Berlin State Museums Opening Hours and Tickets

Opening hours for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state museums) returned to normal in 2023 but buy tickets and make free timeslot reservations online for the top museums.

All the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (national museums and galleries) are open in 2023 and mostly returned to normal opening hours and procedures. Although tickets may again be bought on-site, it is sensible to buy tickets online in advance and to make free timeslot reservations for any museums where pre-bookings are possible. Opening hours are generally Tuesday to Sunday from around 10 am to 6 pm while the Humboldt Forum museums have longer opening hours buts are closed on Tuesdays. Many of the larger museums are again open until 20:00 on Thursdays.

See Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums (2023) for the latest information.

Berlin Museums Closed During 2023

Although construction and restoration work continues on many Berlin State Museums, during 2023 almost all museums should be open, although some major exhibitions remain closed.

The following major museum exhibitions remain closed in 2023:

• The Pergamon Museum is being renovated and some halls may be closed but most of the museum remains open. However, the entire Pergamonmuseum is closed from 23 October 2023. The Hellenic Hall, Pergamon Altar, and Islamic Art museums will be the first to reopen in 2027 but the rest may be closed until the mid-2030s. Some Greek statues may be seen in the special Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama exhibition.
• New lighting 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 Museum Berggruen is closed until at least 2025.
• The Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum) is not an SMB museum but still worth noting that the permanent collection is closed until at least 2024 but the IM Pei annex with temporary exhibitions remains open.

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. The Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum, and James Simon Galerie are again open until 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 10:30 to 18:30 (closing times are often later on Friday and Saturday). The Humboldt Forum museums are thus open on Mondays but closed on Tuesdays. Humboldt Forum museums do not follow other Museum Island opening hours or ticket passes.

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 the Alte Nationalgalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum, and Das Panorama.

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, Neue Nationalgelerie, special exhibitions) are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am on weekdays (11 am on weekends) and closing at 6 pm. Both the two large museums here, the Gemäldegalerie and Neue Nationalgalerie, are open Thursdays until 8 pm and open at 10 am on weekends.

Time-slot reservation tickets are only essential for the Neue Nationalgalerie and possible for the Gemäldegalerie — for other Kulturforum venues, go directly to the gallery entrance to scan online tickets. Reservations may also be required for large special exhibitions, e.g. the Donatello and Van der Goes.

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 Charlottenburg

The Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 6 pm. The Berggruen Museum is closed until at least 2025.

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 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 2021/22.

Opening Hours for Schloss Köpenick

Schloss Köpenick is open from Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00 from March to October and Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00 from April to September.

More on the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin):

Note: Most Berlin museums and similar sights are open in 2023. Timeslot reservations are essential for only the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum (closed from 23 Oct 2023 until 2027!), and Das Panorama. Timeslots are released only around four weeks in advance. 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 (€20 for special exhibitions). Online tickets are skip-the-line — go directly to the gallery entrance to scan the code.

For more general information on the Berlin State Museums:

• Top National Museums and Galleries in Berlin (brief overview)
• Berlin State Museums: What Is Seen Where? (a short description of the collections in the different museums)
• Opening Hours of Berlin State Museums (2023).
• 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 the most popular museums!
• Save with the Berlin Museum Pass – 30 museums (including all the SMB museums) in three days for €32 – a fantastic savings deal.
• Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (official website in German & English).

News & Temporary Exhibitions:

• 2024: Frans Hals in the Gemäldegalerie
• Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2023 — overview, in the Kulturforum, in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museum Island, and the Museum of Photography.
• Both the Ethnological and Asian Art museums in the Humboldt Forum (Berlin Schloss) are now fully open — admission to both is still free and currently without the need to book a timeslot.
• The Gemäldegallerie is partly closed until September 2023 but at least 75% is open at any given time.
• The Pergamon Museum will be closed completely from 23 October 2023 and partly reopen only in spring 2027 (with the rest to follow by the mid to late 2030s).

More Museum 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 (free admission) with a collection of 19th-century German sculptures.
• Gemäldegalerie with its collection of German and Dutch Old Masters and Italian paintings.
• Kunstgewerbemuseum (Decorative Arts).
• Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.
• Neue Nationalgalerie with early 20th-century art and Alexander Calder exhibitions.
• Neues Museum with bust of Nefertiti.
• Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate — the whole Pergamonmuseum will be closed from 23 October 2023 until 2027.
• Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting and Greek statues.
• Photography — Helmut Newton collection and historic photos.

Previous Temporary Exhibitions:

• Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2022 — overview, in the Kulturforum (David Hockney), 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.