Discover Berlin’s best museums

Berlin Wall Memorial

Surely you’ve already hear about the East Side Gallery and Checkpoint Charlie by now. To get a better understanding of the Berlin Wall and how it impacted Berlin’s citizens day-to-day life, visit this free museum, the central memorial site of German division.

Located in the centre of the capital, the memorial extends along 1,4 kilometres of the former 'death strip'. It contains the last piece of the Berlin Wall with preserved grounds behind it, allowing a coherent visualization of the city's divided past.

Cold War Museum

One of Berlin's newest museums that you cannot miss is the Cold War Museum, which opened its doors in November 2022. Berlin was at the heart of the Cold War, which is why this museum belongs in the heart of the city. For some the museum will bring back memories, for others it is a multi-faceted introduction into the history of Berlin, Europe and the whole world.

The museum looks at the time period from multiple angles. The better known topics include nuclear armament/deterrence, the multitude of proxy conflicts and espionage. Lesser known topics that are also explored in the museum are the 'peaceful' competition in science, research, technology, sports and economy, such as the Space Race and the Olympics.

Jewish Museum Berlin

One of the largest museums of its kind in whole of Europe, the Jewish Museum in Berlin is home to numerous exhibits focusing on German-Jewish history and culture. The spectacular building was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, aiming to recount German-Jewish history.

The impressive museum gives a detailed glimpse into history under the guiding principle of "Telling stories with objects." The collections consist of thousands of rare documents, paintings, sculptures and photos as well as scripts and objects of ceremonial significance. Most of them originate from the 19th century and the first half of the 20^th, bringing Jewish history to life.

Museum Berggruen

This museum is a hidden gem and home to one of the most important art collections of classic modernism, located in the heart of Charlottenburg. The impressive collections include artworks by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti as well as Paul Klee. This makes it also one of the most important museums of modern art in Berlin.

Collection highlights include Matisse's Le cahier bleu as well as several works from Picasso, such as Nu assis s'essuyant le pied and Nature morte devant une fenêtre à Saint-Raphaël.