The German capital stands out for its historical and cultural significance. In a visit, perhaps a short one, it can be difficult to choose among the many museums to see. I have been there several times over the last few years and I tried to create a top 10 of the museums of Berlin and I rather so as to help you make a selection. I didn't want to list them in order of importance because when it comes to art and museums everything becomes very subjective. From my point of view these 10 are all interesting and definitely worth a visit. I also tried to create a list as varied as possible, in which art and history are balanced and in which everyone can find what is right for them. I hope I have succeeded!
1. Topographie des Terrors - Gestapo and SS base transformed into a museum
I start my list with Topography of Terror. Museum ad free admission built in the old base of the Gestapo and the SS, which tells the story of the coming to power of National Socialism and Nazi policies. It is a very cleverly structured museum with a great symbolic value. The German state purposely used the framework from which the most terrible decisions of the Nazi era were made to educate and warn future generations about the dangers of totalitarianism. For anyone interested in history or wanting to learn more about the WWII period this museum is a must! Then it's super central and a stone's throw from Check Point Charlie, so it costs nothing to go for a quick visit.
Niederkirchnerstrasse 8, 10963
2. Gemäldegalerie - Berlin art gallery with masterpieces from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth century
La Picture gallery it is a very rich museum with almost two kilometers of itinerary divided into rooms with works by artists of the caliber of Rembrandt, Van Eyck, Giotto, Raphael and Botticelli. If you decide to visit it, expect a rather long visit because the collection of this museum is really extensive and usually in the price of the ticket they also include temporary exhibitions of the highest level. For art lovers, this art gallery is truly a gem! You will find great masterpieces by the masters from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, audio guides in Spanish and even a bar-restaurant where you can recharge your batteries.
Matthaeikirchplatz, 10785
3. Museum of the GDR - Daily life in the times of the German Democratic Republic
Il GDR museum it is located directly on the Spree a stone's throw from the Duomo. It is a museum that takes you back in time and fills youto relive the everyday life of the German Democratic Republic. Until the fall of the wall, East Germany was a completely different world than the rest of Europe and its citizens lived a reality that was difficult to imagine. This museum manages to convey it very well. All the objects used in the GDR are exhibited and there is even a simulator of the Trabant, the symbolic car of East Berlin! If you are with children I recommend it because it is educational, but very interactive and fun.
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1
4. Neues Museum - Egyptian art and the splendid Nefertiti
The Neues Museum is the first museum on the list that belongs to Museum Island. An island in the middle of the Spree that contains five of the richest and best known Berlin museums. I did not want to list them all, but if you have the time it is not even to say… all five museums deserve and deserve. I have selected the Neues, the Pergamon and the Bode. My three favorites. The Neues is mainly known for theextensive collection of Egyptian art and to exhibit what has become one of the symbols of the city: the bust of Nefertiti! I must say that even just for you, this museum is really worth a visit.
Bodestraße 1-3, 10178
5. Pergamon Museum - Altar of Pergamum and Gate of Babylon
Among the museums in Berlin not to be missed, he could not be missing! Even the Pergamon is on Museum Island, a stone's throw from the Neues Museum. It is the most visited museum in all of Berlin and contains within it the well-known altar of Pergamum. Unfortunately, it has been undergoing renovation for years and can be visited "only" until the end of the works. the gate of Ischtar, Babylonian door of breathtaking beauty and the door of the market of Miletus. In addition, of course, to the displays of Babylonian-Syrian jewelry, carpets and statues. In my opinion, despite the temporary absence of the altar, it remains an unforgettable museum.
Bodestraße 1-3, 10178
6. Bode Museum - Museum of Byzantine statues and art
Last museum on this list that it is located on the Museum Island, Bode it is a very rich and very particular museum. It collects almost exclusively statues and it has a huge collection with works by artists also of great fame, among which it stands out Canova. It also has a section dedicated to Byzantine art with mosaics and coins and beautiful medieval statues. It is the least known and least visited of the five museums on the island, but both the building and the collection impressed me very much.
Bodestraße 1-3, 10178
7. Natural Science Museum - The only Branchiosaurus skeleton in the world
Il Natural Science Museum it is another museum that can fascinate young and old. During my visit I met many school groups and the children were all ecstatic. Admittedly, I was ecstatic too! For fans of dinosaurs and geology this museum is a must! They have skeletons, fossils, stones and stuffed animals. At the entrance you will be welcomed by the skeleton of a huge original Branchiosaurus, unique in the world and perfectly preserved.
Invalindenstrasse 43, 10115
8. Berlin Wall Memorial in Bernauer Strasse - How divided Berlin really was
Though not really a museum, I wanted to enter the Berlin Wall Memorial on this list because in my opinion there is no other place where the reality of the wall and divided Berlin is conveyed so clearly. Walking near the East Side Gallery is easy to forget the deaths and suffering that the division of the city has caused, but this memorial shows it very well. It is an open air museum completely free in which the victims are commemorated. There is a long stretch of the original wall still intact and you can see, climbing on the terrace of the memorial, a section between the two walls and the so-called death strip. A very touching experience, to be done absolutely to better understand the history of this city.
Bernauer Strasse 111, 13355
9. Jewish Museum - the memory of the Holocaust in Berlin
If you've never been there, don't miss the Jewish Museum! Interactive, architecturally unsurpassed and touching, is one of those museums that are never forgotten. Don't expect to see an exhibition, but to have an experience. The architect Daniel Libeskind, an American of Jewish origins, designed the building to convey to visitors the sense of helplessness and bewilderment that the Jewish people felt during the years of the Holocaust. For this there are stairs that end on walls without doors, empty and cold rooms, a path where you walk on thousands and thousands of stylized faces in agony. It is very difficult to explain what is special about this museum, but I assure you that it is one of a kind and beautiful.
Lindenstrasse 9-14, 10969
10. Stasi Museum - Museum in the old East German secret police base
Il Stasi Museum that's just what the name suggests… a museum that shows the history and methods by which secret police in East German times controlled the population and identified traitors. It is a very interesting reality that is shown through images, objects and archives of the time. The museum itself is located in the central base of the Ministry of Security, a place hermetically closed to the public until the fall of the wall which in the following decades has become a historical artifact and meeting place. I found the exhibition very well done and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Cold War period or in general daily life in East Germany.
Ruschestrasse 103 | House 1, 10365
