Museum Island Berlin Tickets

The Museum Island is a must-see stop in the German capital. As the name suggests, it is an island in the Spree River that hosts the main state museums of Berlin: Old Museum, New Museum, Old National Gallery, Bode Museum and, above all, the Pergamon Museum. Although it is important to note that the Pergamon Museum closes its doors for construction for several years.

To organize your visit to the other museums in Berlin, there are a few details to consider, from opening hours to closing days. Read on, we have compiled the essential information.

Each museum has its own entrance fee and here are the prices:

• Tickets to the Altes Museum (OldMuseum ): from 10 ¤.
• Admissionto the Neues Museum (New Museum): from 14 €
• Tickets to the Alte Nationalgalerie (OldNational Gallery ): from €10
• Tickets to the Bode-Museum (BodeMuseum ): from €10

As you can see, these are not very high prices and also children under 18 years old get in for free.

Fortunately, all museums follow the same opening hours: they open at 10:00 and close at 18:00. The cultural institutions on the island are run by the same body - the Berlin State Museums - and so you will need to keep this simple schedule in mind. If you visit Berlin in December you should know that on Christmas Eve all museums are closed while they are open on Christmas Day. On December 31, however, the Neues Museum is open from 10:00 to 14:00.

The Museum Island (Museumsinsel) is located between the river Spree and the homonymous canal. Being centrally located, you can easily reach it from anywhere in the German capital. Below you will find all the available options:

• Subway (U-Bahn in German). You will recognize each access by the sign refiguring a white "U" on a blue background. The closest stops are Unter den Linden (lines U5 and U6) and Rotes Rathaus (line U5).
• Suburban train (S-Bahn in German). The stations in the vicinity of the island are Friedrichstraße and Hackescher Markt. For more info you can consult the official website of the German Railways.
• Tramway. Lines M1 and 12 stop at Am Kupfergraben. Another alternative is the stop Georgenstr./Am Kupfergraben (line 12).

Most tours focus on the Pergamon Museum, currently closed for construction, or on the combined pass between it and another museum. Please note that it is practically impossible to visit all the museums in one day. Depending on your interests, for example, if you are passionate about numismatics, a guided visit to the Bode Museum is almost a must. If you are not interested in a particular type of art and want to take an indoor stroll at your leisure - perhaps to escape Berlin's winter chill - I recommend visiting the Neues Museum without booking a tour.

It depends on your interests and the time you will spend in Berlin. The Museum Island is home to five cultural institutions - Pergamon Museum, Bode, Neues Museum, Old National Gallery and Altes Museum - and if you feel like visiting them thoroughly you should stay in the capital for at least five days. If you don't have that much time, I recommend spending at least one day visiting. Check collections and temporary exhibitions to design the perfect itinerary.

If you still haven't made up your mind, the list below reveals the must-see works that I'm sure will convince you to visit the Museum Island:

• Numismatic collection of the Bode Museum. It contains more than 300,000 coins from Greece and Rome, the European Middle Ages, and the Eastern and Islamic world.
• Gold tiara from Berlin, a jewel of prehistoric art. It is a ceremonial astronomical hat that served as a calendar. It is in the New Museum (Neues Museum).
• Etruscan art of the Old Museum (Altes Museum). They were the "precursors" of the Romans and their creations are often overlooked. However, the Etruscans had important artistic skills and their works are linked above all to the afterlife.
• Bust of Nefertiti. The face of the famous empress is in the New Museum.
• Pergamon Altar and Ishtar Gate, the jewels of the Pergamon Museum. This cultural institution is dedicated to the classical and Islamic world.
• Equestrian statue of Frederick William IV. The bronze figure is located in the courtyard of the Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie).

According to visitor reviews, the Pergamon Museum tends to please the little ones. It is known worldwide for its large-scale reconstructions of architectural monuments of Greek and Roman antiquity. The flagship of the collection is the Pergamon Altar, a masterpiece of Hellenistic art depicting a battle between gods and giants. The museum organizes workshops and activities for children.

However, as this museum will be closed for several years, you can opt for one of the following attractions:

• Labyrinth. It organizes exhibitions designed for children where touching is not forbidden but encouraged. Family discounts are available every Thursday and Friday (Osloer Straße 12).
• Museumsdorf Düppel, an open-air museum offering a reconstruction of a medieval village. Be careful, you won't be able to visit it in winter as it opens from Easter to the beginning of October (Clauertstraße 11).
• Deutsches Technikmuseum, 25,000 square meters full of vehicles, carriages, the saloon car of the last German emperor, steam locomotives, a ship simulator and much more. You will recognize it by the 1948 "Raisin Bomber" airplane leaning against the building (Trebbiner Straße 9).
• MACHmit!, the museum for children. Its philosophy is to learn through experimentation and touch. There is plenty of room to play and climb (Senefelderstraße 5).

The German capital has a myriad of attractions and the above listing is limited exclusively to museums. If you want to dig deeper, I recommend reading the article on 10 things to see and do in Berlin with kids.

Yes, and if visiting museums is your passion, I advise you to buy the "Museum Pass Berlin". The price of this card is around 30 € although there may be discounts on particular occasions. With this card you can enter all the museums on the island and other destinations in the German capital. This pass guarantees access to 30 museums and here are some of the highlights:

• Deutsches Spionagemuseum, the museum of German espionage. The permanent collection can be experienced with all senses and will make you discover secret operations, real espionage cases and mythical spies (Leipziger Platz 9).
• Schloss Köpenick, a baroque castle on an island in the river Dahme, a tributary of the Spree
• Berggruen, an art gallery with works by Picasso, Georges Braque, Matisse and Paul Klee (Schloßstraße 1)
• Märkisches, Berlin's history museum (Am Köllnischen Park)
• Knoblauchhaus, a manor house that once belonged to a wealthy merchant family (Poststraße 23)

You can also save money by purchasing the Berlin Pass which gives you free access to many attractions in the city. You can buy it for 2 days at 99 € or 3 days at 119 €.

Ready to get started? To clear up any last doubts, we have compiled some tips to help you organize your visit:

• If you don't know where to start your visit, I recommend buying a Museum Island pass. It is a single ticket that guarantees direct access, without queuing up. For more info, I recommend you consult the official website.
• The museums have very extensive collections and time is always limited. Knowing what kind of work each museum has will help you decide where to enter. For example, if you like ancient Greece and Rome, then visit the Altes Museum. If you are fascinated by ancient Egypt, then head for the Neues Museum.
• If you see that there are few people in front of the Pergamon Museum, start your route here! Lines are often the longest
• During the school vacation period, long queues usually form. To find out which days it is, you can check this site
• The Kolonnadenhof (Colonnade Courtyard) is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Museum Island. It is a garden of 12,900 square meters framed by an elegant colonnade.
• The high season in Berlin lasts from May to the end of October. August and October are usually the busiest months. At these times, museums tend to attract the most visitors.
• January is the best month to avoid the crowds. In addition, you can benefit from cheaper hotel rates.
• Although not on the island, on the other bank of the Spree is another Berlin must-see: the GDR Museum. It is interactive and its collection gathers a myriad of objects, from food to the devices used by the political police. If you have ever wondered what daily life was like in the German Democratic Republic, this is the museum for you.