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.
Most of the Berlin state museums open again in summer 2021 including on Museum Island (Altes Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Pergamonmuseum, and Das Panorama), at Kulturforum (Gemäldegalerie, Kunstegewerbe, and most temporary exhibitions in other venues), the Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum Europäischer Kulturen, and (from 20 July) parts of the Humboldt Forum. The Neue Nationalgalerie is due to open end August 2021 and the Ethnological and Asian Art museums partly from end September 2021.
Time-slot reservations are essential for all museums during 2021 — buy tickets and make reservations online at Tiqets, GetYourGuide, or at SMB. Tickets sell out fast, especially on weekends — check the different suppliers, as some may still have timeslots available when SMB has sold out. Tickets are currently only sold around two weeks in advance but longer planning should be possible again later in the year. Leftover tickets, if any, will be available for sale at the museums. Many multiple-museum tickets and passes are again accepted.
Opening hours are generally Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 on Museum Island, other museums generally open at 11:00 on weekends. Currently, the top museums are not open on Thursday evenings or on Mondays.
See Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums for the latest information. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
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 state museums, as well as most other museums in Berlin, are free on the first Sunday of the month. Timeslot reservations may still be needed for the top museums and exhibitions.
All visitors can buy tickets online from the museums but this option requires registration or a surprising amount of personal data. Buying from Tiqets or GetYourGuide is a lot simpler, the same price and valid as a 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).
See Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
Area Tickets for the Berlin State Museums and Galleries
See Update for Opening Hours of the Berlin State Museums. Time-slot ticket reservations are essential for ALL museums.
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, or if it will be included in the Museum Island ticket. Entry into the courtyards of the building is free as is admission to some of the exhibitions, Etnologisches Museum / Ethnological Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Museum for Asian Art will only open towards the end of 2021.
The Friedrichwerdersche Kirche Church reopened on 27 October 2020 — admission is free.
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). — currently, only open for guided tours.
- €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 renovation — due to reopen in summer 2021)
- €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 be 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 — currently closed.
The Museum Pass and Welcome Card Berlin
The Museum Pass Berlin is sold by Visit Berlin – the tourist information office for €29 (or online from Tiqets as an instant-use mobile ticket) 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)
Note: Most Berlin museums and similar sights are open again in summer 2021. Time-slot reservations are essential for ALL museums. Tickets are available from Tiqets and 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. Ticket reservations are only available around three days in advance but are likely to be sold for longer-term planning by summer.
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 (June 2021).
- 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 costs the same as the official museum website. Timeslot reservations are essential for ALL museums!
- 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.
- 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.
- The Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Schloss opened (virtually) 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 reopened in 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.