How to Buy Tickets for Berlin State Museums and Galleries

Tickets for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state museums) are reasonably cheap but also consider passes and combination deals — buy museum tickets and reserve free time-slot admission online for skip-the-line priority admissions.

Tickets for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (State Museums) are very reasonably priced for the quality and quantity of artworks and cultural objects on display. Admission tickets for the larger museums are €14, but many are cheaper. Save with combination deals — €24 includes all Museums Island collections for the day and €22 all exhibitions in the Kulturforum. These area combination tickets are good value for money and always a great savings deal when seeing more than one museum in a single day. Entry to all national state museums is included in the Berlin Museums Pass and some Berlin Welcome Cards. Buy tickets online from GetYourGuide and make free time-slot reservations where required (or available).

In 2026, time-slot reservation tickets are the exception rather than the rule when visiting the national museum in Berlin. However, reservations are always free, if offered at all, and worth making.

Ticket Options for the Berlin State Museums

Tickets for the Berlin State Museums are at first glance fairly complicated. Several combination tickets are sold, and the best museums are also included in different tourist museum passes.

The basic Berlin state museum ticket options are:

• Tickets for individual special temporary exhibitions (fairly rare).
• Tickets for a single museum usually include both permanent and any special exhibitions.
• Area day passes: all museums and art collections on the Museums Island or at the Kulturforum.
• Berlin Museum Pass: over 30 museums in three days for €32 — often the best value.
• Other passes and combination deals, such as the three-day Welcome Berlin + Museuminsel.

Tickets with scanable QR or barcodes are skip-the-line tickets — go directly to the museum entrance (but pick up the free audio guide before entering). Currently, time-slot reservations are only available for a few museums or major temporary exhibitions. Time slots are free, making it sensible to reserve if possible.

Admission to the Berlin State Museums is free for children up to 18 years old, but they need a ticket too, so include children when buying tickets or making time-slot reservations. Students usually pay the reduced (ermäßigt) half-price rate.

In 2026, Berlin museums are NO LONGER FREE on the first Sunday of the month.

Time-Slot Reservations and Single Admission Tickets for Berlin’s Museums

Two types of standard single-museum, single-admission tickets are available for the national state museums in Berlin:

• Time-slot reservation tickets (Zeitfenstertickets) for the most popular museums are sold online (or available at museums) and have a specific 15 or 30-minute time window during which visitors must enter the museums. (The time-slot reservation is free, and time slots are released only around a month in advance, but sometimes much earlier for blockbuster exhibitions.)
• Day tickets (Tageskarten) for the individual museums and galleries — if sold online, the ticket often has the time as 10:00, but it is valid for admission any time during the calendar day.

In 2026, time-slot reservations are essential and possible only for the most popular temporary exhibitions. Even the Neues Museum (Berlin’s most popular museum) is visited without reserving a time slot. When available, time-slot reservations are free online (or in person at museums) and are possible for any ticket type (or even possible to make before actually buying a ticket).

Buying a museum ticket and making a time reservation are two separate transactions — missing an optional time slot does not cancel the admission ticket. It is therefore quite sensible to make time-slot reservations online in advance for the museums that offer this option. Reservations are most likely available for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie (often busy), Neues Museum (essential), Pergamon Das Panorama, and any special exhibition offering a time-slot reservation option.

All visitors may buy tickets online or directly in person at the museums.

Area Tickets for the Berlin State Museums and Galleries

The area tickets are good value and are only marginally more expensive than a single museum ticket. The museum ticket almost always includes admission to temporary exhibitions, although sometimes it is extra, or a relatively small surcharge is payable to visit the specific exhibition.

The two main area tickets are for the museums in the Kulturforum and on Museums Island and are valid for a calendar day and often give admission without time-slot reservations to all but the most popular exhibitions. The Berlin Welcome Card Museum Island covers all state museums on the island, while almost all museums in Berlin are included in the Berlin Welcome Card All-Inclusive and the fantastic value 3-day Museumspass Berlin.

Museumsinsel Berlin / Museum Island Berlin Ticket Prices

The area day ticket for all museums on Museum Island — Museumsinsel-Ticket — is only €24 and thus cheaper than any two museums on the same day. In contrast to other combination tickets, time-slot reservations are usually not necessary, except for major exhibitions. As time-slot reservations are free, it is always a good option to ensure easy skip-the-line admission, especially for the Neues Museum.

In 2026, ticket prices for the individual museums are now €14 per museum — special exhibitions may add a small surcharge:

• €14 – Altes Museum / Old Museum (buy from Get Your Guide)
• €14 – Alte Nationalgalerie / Old National Gallery (buy from Get Your Guide — time-slot reservations required during major exhibitions)
• €14 – Bode Museum (buy from Get Your Guide)
• €14 – Neues Museum / New Museum (buy from Get Your Guide) — time-slot reservations sometimes required.
• €14 – Pergamon Das Panorama Exhibition (buy from Get Your Guide) — The permanent exhibitions in the Pergamonmuseum are closed until 2027.

James-Simon-Galerie — depends on the special exhibition, often included in the ticket of the organizing museum.

Admission to the Friedrichwerdersche Kirche with its display of 19th-century sculptures is free, and no tickets are required.

Humboldt Forum (Berliner Schloss)

Admission to the museums and exhibitions in the Humboldt Forum (Berliner Schloss) is covered by the Humboldt Forum Ticket (€14 day ticket or €18 for two days).

The museums in the Humboldt Forum, including the Ethnological Museum and the Museum for Asian Art, are not covered by the Museumsinsel area ticket or the Berlin Museum Pass (may change eventually). Individual tickets are not available for these two museums.

Kulturforum / Cultural Forum Museum Ticket Prices

The area day ticket for all museums here is the Kulturforum-Ticket at €22 — with this ticket, no timeslot reservations are required (but always double-check for major temporary reservations). Reservations for the Neue Nationalgalerie and Gemäldegalerie (if available) are sensible, especially on weekends.

Ticket prices for the individual museums are as follows — special exhibitions may add a small surcharge:

• €14 – Gemäldegalerie / Paintings Gallery (Old Masters) (buy from Tiqets). Sometimes surcharges apply for top temporary exhibitions.
• €10 – Kunstgewerbemuseum / Museum of Decorative Arts (buy from Tiqets).
• €8 (depending on the exhibition) – Kupferstichkabinett / Museum of Prints and Drawings (buy from Tiqets).
• €8 (depending on the exhibition) – Kunstbibliothek / Art Library.
• €14 — Neue Nationalgalerie / New National Gallery — tickets available from Tiqets (special exhibitions may add surcharges, usually around €20 all-in).
• €10 – Musikinstrumenten-Museum / Museum of Musical Instruments (not part of the SMB but usually included in the Kulturforum ticket).

Tickets for Other Berlin State Museums

Tickets for the other Berlin State Museums are sold mostly individually but the Berlin Museum Pass and Welcome Card All-Inclusive are valid at all of these museums:

• Around €16 (depending on the temporary exhibitions) – to the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart – Berlin / Museum of Contemporary Art in the Hamburg Station in Berlin (buy from Tiqets). Some temporary exhibitions may be seen individually for less.
• €10 – Museum Europäischer Kulturen / Museum of European Cultures in Dahlem (buy from Tiqets).
• €12 – Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenburg near Schloss Charlottenburg (buy from Tiqets). (The Museum Berggruen is closed until 2026.)
• €12 – admission to the Museum für Fotografie / Photography Museum behind the Zoologischer Garten station (buy from Tiqets).
• €8 – Schloss Köpenick Palace.

The Museum Pass and Welcome Card Berlin

The Museum Pass Berlin is sold by Visit Berlin – the tourist information office for €32 and is valid for entry into more than 30 museums in Berlin on three consecutive days. These museums include all Berlin State Museums (but not in the Humboldt Forum), the German History Museum (closed in 2026), and the Technology Museum, but unfortunately not the popular Haus am Checkpoint Charlie or DDR museums. The pass is available from any participating museum, tourist office, some hotels, or online.

From September 2025 and in 2026, the Berlin Museum Pass is in digital format only. Show the QR code on your phone (or, as this is Germany, print out the emailed PDF and show the paper!)

The Berlin Welcome Card Museum Island pass is a further option sold by the tourist office. This 72-h pass includes public transportation, free admission to the permanent collections of the Museum Island museums, and further discounts at other attractions.

The Berlin Welcome Card All-Inclusive is far more expensive but covers many pricy venues in addition to most museums in Berlin.

Annual Passes for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Annual member passes (Jahreskarten) are good options for residents of Berlin or frequent visitors. It comes in three versions:

• €118 – Classic Plus: valid for all museum and temporary exhibitions at all times, priority admission even without time-slot reservations, except for very popular exhibitions.
• €60 – Classic: valid for all permanent exhibitions at all times. Major temporary exhibitions may have a surcharge. Free time-slot reservations.
• €25 – Basic: valid for all permanent exhibitions at off-peak times, i.e. enter after 3 pm on weekdays and between 11 am and 1 pm on weekends and vacation days. Major temporary exhibitions have a surcharge. Free time-slot reservations.

Buy annual passes online or from the Alte Nationalgalerie, Kulturforum central ticket desk, Hamburger Bahnhof, James-Simon-Galerie, Museum für Fotografie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, or Pergamon Das Panorama.

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

Timeslot reservations are 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, Tiqets, or SMB.

Many passes and multi-museum tickets offer savings (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.

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 (2026) — most are again open on Tuesdays too.
• Ticket Prices for Berlin State Museums (prices for museums, temporary exhibitions, combination tickets, online time-slot reservations). Buying online from GetYourGuide is easy. Scan tickets with a QR or bar code 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 in Berlin in 2026:

• 2026: Top Special Art Exhibitions at Kulturforum and Special Museumsinsel Exhibitions (Alte Nationalgalerie).
• Museums closed in 2026: The Pergamon Museum is closed until 2027 (some sculptures are on display in Das Panorama), the Museum Berggruen is closed (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.
• 2030s: Berlin Modern to share the Museum of 20th-Century Art with the Neue Nationalgalerie on Kulturforum.

More Museum Reviews and Museum-Specific Information:

• Alte Nationalgalerie — 19th-century art.
• Altes Museum — Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art.
• Bode Museum — sculptures from the Middle Ages, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods, Byzantine Art, and coins.
• Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldtforum.
• Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (free admission) with a collection of 19th-century German sculptures.
• Gemäldegalerie — 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 — Pre and Early History, Egyptian Collection with bust of Nefertiti.
• Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate — the whole Pergamonmuseum is closed from 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 in Berlin Museums:

• 2025: Top Special Art Exhibitions in Berlin in 2025 & Top Contemporary Art Exhibitions in the Hamburg Bahnhof.
• 2024: Overview of Top Berlin Exhibitions in 2024, Caspar David Friedrich in the Alte Nationalgalerie, Frans Hals in the Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie (20th-century art), Hamburger Bahnhof Contemporary Art, Kupferstichkabinett (Prints and Drawings), and Photography Museum.
• 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.