Tickets for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state museums) are reasonably cheap but also consider passes and combination deals — buy museum tickets and reserve free time-slot admission online for skip-the-line priority admissions.
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 €14 but most are cheaper. Save with combination deals — €24 includes all Museums Island collections for the day and €20 all exhibitions in the Kulturforum. These area combination tickets are good value for money and always a great savings deal when seeing more than one museum in a single day. Entry to all national state museums is included in the Berlin Museums Pass and some Berlin Welcome Cards. Buy tickets online from GetYourGuide and make free time-slot reservations where required.
Shorter Berlin Museum Opening Hours in 2025
Since mid-April 2024, several top museums in Berlin are closed on both Monday and Tuesday with shorter opening hours on many days. See the latest Berlin museum opening hours for details.
Currently, time-slot reservations are obligatory only for the Neues Museum, but sensible if available for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, and Das Panorama. (The Pergamon Museum itself is closed until 2027!) Timeslots are released only a few weeks in advance. Buy tickets and make reservations online at GetYourGuide or at SMB.
Online tickets for museums without timeslot reservations are skip-the-line — go directly to the entrance to scan the ticket. Many multiple-museum tickets and passes are again accepted, including Kulturforum, Museumsinsel, and the excellent value 3-day Berlin Museum Pass.
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 best museums are also included in different tourist museum passes.
The basic Berlin state museum ticket options are:
- Tickets for individual special temporary exhibitions (fairly rare).
- Tickets for a single museum (usually include both permanent and any special exhibitions).
- Area day passes: all museums and art collections on the Museums Island or at the Kulturforum.
- Berlin Museum Pass: over 30 museums in three days for €32 — often the best value.
- Other passes and combinations deals, e.g. the three-day Welcome Berlin + Museuminsel.
Tickets with scanable QR or barcodes are skip-the-line tickets — go directly to the museum entrance (but pick up the free audio guide before entering). Currently, time-slot reservations are only available for a few museums or major temporary exhibitions. Time slots are free making it sensible to reserve if possible.
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.
In 2025, Berlin museums are NO LONGER FREE on the first Sunday of the month.
Time-Slot Reservations and Single Admission Tickets for Berlin’s Museums
Two types of standard single-museum, single-admission tickets are available for the national state museums in Berlin:
- Time-slot reservation tickets (Zeitfenstertickets) for the most popular museums are sold online (or available at museums) and have a specific 15 or 30-minute time window during which visitors must enter the museums. (The time-slot reservation is free and time slots are released only around a month in advance but sometimes much earlier for blockbuster exhibitions.)
- Day tickets (Tageskarten) for the individual museums and galleries — if sold online, the ticket often has the time as 10:00 but it is valid for admission any time during the calendar day.
Time-slot reservations are currently only essential for the Neues Museum (and often for popular special exhibitions). Time-slot reservations are free online (or in person at museums) and are possible for any ticket type (or even possible to make before actually buying a ticket).
Buying a museum ticket and making a time reservation are two separate transactions — missing an optional time slot does not cancel the admission ticket. It is therefore quite sensible to make time-slot reservations online in advance for the museums offering this option. Reservations are most likely available for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie (often busy), Neues Museum (essential), Pergamon Das Panorama, and any special exhibition offering a time-slot reservation option.
All visitors may buy tickets online from the museums but this option requires registration or a surprising amount of personal data. Buying from GetYourGuide is a lot simpler, has the same price, valid as a mobile phone ticket, and has better cancelation conditions. Go directly to the gallery entrance to scan the QR or bar codes. The online reservation system for free time-slot tickets where required may also be used for child tickets and annual pass holders.
Area Tickets for the Berlin State Museums and Galleries
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 relatively small surcharge is payable to visit the specific exhibition.
The two main area tickets are for the museums in the Kulturforum and on Museums Island and are valid for a calendar day and often give admission without time-slot reservations to all but the most popular exhibitions. The Berlin Welcome Card Museum Island covers all state museums on the island while almost all museums in Berlin are included in the Berlin Welcome Card All-Inclusive and the fantastic value 3-day Museumspass Berlin.
Museumsinsel Berlin / Museum Island Berlin Ticket Prices
The area day ticket for all museums on Museum Island — Museumsinsel-Ticket — is only €24 and thus cheaper than any two museums on the same day. In contrast to other combination tickets, time-slot reservations are usually not necessary, except for major exhibitions. As time-slot reservations are free, it is always a good option to ensure easy skip-the-line admission, especially for the Neues Museum.
Ticket prices for the individual museums are as follows — special exhibitions may add a small surcharge:
- €12 – Altes Museum / Old Museum (buy from Get Your Guide)
- €12 – Alte Nationalgalerie / Old National Gallery (buy from Get Your Guide)
- €12 – Bode Museum (buy from Get Your Guide)
- €14 – Neues Museum / New Museum (buy from Get Your Guide) — time-slot reservations essential.
- €14 – Pergamon Das Panorama Exhibition (buy from Get Your Guide) — The permanent exhibitions in the Pergamonmuseum are closed until 2027.
James-Simon-Galerie — depends on the special exhibition, often included in the ticket of the organizing museum.
Admission to the Friedrichwerdersche Kirche with its display of 19th-century sculptures is free and no tickets are required.
Humboldt Forum (Berliner Schloss)
Prices for the museums and exhibitions in the Humboldt Forum (Berliner Schloss) are set individually and are not included in the Museuminsel Area Ticket but usually are covered by the Berlin Museum Pass and the Berlin Welcome Card All-Inclusive.
Entry into the courtyards of the palace building is free, as is admission to some of the exhibitions. Admission to the Etnologisches Museum / Ethnological Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Museum for Asian Art, both state museums, is still gratis and without needing time-slot reservations.
Kulturforum / Cultural Forum Museum Ticket Prices
The area day ticket for all museums here is the Kulturforum-Ticket at €20 — with this ticket, no timeslot reservations are required (but always double-check for major temporary reservations). Reservations for the Neue Nationalgalerie and Gemäldegalerie (if available) are sensible, especially on weekends.
Ticket prices for the individual museums are as follows — special exhibitions may add a small surcharge:
- €12 – Gemäldegalerie / Paintings Gallery (Old Masters) (buy from Tiqets). Sometimes surcharges apply for top temporary exhibitions.
- €10 – Kunstgewerbemuseum / Museum of Decorative Arts (buy from Tiqets).
- €8 (depending on the exhibition) – Kupferstichkabinett / Museum of Prints and Drawings.
- €8 (depending on the exhibition) – Kunstbibliothek / Art Library (buy from Tiqets).
- €14 — Neue Nationalgalerie / New National Gallery — tickets available from Tiqets (special exhibitions may add surcharges).
- €6 – Musikinstrumenten-Museum / Museum of Musical Instruments (not part of the SMB but included in the Kulturforum ticket).
Tickets for Other Berlin State Museums
Tickets for the other Berlin State Museums are sold mostly individually but the Berlin Museum Pass and Welcome Card All-Inclusive 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.
- €10 – Museum Europäischer Kulturen / Museum of European Cultures in Dahlem (buy from Tiqets).
- €10 – Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenburg near Schloss Charlottenburg (buy from Tiqets). (The Museum Berggruen is closed until 2026.)
- €12 – admission to the Museum für Fotografie / Photography Museum behind the Zoologischer Garten station (buy from Tiqets).
- €8 – Schloss Köpenick Palace.
The Museum Pass and Welcome Card Berlin
The Museum Pass Berlin is sold by Visit Berlin – the tourist information office for €32 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 (closed until at least 2026), and the 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.
From September 2025, the Berlin Museum Pass is in digital format only.
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.
The Berlin Welcome Card All-Inclusive is far more expensive but covers many pricy venues in addition to most museums in Berlin.
Annual Passes for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Annual member passes (Jahreskarten) are good options for residents of Berlin or frequent visitors. It comes in three versions:
- €118 – Classic Plus: valid for all museum and temporary exhibitions at all times, priority admission even without time-slot reservations, except for very popular exhibitions.
- €60 – 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 on weekdays and between 11 am and 1 pm on weekends and vacation days. Major temporary exhibitions have a surcharge. Free time-slot reservations.
Buy annual passes online or from the Alte Nationalgalerie, Kulturforum central ticket desk, Hamburger Bahnhof, James-Simon-Galerie, Museum für Fotografie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, or Pergamon Das Panorama.
More on the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin):
Note new opening times for many Berlin museums in 2025 — several are now closed on both Monday and Tuesday.
Timeslot reservations are sensible (and sometimes needed in busy periods) for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, and Pergamon – Das Panorama. (The Pergamon Museum itself is closed until 2027!). Timeslots are released only a few weeks in advance. Online tickets are available from GetYourGuide or SMB.
Many passes and multi-museum tickets offer savings (Kulturforum / Museums Island). Individual museum ticket prices range from €8 to €14 (€20 for special exhibitions). Online tickets are skip-the-line — go directly to the gallery entrance to scan the code.
For more general information on the Berlin State Museums:
- Top National Museums and Galleries in Berlin (brief overview)
- Berlin State Museums: What Is Seen Where? (a short description of the collections in the different museums)
- Opening Hours of Berlin State Museums (2025) — major changes since mid-April 2024!
- Ticket Prices for Berlin State Museums (prices for museums, temporary exhibitions, combination tickets, online time-slot reservations). Buying online from GetYourGuide is easy. A ticket with a QR or bar code is scanned directly at the entrance — no need to pass by the ticket desk (but pick up the free audio guide before entering).
- Save with the Berlin Museum Pass – 30 museums (including all the SMB museums) in three days for €32 – a fantastic savings deal.
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (official website in German & English).
News & Temporary Exhibitions in Berlin in 2025:
- 2025: Top Special Art Exhibitions in Berlin in 2025 & Top Contemporary Art Exhibitions in the Hamburg Bahnhof.
- Museums closed in 2025: The Pergamon Museum is closed until 2027 (some sculptures are on display in Das Panorama), the Museum Berggruen is closed until 2026 (much of its collection is traveling the world), the permanent collection of the German History Museum (Zeughaus) is closed but temporary exhibitions continue in the Pei Building.
More Museum Reviews and Museum-Specific Information:
- Alte Nationalgalerie — 19th-century art.
- Altes Museum — Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art.
- Bode Museum — sculptures from the Middle Ages, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods, Byzantine Art, and coins.
- Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldtforum.
- Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (free admission) with a collection of 19th-century German sculptures.
- Gemäldegalerie — German and Dutch Old Masters and Italian paintings.
- Kunstgewerbemuseum (Decorative Arts).
- Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.
- Neue Nationalgalerie — 20th-century art.
- Neues Museum — Pre and Early History, Egyptian Collection with bust of Nefertiti.
- Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate — the whole Pergamonmuseum is closed from 2023 until 2027. Some Greek sculptures are shown in the
- Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting and Greek statues.
- Photography — Helmut Newton collection and historic photos.
Previous Temporary Exhibitions in Berlin Museums:
- 2024: Overview of Top Berlin Exhibitions in 2024, Caspar David Friedrich in the Alte Nationalgalerie, Frans Hals in the Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie (20th-century art) Hamburger Bahnhof Contemporary Art, Kupferstichkabinett (Prints and Drawings), and Photography Museum.
- 2023: Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2023 — overview, in the Kulturforum, in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museum Island, and the Museum of Photography.
- 2022: Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2022 — overview, in the Kulturforum (David Hockney), in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museumsinsel, Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art, and the Museum of Photography.
- 2021: 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.
- 2020: Highlights, in Kulturforum, on Museum Island, in the Hamburger Bahnhof, smaller museums, and the opening of the Humboldt Forum.
