an SMB museum but included in the Kulturforum ticket.
The Kunstgerwerbemuseum (Applied Arts) is again open for regular visitors from 4 June 2021.
The Neue Nationalgalerie reopened on 22 August 2021.
The Friedrichswerdersche Kirche is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 — admission is free.
Opening Hours of Museums in Dahlem Berlin Summer 2021
The Museum of European Cultures (Europäischer Kulturen) in Berlin-Dahlem is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and weekends from 11 am to 6 pm.
The Ethnological and Asian Art museums have closed here and will reopen in the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Schloss on Museum Island in autumn 2021 (and only fully in 2022).
Opening Hours of Museums in Charlottenburg
The Berggruen Museum and Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg are open (from 5 September 2020) Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 6 pm.
The Museum fĂĽr Fotographie near Zoologischer Bahnhof station is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm, closing 8 pm on Thursday.
Opening Hours of the Hamburger Bahnhof
The Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin Museum of Contemporary Art is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 6 pm.
The Hamburger Bahnhof is open on Thursday evening until 8 pm.
Opening Hours for Schloss Köpenick
Schloss Köpenick is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00.
More on the Berlin State Museum (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
Note: Most Berlin museums and similar sights are open again in summer 2021. Time-slot reservations are essential for ALL museums. Tickets are available from Tiqets and GetYourGuide that seem to have timeslots available when SMB has already sold out — many passes or multi-museum tickets are again available. Individual museum ticket prices range from €6 to €14. Ticket reservations are only available around two weeks in advance but are likely to be sold again for longer-term planning once conditions allow.
For more general information on the Berlin State Museums:
- Top National Museum and Galleries in Berlin (brief overview)
- Berlin State Museum What Is Seen Where? (a short description of the collections in the different museums)
- New Opening Hours of Berlin State Museum (September 2021).
Regular opening hours not currently in use: Berlin State Museums Opening Hours (9 to 5 was always going to be too simple)- Ticket Prices for Berlin State Museums (prices for museums, temporary exhibitions, combination tickets, online time-slot reservations). Buying online from Tiqets or GetYourGuide is a lot simpler and costs the same as the official museum website. Timeslot reservations are essential for ALL museums!
- Save with the Berlin Museum Pass – 30 museums in three days for €29 – a fantastic savings deal. Buy at Tiqets as an instant-use mobile ticket.
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (official website in German & English)
News & Temporary Exhibitions:
- Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2021 — including the reopening of the Neue Nationalgalerie, as well as the Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldt Forum.
- Top Special Exhibitions in 2020: Highlights, in Kulturforum, on Museum Island, in the Hamburger Bahnhof, smaller museums, and the opening of the Humboldt Forum in December.
- The Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Schloss opened (virtually) on 17 December 2020. Galleries and exhibitions will open in phases spread over a year. The Ethnological and Asian Art museum will only open towards the end of 2021 and the full museums only open by 2022.
- The Friederichswerdersche Kirche reopened in October 2020, as an exhibition space for sculptures of the Alte Nationalgalerie.
- The James Simon Gallery has opened as an additional entrance to the Pergamon and Neues Museum. Large special exhibitions are usually seen with the Neues Museum ticket (with surcharge likely).
- The Neue Nationalgalerie with twentieth-century art (up to 1970) reopened 22 August 2021.
More Museums Reviews and Museum Specific Information:
- Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate.
- Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting.
- Neues Museum with bust of Nefertiti.
- Alte Nationalgalerie with Caspar David Friedrich paintings.
- Neue Nationalgalerie with early 20th-cenutry art and Alexander Calder exhibitions.
- Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.