Tickets for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin are reasonably cheap with good combination deals. Buy museum tickets and reserve online to save even more.
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. The most expensive museum is €19 but most are cheaper and many combination deals are available. Tickets are sold for individual museums (or special temporary exhibitions) but the area combination tickets are especially good value for money and always a great savings deal when seeing more than one museum on a single day. These national museums are included on the Berlin Museums Pass and some Berlin Welcome Cards (All-Inclusive). Buy tickets online from Tiqets or GetYourGuide to save even more and make free time-slot reservations where required.
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 museums are also included in tourist museum passes.
Tickets are generally available for special temporary exhibitions, for an individual museum, for the whole area the museum is in, and for all museums.
The area tickets are generally 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 separate cheaper ticket is available for the temporary exhibition only.
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.
All visitors can buy tickets online from the museums but this option requires registration or a surprisingly amount of personal data. Buying from Tiqets or GetYourGuide is a lot simpler, the same price and valid as mobile phone ticket. The online reservation system for free time-slot tickets where required can also be used for child tickets and annual pass holders.
Note that day tickets are valid for the calendar day, irrespective of the time of purchase. It is, therefore, best to buy museum tickets early morning and avoid Mondays when only the Pergamonmuseum and Neues Museum are open (although both can easily fill a day).
Area Tickets for the Berlin State Museums and Galleries
Museumsinsel Berlin / Museum Island
The area day ticket for all museums on Museum Island is €18 (buy online) – note that both the Pergamonmuseum and Neues Museum require time-slot admissions – free booking online at SMB Shop.
- €10 – Alte Nationalgalerie / Old National Gallery (buy from Tiqets)
- €10 – Altes Museum / Old Museum (buy from Tiqets)
- €12 – Bode Museum (buy from Tiqets)
- €12 – Neues Museum / New Museum (buy from Tiqets)
- €19 – Pergamonmuseum / Pergamon Museum (buy from Tiqets) – €6 surcharge to see the Panorama Exhibition if using the Museum Island ticket or other passes, such as the Berlin Museum Pass.
Exhibitions in the James-Simon-Galerie are mostly free.
Prices for the museums in the Humboldt Forum (Berlin Schloss) have not been announced yet. The Etnologisches Museum / Ethnological Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Museum for Asian Art should open here in 2020.
The Friedrichwerdersche Kirche Church is closed indefinitely due to structural issues.
Kulturforum / Cultural Forum
The area day ticket for all museums in the Kulturforum is €16. Admission is sometimes charged for temporary exhibitions in the library and Kupferstichkabinett.
- €10 – Gemäldegalerie / Paintings Gallery (Old Masters) (buy from Tiqets). Sometimes surcharges apply for top temporary exhibitions.
- €8 – Kunstgewerbemuseum / Museum of Decorative Arts (buy from Tiqets).
- €6 (depending on the exhibition) – Kupferstichkabinett / Museum of Prints and Drawings.
- €6 (depending on the exhibition) – Kunstbibliothek / Art Library (buy from Tiqets).
- Neue Nationalgalerie / New National Gallery (closed for several years for renovation)
- €6 – Musikinstrumenten-Museum / Musical Instruments (not part of the SMK but included in the Kulturforum ticket).
Other Berlin State Museums
Tickets for the other Berlin State Museums are sold mostly individually but the Berlin Museum Pass and All-Inclusive Welcome Card are valid at all of these museums:
- Around €14 (depending on the temporary exhibitions) – to the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin / Museum of Contemporary Art in the Hamburg Station in Berlin (buy from Tiqets). Some temporary exhibitions may seen individually for less.
- €8 – Museum Europäischer Kulturen / Museum of European Cultures in Dahlem (buy from Tiqets).
- €12 – admission to both the Museum Berggruen and the Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenburg near Schloss Charlottenburg (buy from Tiqets).
- €10 – admission to the Museum für Fotografie / Photography Museum behind the Zoologischer Garten station (buy from Tiqets).
- €6 – Schloss Köpenick Palace
The Museum Pass and Welcome Card Berlin
The Museum Pass Berlin is sold by Visit Berlin – the tourist information office for €29 (or from Get Your Guide online) and is valid for entry into more than 30 museums in Berlin on three consecutive days. These museums include all Berlin State Museums, the German History Museum, and Technology Museum but unfortunately not the popular Haus am Checkpoint Charlie or DDR museums. The pass is available from any participating museum, tourist office, and some hotels.
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. It currently costs €46 in the AB transportation region version – the ABC version that includes Potsdam, Schönefeld Airport and Oranienburg is hardly more expensive. The Berlin Welcome Card All-Inclusive is far pricier but includes admission to most top sights in Berlin.
Annual Passes for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Annual members passes (Jahreskarten) are good options for residents of Berlin or frequent visitors. It comes in three versions:
- €100 – Classic Plus: valid for all museum and temporary exhibitions at all times, priority admission even without time-slot reservations.
- €50 – 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 4 pm (3 pm at Dahlem and Schloss Köpenick) on weekdays and between 11 am and 1 pm on weekends and vacation days. Major temporary exhibitions have a surcharge. Free time-slot reservations.
These annual passes can only be bought at the following museums: Altes Museum, Kulturforum central ticket desk, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Fotografie, Museum Berggruen, Dahlem Museums, Neues Museum and Schloss Köpenick.
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)
- 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.
- Save with the Berlin Museum Pass – 30 museums in three days for €29 – a fantastic savings deal.
- 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 Exhibitions in 2020: Highlights, in Kulturforum, on Museum Island, in the Hamburger Bahnhof, and smaller museums.
- 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 should open during 2020.
- The Friederichswerdersche Kirche will reopen spring 2020, as an exhibition space for sculptures of the Alte Nationalgalerie.
- The James Simon Gallery opened in summer 2019 and is an additional entrance to the Pergamon and Neues Museum.
- The Neue Nationalgalerie with twentieth-century art (up to 1970) remains closed for renovations.
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.
