The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin are mostly open Tuesday to Sunday, a few open on Monday, many stay open Thursday evenings and most museums open on public holidays.
See October 2020 Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (national museums and galleries) are generally open Tuesday to Sunday from around 10 am to 6 pm. Some of the major museums and galleries are open until 8 pm on Thursday evenings. Only the Pergamon Museum (including Panorama Exhibition) and Neues Museum require time-slot ticket reservations (free and the only sensible way to see these top museums) and are open on regular Mondays as well.
The Berlin State Museums are open on most public holidays (including on holiday Mondays) – using Sunday opening hours. The museums are usually closed on December 24 and 31 (what isn’t in Germany?) but open on Christmas Day itself and opening around noon on January 1.
See October 2020 Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
Berlin Museums Closed in 2020
The following Berlin State Museums are closed in 2020 (and, unfortunately, mostly beyond):
- Neue National Gallerie / New National Gallery (closed for several years for renovation)
- The Pergamon Museum is being renovated and some halls may closed while 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.
Berlin Museums Opening in 2020
The following museums will open / re-open during 2020:
- The opening of the Humboldt Forum in the rebuilt Berlin Schloss on Museum Island has been postponed from 2019 to mid-December 2020. The two major museums opening here towards the end of 2021 are the Etnologisches Museum / Ethnological Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Museum for Asian Art.
- Friedrichwerdersche Kirche will re-open on 27 October 2020 as a sculpture exhibition area for the Alte National Gallery.
Opening Hours on Museum Island Berlin
See October 2020 Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
All museums on Museumsinsel Berlin (Alte Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Bode Museum, Neues Museum, and Pergamon Museum) are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, closing at 8 pm on Thursday.
The Pergamonmuseum, the Panorama Exhibition and Neues Museum are also open on Monday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission to these two museum are by time-slot tickets – worth reserving in advance also for free admission and passes (up to around two months in advance possible).
The James Simon Gallery is open half an hour earlier / later than the Pergamon Museum.
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.
Opening Hours of Kulturforum / Cultural Forum Museums in Berlin
The museums in the Kulturforum area are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am on weekdays (11 am on weekends) and closing at 6 pm.
The Musical Instruments Museum opens and closes an hour earlier and is often closed on holidays – it is not really an SMB museum but included in the Kulturforum ticket.
The Gemäldegalerie, Musical Instruments Museum, 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 Neue Nationalgalerie will be closed for several years from 2015.)
Opening Hours of Museums in Dahlem
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 during 2021.
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 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 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 Thursday to Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm.
More on the Berlin State Museum (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
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 from September 2020
- 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 cost the same as the official museum website. Timeslot reservations are essential for ALL museums from September 2020 until further notice!
- 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.
- The Welcome Berlin Card All-Inclusive is pricy but includes admission to all museums and top sights.
- 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.
- For special contemporary art exhibitions in 2019 in Berlin see the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart and
- Top Temporary Art Exhibition in Berlin for other major special exhibitions in 2019.
- The Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Schloss is scheduled to open 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 reopens 27 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) is due to reopen in summer 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.
- Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.
