Here are some tips for doing the cultural side of Berlin as cheaply as possible?

There is a 3-Day-Pass, which costs Euro15.00 (Euro 7.50 for concessions), and it includes three days free entry to over 50 museums. Check out www.berlin-tourism.de for more details.

Museums Island (see below) also has a pass, which is good for a day and costs Euro 12.00 (Euro 6.00 concessions) and allows you entry into all the museums on the Museums Island complex.And if that is too expensive, be aware that every Thursday the state-run museums open their doors for free for the last four hours before they closer.  You can’t get much cheaper than that!

The Museums Island

The Museum Island in central Berlin is an intense concentration of the world's most important works from the middle ages to present. These buildings gained the combined title "Athens on the Spree" for their neoclassic beauty.

Currently these are the five museums. The whole island is under renovation, one of the biggest regeneration projects in modern history, which will last until 2012 and cost billions. So far the Old Gallery and the Bode Museum have been reopened.

All the museums share the opening times of Tuesday to Sunday, 10am until 6pm (10pm on Thursdays), with all closed on Monday.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

This collection of antiquity is located in the best surviving example of the work of Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. There is a good permanent collection in addition to temporary exhibitions.

Website:  www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

19th century works from such artists as Adolf Menzel, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Max Liebermann or Louis Corinth. The works of Adolf Menzel alone are worthy of a visit. The museum itself is one of the most beautiful classical buildings you are able to see in Europe.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

Just reopened after a massive renovation process, the Bode Museum features three main collections; Late antiquity to Byzantine, The coin cabinet, Children's Gallery

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

This building is being restored to contain the Egyptian museum and also the museum of pre and early history.

Another one of the most impressive concentrations of museums in the city can be found near Potsdamer Platz in the Tiergarten district, in an area that is known as the Kulturforum. Within the space of roughly four city blocks are impressive collections that in total number around 600,000 pieces.

Opening times for the following museums are as follows: Tuesday and Wednesday 9am to 6pm, Thursday 9am to 10pm, and Friday to Sunday 9am to 8pm.  All are closed on Mondays.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

This is a collection of European paintings from the 13th to the 18th century displayed in a beautiful, open and modern gallery.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

This is a broad display of European arts and crafts from the Middle Ages to the Present. Included are examples of material, tapestries, furniture, glass, gold, and silver work, industrial products and design.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

Anyone that has an interest or a need for source and also historical data, this is the place to go. The library has over 35,000 visitors annually, demonstrating its value and worth for world culture.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

Considered one of the best collections of graphics in the world, it is most certainly large. The museum boasts 80.000 drawings and 520.000 printed graphics in vaults.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de.

The main attraction, the New National Gallery offers an exciting and ever changing collection of fabulous shows in the magnificent building by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The extensive permanent collection is always of interest. The artists’ works include those of Dix, Kirchner, Grosz, Klee, Picasso and many others.

Located far from the centre of town is the Dahlem Village, where you can find a number of museums that should not be missed.  In particular are the three following museums, which share the same opening times of Tuesday to Sunday, 10am until 6pm, closed on Mondays:

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de


The Ethnological Museum
This is a wide assortment of artefacts from Ancient America, the South Sea islands, South / Eastern Asia and African art / culture. There is also a special museum for the blind and one for young persons.


Museum of East Asian Art (Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst)
Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Buddist art from the stone age to present are on display.


Museum of Indian Art (Museum für Indische Kunst)
Arts and crafts from the territory of today’s Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, India, South East Asia and Central Asia from the 2nd century B.C. to present.

Website: www.alliiertenmuseum.de

Found in the south- western district of Zehlendorf, the location is about 25 minutes from the city centre. Located in the former cinema for the American forces, the museum documents the post war period of occupation when the French, Americans and the British played a part in the rebuilding of the city.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de

It is currently found in the district of Charlottenburg close to the Broehan and the Berggruen museums. The collection features the age of Queen Nefertiti. The most important work is a magnificent bust of the Queen, long prized for her immortal beauty.
Opening Times:  Daily from 10am to 6pm (Thursdays until 10pm).

Website:  www.broehan-museum.de

This museum is moderate in size, but contains a fantastic collection of arts and crafts from the Art Deco and Functionalism movements.
Opening Times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, closed on Monday

Website:  www.smb.spk-berlin.de

A group of paintings and sculptures by Picasso, Braque, Klee, Matise, Cezanne, van Gogh, and Giacometti. This once private collection has been on exhibit for many years and has in the last years has been given to Berlin.
Opening Times:  Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, closed on Monday

Website:  www.deutsche-guggenheim.de

The German branch of the Guggenheim, which is located in central Berlin, shows works that range from Classical Modernism to more contemporary pieces. The museum is worth a visit, and a good tip is to go on Monday as the admission is free.

Website: www.dtmb.de

Found in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, the Technical museum covers technical and cultural history from trains to vacuum cleaners. With over 50,000 square metres of exhibition space, this is not only the largest technology museum in the world, but probably one of the largest exhibition spaces in general.
Opening Times:  Tuesday and Friday 9am to 5.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 6pm, closed on Mondays.

Website: www.filmmuseum-berlin.de

Located at Potsdamer Platz the museum includes many important film artefacts. German film history and its influences on Hollywood are the main focus of this space, and included in the collection are the estates of Marlene Dietrich, Heinz Rühmann, and other film notables. There is also a multimedia room and a library at your disposal.Opening Time:  Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm

Website:  www.bauhaus.de

The Bauhaus archive documents the works of the world's most important and influential design school. In the 14 year-span of its existence (1919-1933) it managed to change the way art and architecture was viewed around the world. The Bauhaus Berlin has a good permanent collection as well as interesting temporary exhibitions.
Opening Times:  Wednesday to Monday, 10am to 5pm

The Martin Gropius Bau has been constructed as an applied arts museum that currently houses temporary exhibitions that range from the historic to the fantastic. Each speciality show has it’s own temporary website address although you can find information on www.gropiusbau.de.  All housed in an absolutely gorgeous building.

Website:  www.bruecke-museum.de

This is the world's largest collection of German expressionism. The Brücke movement founded in Dresden in 1905 helped to launch the Expressionist movement in art history.
Opening Times:  Wednesday to Monday, 11am to 5pm.

Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de and www.hamburgerbahnhof.de 

Set in a former train station with 10.000 square meters of exhibition space creating a breathtaking environment in which to display works of art from the second half of the 20th century. The permanent collection includes the works of German and international masters such as Beuys, Rauschenberg and Warhol.Opening Times:  Tuesday to Friday 10am to 6pm (Thursdays from 2pm - Free Entry), Saturday 11am to 8pm, Sundays 11am to 6pm.  Closed on Monday.

Website: www.jmberlin.de

The building alone had drawn over 300.000 visitors before an exhibition was even hung. The architecture by Daniel Libeskind is a modern masterpiece. The permanent collection covers the history of the Jewish community on the territory of Germany today from the end of the Roman period to present. This is a museum and a building you must see.
Opening Times:  Monday 10am to 10pm, Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 8pm

Website: www.mauer-museum.com

This museum is a documentation of the Berlin Wall and a city divided. On display in four languages are the objects of escape, oppression and history, through photographs, film footage, texts and objects. This museum has long opening hours and is comprehensive in its scope.Opening times: Daily 9am to 10pm

Website: www.museum-karlshorst.de.

This museum is far off, but certainly worth a visit for anyone that has an interest in the Second World War. On May 8th 1945, it was here that German leaders signed the documents that officially marked victory in Europe and the end of the Second World War. The museum is a significant display of German and Russian relations over an 80-year period.
Opening Times: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm (Free Entrance)

Website: www.stasimuseum.de.

Located in Hohenschönhausen district of Berlin and set in the very headquarters of the East German secret police. It is the story of the spying that was done by the police and their hundreds of thousands of “special helpers”. In close proximity is the Stasi prison where political prisoners were set straight. Both sites offer an interesting and at times scary view into the Cold War years.Opening Times:  Monday to Friday 11am to 6pm, Saturday to Sunday 2pm to 6pm

Website: www.gdw-berlin.de.

The Bendler block, as the building is known, is in the Tiergarten district. The story of the rise and fall of the Nazis along with the resistance are documented here. The building was the site of the planning of the very famous bomb plot of July 20th 1944. Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, a Nazi officer, along with others, attempted to kill Hitler. They were executed here after the attempt failed.
Opening Times:  Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm (Thursday until 8pm), Saturday and Sunday 10am to 6pm.

Website: www.hkw.de.

Located in the Tiergarten, this funky 50's building showcases the dance and art of the world. Cool.

Website:  www.erotikmuseum.de

2000 square metres of sex, including over 5000 different ‘objects’ for you to peruse.  This exploration of eroticism and sexuality includes art from across the centuries and yes, this is art not some cheap porno display.