Special opening hours are in place for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state museums) in 2022 with free online timeslot reservations essential for all museums.
All the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (national museums and galleries) are open in 2022 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. Opening hours are generally Tuesday to Sunday from around 10 am to 6 pm while the Humboldt Forum museums are closed on Tuesday with longer opening hours.
The Berlin state museums are open in 2022 but time-slot reservations are essential — buy tickets and make reservations online at 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. 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.
See Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums (2022) for the latest information. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums (but at quiet times and at smaller museums often available immediately).
Berlin Museums Closed or Reopening During 2022
Although construction and restoration work continues on many Berlin State Museums, by the end of 2022 all museums should be open, although some major exhibitions remain closed.
The following Berlin museums will open / re-open during 2022:
- The Humboldt Forum in the rebuilt Berlin Schloss on Museum Island opened partly in December 2020. The two major museums here are the Etnologisches Museum / Ethnological Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Museum for Asian Art. Both museums opened partly in September 2021 but will only be completely open in 2022.
- See Top Temporary Exhibitions in Berlin State Museums for details on special exhibitions in 2022.
The following major museum exhibitions remain closed in 2022:
- 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.
- New lightning is being installed in the Gemäldegallerie in phases. As a result, around a quarter of the museum will be closed at any given time until September 2023. Top works from the closed sections will be on display in temporary rooms and the admission reduced to €8.
- The Kleihueshalle in the Hamburger Bahnhof is being renovated and likely to be closed for much of the year.
- The Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum) is not a SMB museum but still worth noting that the permanent collection is closed until at least 2024.
Opening Hours on Museum Island Berlin 2022
The regular opening hours of the traditional museums on Museumsinsel Berlin:
- The Altes Museum, Alte National Galerie, James Simon Galerie, Neues 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.
Humboldt Forum / Berliner Schloss museums and exhibitions:
- Most exhibitions in the Humboldt Forum are open from Wednesday to Monday from 10:00 to 20:00 (closing at 22:00 on Friday and Saturday. The Humboldt Forum museums are thus open on Monday but closed on Tuesdays.
Tickets may be bought online from SMB but buying from 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.
The Friedrichswerdersche Kirche is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 — admission is free.
Opening Hours of Kulturforum / Cultural Forum Museums in Berlin
The museums in the Kulturforum area (Gemäldegalerie, Kunstgerwerbemuseum (Applied Arts), 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 and opens at 10 am on weekends.
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 returned to regular opening hours: Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (closing at 8 pm on Thursday) and weekends from 10 am to 5 pm. (It is not really an SMB museum but is included in the Kulturforum ticket.)
Opening Hours of Museums in Dahlem Berlin 2022
The Museum of European Cultures (Europäischer Kulturen) in Berlin-Dahlem is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 6 pm.
The Ethnological and Asian Art museums have closed here and reopened 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 Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 6 pm.
The Museum für Fotographie near Zoologischer Bahnhof station is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm, closing at 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 (closing at 8 pm on Thursday) and on weekends from 11 am to 6 pm.
The Hamburger Bahnhof is open for free on the first Thursday evening of each month from 4 pm until 8 pm.
Opening Hours for Schloss Köpenick
Schloss Köpenick is open from Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00.
More on the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
Note: Most Berlin museums and similar sights are open in 2022. Time-slot reservations are essential for ALL museums. Tickets are available from 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 (2022).
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 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 2022 — overview, in the Kulturforum, in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museumsinsel, Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art, and the Museum of Photography.
- 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 with exhibitions by various museums. The Ethnological and Asian Art museums are partly open but the full museums only open late 2022.
- The Neue Nationalgalerie with twentieth-century art (up to ca. 1970) reopened 22 August 2021.
- The Gemäldegallerie is partly closed until September 2023.
More Museums Reviews and Museum Specific Information:
- Alte Nationalgalerie with Caspar David Friedrich paintings.
- Altes Museum with Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art.
- Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldtforum.
- Friedrichswerdersche Kirche with free collection of 19th-century Germany sculptures.
- Gemäldegalerie with its colleciton of German and Dutch Old Masters and Italian paintings.
- Kunstgewerbemuseum (Decorative Arts)
- Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.
- Neue Nationalgalerie with early 20th-cenutry art and Alexander Calder exhibitions.
- Neues Museum with bust of Nefertiti.
- Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate.
- Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting and Greek statues.
- Photography — Helmut Newton collection and historic photos.