Opening hours for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state museums) are long but buy tickets and book free timeslot reservations online to skip the lines at the top museums. From 16 April 2024, some smaller museums are closed on both Monday and Tuesday.
Most of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (national museums and galleries) are open in 2024 but opening hours are changed from mid-April 2024 for many museums. 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. Time-slot reservations are currently only required for the Neues Museum and major special exhibitions. Opening hours are generally Tuesday (or Wednesday) to Sunday from around 10 am to 6 pm (or 5 pm) while the Humboldt Forum museums have longer opening hours but are closed on Tuesdays. Only a few larger museums are open until 20:00 on Thursdays. Admission is free on the first Sunday of the month but may require free online reservations.
Update 2024: New Berlin Museum Opening Hours
From 16 April 2024, several smaller museums will be closed on both Monday and Tuesday with shorter opening hours on many days. Opening hours for the Alte Nationalgalerie will be longer for much of the year, as the Caspar David Friedrich exhibition tickets are selling out fast, and also longer in summer 2024 for the top museums. See the latest Berlin museum opening hours for details.
Currently, time-slot reservations are essential only for the Caspar David Friedrich exhibition in the Alte Nationalgalerie (until 4 August 2024). However, it is sensible to book timeslots if available for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, and Das Panorama. (The Pergamon Museum itself is closed until 2027!) Timeslots are released only a few weeks in advance. Buy tickets and make reservations online at GetYourGuide or at SMB.
Online tickets for museums without timeslot reservations are skip-the-line — go directly to the entrance to scan the ticket. Many multiple-museum tickets and passes are again accepted, including Kulturforum, Museumsinsel, and the excellent value 3-day Berlin Museum Pass.
Berlin Museums Closed in 2024
Although construction and restoration work continues on many Berlin State Museums, during 2024 only the following museums and major exhibitions are closed:
- The Pergamon Museum is being renovated and the entire building is closed since 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.
- The Museum Berggruen is closed until at least 2025.
- The Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum) is not an SMB museum but still worth noting that the permanent collection is closed until at least 2025 but the IM Pei annex with temporary exhibitions remains open.
Opening Hours on Museum Island Berlin in 2024
The regular opening hours of the traditional museums on Museumsinsel Berlin:
- The Neues Museum, the Pergamonmuseum — Das Panorama Exhibition, and the James Simon Galerie are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. The Neues Museum and James Simon Galery close only at 8 pm most days in July and August 2024.
- The Alte National Galerie has special longer opening hours for the duration of the popular Caspar David Friedrich exhibition from 5 May to 4 August 2024: As a minimum, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 but closing most days at 20:00. (Essential timeslot tickets are selling fast and are available online for the whole duration of the exhibition.)
- The Altes Museum and the Bode Museum are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm (6 pm on Saturday and Sunday).
- The Ticket Museuminsel gives admission to all these museums for a day, similar benefits are possible with the Berlin Welcome Card Museumsinsel and the 3-day Berlin Museumspass. A small surcharge may be added for some major special exhibitions.
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. Admission to the Ethnological and Asian Art museums remains free and without timeslot reservations.
The Friedrichswerdersche Kirche is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 (18:00 on Saturday and Sunday) — admission is free.
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 Neues Museum and sensible for the Alte Nationalgalerie (essential from 5 May to 4 August 2024), Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, and Das Panorama. Time-slot reservations may be required for special exhibitions and during busy periods.
Opening Hours of Kulturforum / Cultural Forum Museums in Berlin
The opening hours of museums in the Kulturforum area changed from 16 April 2024:
The Neue Nationalgelerie is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm (closing at 8 pm on Thursday).
The Gemäldegalerie is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
The Kunstgerwerbemuseum (Applied Arts), Kupferstichkabinett, Kunstbibliothek, special exhibitions) are open Wednesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm. (The Kunstgewerbe and Kupferstichkabinett open only at 11 am on weekends).
All these museums are covered by the Ticket Kulturforum and the 3-day Museumspass Berlin. 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.
The Musical Instruments Museum also changed its opening hours from mid-April 2024. Opening hours are now Tuesday 9:00 to 13:00, Wednesday to Friday 9:00 to 17:00 (closing at 20:00 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 Wednesday to Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm. The Berggruen Museum is closed until at least 2025.
The Museum fĂĽr Fotographie (Photography) 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 in Berlin
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
The Museum of European Cultures (Europäischer Kulturen) in Berlin-Dahlem is open Wednesday 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 Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00 from April to September.
More on the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin):
Note new opening times for many Berlin museums from mid-April 2024. Timeslot reservations are essential only for the Caspar David Friedrich exhibition (until 4 August 2024) but sensible (and sometimes needed in busy periods!) for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, and Pergamon – Das Panorama. (The Pergamon Museum itself is closed until 2027!). Timeslots are released only a few weeks in advance. Online tickets are available from GetYourGuide, which seems to have timeslots available when SMB has already sold out. Many passes and multi-museum tickets are again sold (Kulturforum / Museums Island). Individual museum ticket prices range from €8 to €14 (€20 for special exhibitions). Online tickets are skip-the-line — go directly to the gallery entrance to scan the code but pick up free audioguides first.
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 (2024) — major changes from mid-April 2024!
- Ticket Prices for Berlin State Museums (prices for museums, temporary exhibitions, combination tickets, online time-slot reservations). Buying online from GetYourGuide is easy. A ticket with a QR or bar code is scanned directly at the entrance — no need to pass by the ticket desk (but pick up the free audio guide before entering).
- 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: Overview of Top Berlin Exhibitions in 2024, Caspar David Friedrich in the Alte Nationalgalerie (tickets are selling out fast!), Frans Hals in the Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie (20th-century art) Hamburger Bahnhof Contemporary Art, Kupferstichkabinett (Prints and Drawings), and Photography Museum.
- Museums closed in 2024: The Pergamon Museum is closed until 2027 (some sculptures are on display in Das Panorama), the Museum Berggruen is closed until 2025 (much of its collection is traveling the world), the permanent collection of the German History Museum (Zeughaus) is closed but temporary exhibitions continue in the Pei Building.
More Museum Reviews and Museum-Specific Information:
- Alte Nationalgalerie with Caspar David Friedrich paintings (2024 special exhibition).
- 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 — 20th-century art.
- Neues Museum with bust of Nefertiti.
- Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate — the whole Pergamonmuseum is closed from October 2023 until 2027. Some Greek sculptures are shown in the
- Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting and Greek statues.
- Photography — Helmut Newton collection and historic photos.
Previous Temporary Exhibitions:
- 2023: Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2023 — overview, in the Kulturforum, in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museum Island, and the Museum of Photography.
- 2022: 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.
- 2021: 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.
- 2020: Highlights, in Kulturforum, on Museum Island, in the Hamburger Bahnhof, smaller museums, and the opening of the Humboldt Forum.
