My first stop in Berlin and on my list of must-visit spots if you're into western art. Located in a…read moremuseum district (different from museum island), this museum is part of the Kulturforum group of museums*, which is nearby the Berlin Philharmonic and Kammermusikaal concert hall. It's a little more than 10 min walk west from Potsdamer Platz. Tickets are €16, (~$16.50USD currently) and can be purchased online or in-person, and arriving around 2pm on a Friday afternoon the short line took about 10 minutes. You can also purchase one-day tickets to all the museums in the Kulturforum for €4 more which I didn't realize until after the fact or I would've done that. You can't pay the difference to upgrade the ticket. They don't allow larger bags or backpacks so these can be checked for free with a €1 coin (returned upon retrieval of your items) in the lockers in the basement. The main special exhibit when I visited was on the works of Frans Hals. They assembled a large number of works, maybe around 100, including some of his contemporaries and artists coming out of his workshop. The gallery was laid out mostly in chronological order and I greatly appreciated their effort in providing both German and English descriptions for every work. There are many other pieces outside of this exhibit by well-known or lesser-known artists. Some names you may recognize include Rembrandt, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Johannes Vermeer, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Dürer. I really enjoyed perusing their entire collection! If you take your time I'm sure you could easily spend 5 hours here though I given the time of day I spent around 2.5 hrs. There is a museum cafe available on the second floor accessible from the Kulturforum lobby, and a museum store also adjacent to the lobby. Bathrooms or located in a few diff locations including by the lockers in the basement. Easily reachable by public transportation and some walking, or parking is located in various lots/structures nearby. *consists of: Gemäldegalerie Kunstbibliothek Kunstgewerbemuseum Kupferstichkabinett Neue Nationalgalerie

This museum was awesome and it was fun to take an electric scooter to…read more My mother and I visited this museum a few months ago and when we got there we ran inside as it was a tad close to closing time. They won't let you take big coats or anything inside the actual museum so I had to rush downstairs to the lockers to put my stuff away. This is one of the coolest museums in Berlin, IMO. They had some paintings that I have been wanting to see for years so it was well worth the trip. They have a TON of paintings and art here, it was overwhelming, in a good way. When I'm in Berlin again, I will definitely be going back.

My favorite museumin Berlin. Huge and always something new. Though they did get rid of the free…read moreevenings on Thursdays. Easy to get to from the Hauptbahnhof. The Sarah Wiener Cafe is a nice place for some food, though their coffee foam leaves something to be desired. I like the huge main room and the long hallway space. Rarely do I go to the upper rooms. They should have a cafe at the end of the long space so visitors could fortify themselves for the trek back. A must-see for visitors to Berlin.

This train-station-turned-contemporary-art-museum is one of my favorites. For pop art lovers, check…read moreout Warhol's Maos. For lovers of the eccentric and bizarre, several installation pieces deserve your attention. This museum has something for every modern art enthusiast, and perhaps even something for those who are only lukewarm to modern art.

I really love all of the exhibits at this museum! I'm super pleased with the complimentary audio…read moreguide! It was really easy to use and helpful! You just scan a QR code and navigate on your phone!

We visited this museum on a recent trip to Berlin. This was my son's pick. He loves dinosaurs. This…read morewas one of the best dinosaur exhibits I have ever seen. Not only do they have like the longest dinosaur fossil in the world, but they have these amazing viewfinders that you look through and the dinosaurs come to life. You can see how the dinosaur moved and how it ate. It was really cool and my son was absolutely obsessed with it. They had this very weird room with animals in jars. I've never seen anything like it and I was a little bit grossed out by it but my kid thought it was cool. They also have the biggest collection of taxidermy that I've ever seen. I very much enjoyed the Exhibit on Darwin and natural selection. It was really fun to learn about zebra stripes. The space part of the museum was cool. And throughout the museum there were numerous panels in English but unfortunately, the video in the space portion was only in German so we didn't totally understand what we were watching. It was fun watching nonetheless. I don't expect everything to be in English. Overall, a great family friendly pick. We spent about 2-2.5 hours here and they do offer family ticket prices which were very reasonable.

This is, in my experience, one of the finest museums I've visited. Allocating a full day, with a…read morebreak for lunch/Mittagessen, is reasonable and advisable. Exhibit design is as good as the Metropolitan in NYC or the V&A in London. These designs convey information in a way that uses a museum experience in a way that distinguishes this form of knowledge transfer from simple reading, while avoiding being pedantic. The building is an architectural experience unto itself. BONUS free admission TIP We ate lunch at Umami Mitte, Friedrichstraße 30, 10969, https://umami-restaurants.de/, a few minutes away from the museum. It is very good to excellent, with pleasant outdoor tables, in appropriate weather.

This was a powerful, immersive, informative, interesting, and inspiring experience. I feel like the…read morebest way to tolerance is to learn. If you choose to ignore, you will continue to be ignorant. In these trying times in America and throughout the world it is important to learn from history and be aware so it doesn't repeat itself. While in Berlin we went to this museum to learn more about the Jewish diaspora in Germany. My knowledge of the Jewish experience is from the United States perspective and for me it was important to hear, read, and see the story from a country that played a significant part in the history of the Jewish people. The museum traces the history of the cultural, social, political, and influence of the Jewish people in Germany and throughout the world. It is not only a museum, it is an art gallery, and the architecture of the building is somewhat unassuming from the outside. Through photographs, religious objects, newspapers, letters, and artwork it is an immersive space that appeals to your humanity. From their progression throughout history to the persecution in the holocaust this museum is a powerful testament to the resilience of the Jewish people. With the the atrocities that they endured in Germany it is a strong reminder that we must be empathetic allies. My wife and I really appreciated this museum and feel like many should visit cultural museums wherever they may be.

Part of the Shore Excursion from the cruise. Great place to see real landmarks and touch history…read more 30 minutes to see almost everything but I'll guarantee the things you see will stay in your memory for a long time. A must see for anyone interested in history.

Ian's knowledge of all things WWII is pretty terrifying and he guided us to the Allied Museum…read morearound Christmas time. Apparently, most people don't view this as a holiday activity as the place was deserted. Ideal for Ian to get his war knowledge on. The complex has a watchtower, piece of the Berlin Wall, a British plane and even the original Checkpoint Charlie station. However, the real treasure lies inside. Located in an old American movie theater, the museum documents the roles of the Western Allies in Berlin between 1945 and 1994 with extensive displays and changing special exhibits. The focus is on the Berlin Airlift and the Cold War and the American perspective is a bit different from many museums in Berlin. Best of all - the place is free! If you can make it all the way out here, it is well worth the trip.

Super important museum if you're interested in understanding...pretty much everything about…read moreGermany. Disclaimer: I'm not a museum enthusiast and spent over 6 hours here. It's large and well organized. Start on the upper floor and follow the chronology starting in 500 AD. Wander through a series of rooms that take you up to 1918. We spent 3 hours on that. After a lunch break, we went through years 1918 up to the end of the Berlin Wall. The museum closes at 6pm and we didn't quite finish. Another feature is that we got to see how other world powers were interacting with Germany at various points in history. Must see

I love museums, but this museum is pathetic…read more The main history museum is closed, and only one odd display called " the road, not taken" is open in the more modern building. We made the mistake of purchasing combo tickets for both the history component and the nature component of the museum. The nature component of the museum is simply one of the worst, most logical, and pathetic museums I've ever encountered. Until the big history museum is reopened, simply skip " the road, not taken" and visit the topography of terror. The topography of terror presented much deeper history and it's free. Cost for both museums was €10 per person. Coat check and bag storage is on the ground floor. No cost for coat check and bag storage. Clean restrooms on ground floor. A water bottle filling station is available on the ground floor but no water fountains. Be sure to bring your own water bottle. Free Wi-Fi available

Sitting on the northern edge of the Lustgarten the Altes Museum is one of three main buildings…read morefacing this square on Museumsinsel (Museum Island), the other two are the Berliner Dom and the Humboldt Forum. Built in 1830, commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, and designed by Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, it was the first museum on the island and was meant to house and display the royal collections. Its layout exemplifies a Classical western architectural style with a front facade (and interior) lined with ionic columns, and a main rotunda with lacunaria squares (ie. coffers) set into in the domed ceiling. Through the years multiple renovations have occurred most notably during the era post WWII when much of the island was damaged by air raids though the appearance has mostly remained the same. The main focus of the displays inside are selected classical western sculpture, jewelry, and household objects of Etruscan, Greek, Roman origin, starting chronologically from the 10th century BCE, including the largest collection of Etruscan art outside of Italy. Their coin collection is also significant. Arriving on a first Sunday in the fall, admissions free though there was a short 5 minute line to enter. Though it was the last hour the museum was open, the number of visitors was still pretty significant. The total museum can be viewed in about 1 hour, maybe 1.5 hours if you go slower. I appreciated that most of the descriptions were in German and English. Entry starts on the ground/1st floor, ends on the 2nd floor. Tickets must be picked up at the ticket counter at the front right side of the building. Normal tickets are €12 for adults or €6 discounted for seniors, students, disabled patrons. There are a number of different passes available via the Museum island pass €24/12, Berlin Museum pass €32/16, Welcomecard €varies. Cafes, giftshop, lockers and coat check, bathrooms are available.

If you're bored and you can't seem to find anything else to do in the area, this might be a decent…read moreplace to go. I think there are plenty of other places available and open to you that would strike your fancy much better than this place. This place is weak. It has the same 60 statues over and over again and none of them require much interest other than their age. You're watched like a hawk for the entire duration of your walk through the museum with 2 to 3 people as watchmen or "guards" in each room. (I don't know that originally stolen goods are being ironically guarded, need to be...) It is a boring museum withoutmuch to show besides the age of the pieces there. Some pieces looked like they were also removed from their original resting places violently, with little respect for the care of the age of the pieces. I would not spend the $12 over again to come and see this museum.

If you are a fan of contemporary art, this is a must visit…read more Berlin is already well-known for its many galleries, cultural spaces and installations and the Collectors Room does not disappoint. This is one of the many stops you should do on Auguststraße. if you are into art, culture and want a very authentic, cool, Berliner experience. After the fall of the wall, Mitte has become one of the go-to neighborhoods for art and fashion, and I would dare to say it's very hipster. At me Collectors Room you will find a series of personal art collections, which makes this place a mix between an art gallery, a museum and a cultural space. The exhibitions change constantly. Venue was open in 2010 by the art collector Thomas Olbricht, has over 1.300 square meters and had all of the furniture handpicked by the Campana Brothers. It's a place where collectors are motivated to share their personal archives and the permanent exhibition is a 200-piece tour with renaissance and baroque objects. When I visited I was able to see a very well curated 65-photo exhibition of Cindy Sherman's work. Regular admission price was €7 per person (non-student). Besides artworks you can also see rare stamps, art-nouveau objects and toys. It's certainly worth the visit.

A must stop for me in Berlin. This is a great gallery with a fascinating range of shows. Current…read moreexhibition (until 30 August 2015) is called Queensize and features all female artists. Great range of projects and media but nudity, violence, and sexual images make it inappropriate for younger viewers (at least I wouldn't be bringing my 6 year old to it). The cabinet of curiosities is interesting, fun, and appropriately creepy. I was a bit disappointed to learn that there was an audio tour available only after I was done walking through it. Seems like that would have been a fun audio tour to listen to. Little indication of an audio tour at the front desk (it is written on the side, but i didn't notice and no one mentioned it when we paid). Also - their lockers are so small, we had trouble fitting our belongings in them! Put this on your to do list for Berlin. Afterwards, wander next door to the KW gallery and up and down the street for more art! Lots of great galleries around with friendly folks inside.