Top 10 museums in Berlin

As well as world-class institutions in every major field, Berlin has scores of specialist places catering for more esoteric tastes. Whether you want to mull over ancient or recent history, or you’re on a modern art pilgrimage or simply wish to be taken by surprise, Berlin is prized for its museums and has something for everyone. Prepare to be intrigued, engrossed and awestruck.

Deutsche Historisches Museum

With over 10,000 square metres of exhibition space on the three floors of the Zeughaus on Museum Island, this is the grandfather of Berlin museums, providing a vast and encyclopaedic overview of the nation's social, political and economic history from the ninth century to the present day. Arranged in a chronological succession of main halls with numerous side rooms, the museum takes key eras in German history as its conceptual base – stopping off at 1200, 1500, 1800, 1914, 1933, 1945 and 1989.  The museum doesn't skimp on detail – these broad chronological eras are broken down into dynamic exhibitions that document and analyse the country's long, frequently painful history with academic rigour.

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2, 10117 Berlin (030 203 04444, www.dhm.de). U6 Franzosische Straße. Open 10am-6pm daily.

DDR Museum

On the scenic waterfront in Mitte, the DDR Museum offers an interactive, family-friendly journey through everyday life in former East Germany. There’s plenty to see here, with a fascinating collection of artefacts, from a genuine Trabant to a replica apartment replete with a fully stocked kitchen and even drawers full of Soviet-made cosmetics; state propaganda films are screened in a tiny cinema. The museum capitalises on the cult of ‘Ostalgia’ (nostalgia for the days of East Germany) that has swept the country in recent years – it is both fun and enlightening while sensitively conveying the fears of a bygone era.

DDR Museum, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße1, 
10178 Berlin (030 8471 23730, www.ddr-museum.de). 
S-Bahn, U-Bahn Alexanderplatz, S-Bahnhof Hackescher Markt. Open 10am-8pm Mon–Fri, Sun; 10am-10pm Sat.

Pergamon Museum

One of Germany’s greatest museums, if not the world’s, the Pergamon is home to wondrous objects from across the globe. It’s actually three separate museums under one roof – the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of the Ancient Near East and the Museum of Islamic Art. The museum takes its name from the Pergamon Altar, a colossal Greek temple and star of the collection, but there are other greats beyond, including the Roman-era Market Gate of Miletus and a reconstruction of the world-famous Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates of Babylon.

Pergamonmuseum, Am Kupfergraben 5, 10117 Berlin (030 2664 24242, www.smb.museum). U6 Friedrichstraße. Open 9am-6pm Mon-Thur, Sun; 9am-10pm Wed.

Hamburger Banhof

A counterpoint to the gritty end of Berlin’s gallery scene, the Hamburger Bahnhof, a former railway station, is a spectacular repository of contemporary art, featuring some of the biggest names from the latter part of the 20th century. 100,000 square metres are devoted to works from the collection of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin), alongside pieces from the renowned collector, Erich Marx, whose impressive stash counts Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein and Anselm Kiefer. The ground floor of the western side of the building is entirely given over to the eccentric genius Joseph Beuys, showing rare works and related ephemera.

Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstraße 50-51, 10557 Berlin (030 3978 3411, www.hamburgerbahnhof.de). U6 Naturkundemuseum. Open 11am-6pm Tue-Fri, Sun; 11am-8pm Sat.

Deutsche Guggenheim

The Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin is an outpost of the sprawling Guggenheim empire and a stalwart of the city’s contemporary art scene. Operating at the higher end of the scale, the museum regularly commissions ambitious solo exhibitions by an impressive roll call of international artists. Recent highlights include Yto Barrada’s ‘Riffs’ and Agathe Snow’s ‘All Access World’. There is, in addition, a superb coffee shop and bookstore.

Deutsche Guggenheim, Unter den Linden 13-15, 10117 Berlin (030 2020 930, www.deutsche-guggenheim.de). S-bahn Friedrichstraße, U2 Stadmitte, U6 Franzosische Straße. Open 10am-8pm daily.

Deutsche Kinemathek

Ask five German film enthusiasts about the state of contemporary German cinema and be prepared for five different responses. Local buffs agree however that the Deutsche Kinemathek gives a consistent account of the story of German cinema. Thirteen rooms contain over 1,000 films, scripts, documentation, props, costumes and other memorabilia – the exhibition takes us from cinema’s earliest, flickering manifestations to the industry's Weimar-era heyday and through veering ideological extremes (via didactic Nazi and DDR-era propagandist productions) to the present day, with substantial coverage of Marlene Dietrich to boot. Situated in the unlovely neon and concrete environs of Potsdamer Platz, this expansive museum is an absorbing and entertaining experience.

Deutsche Kinemathek: Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Potsdamer Straße2, 10785 Berlin (030 09 030, www.deutsche-kinemathek.de). S-bahn, U2 Potsdamer Platz. Open 10am-6pm Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun, 10am-8pm Thur.

Topographie des Terrors

Topographie des Terrors, or the Topography of Terror, provides a frank account of the Nazis’ Secret State Police Office, which occupied the site next to the Martin Gropius Bau in central Mitte between 1933 and 1945. The subterranean museum is itself located in the former Gestapo torture cells. Today, through its vast quantity of documentation, the museum serves to provide an overview not only of the Secret Service, but the wider story of the Nazis’ rise to power; it is a chilling exploration of the past. A short section of the Berlin Wall remains standing nearby, testament to another era of political dogma and repression.

Topographie des Terrors, Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin (030 2545 0950, www.topographie.de). U2 Potsdamer Platz, U6 Kochstraße, 
S-Bahn Anhalter Bahnhof/Potsdamer Platz. Open 10am-8pm daily.

Judisches Museum

The Jewish Museum in Kreuzberg offers an immersive experience of Jewish history, culture and belief, with thanks to the architecture of the museum building. Controversial architect Daniel Libeskind’s vast structure aims to evoke the confusion and despair of persecution. The effect of the jagged, clashing lines of the main building can leave visitors disorientated and discombobulated. But the museum extends beyond the Holocaust – here, we find the story of Jews in Europe over the last few thousand years, told through art, film, documentation and numerous interactive exhibits. With such a colossal amount of information to take in, it's best tackled over a couple of visits. Prepare for security checks upon arrival.

Judisches Museum, Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin (030 2599 3300, 
www.jmberlin.de). U1, U6 Hallesches Tor. Open 10am-8pm Tue-Sun; 10am-10pm Mon.

Museum Haus Am Checkpoint Charlie

Perpetually popular, this small museum by the famous DDR border crossing Checkpoint Charlie is situated among the souvenir stalls, tat-merchants, fast-food outlets and shopping frenzy of present-day Friedrichstraße. How different it all looked just a couple of decades ago. This museum looks back at life behind the Wall and focuses on the numerous, frequently ingenious escape attempts (from hollowed-out car seats to homemade submarines) made by desperate ‘Ossies’ to the West. Founded by Berlin historian Rainer Hildebrandt in his Mitte apartment in 1962, today it remains one of the most evocative and authoritative resources for information on life in the DDR.  
  
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstraße 43-45 10969 Berlin (030 253 7250, www.mauermuseum.de). U6 Kochstraße. Open 9am-10pm daily.

Ramones Museum

Twenty years ago, Berliner Flo Hayler went to see the legendary New York punk outfit play in Berlin and fell in love. With his ticket stub, poster and T-shirt, he began a collection of memorabilia that soon overran his entire apartment, forcing his long-suffering girlfriend to insist it went. Thus, the Ramones Museum in Mitte was born, a charming and zany tribute to the shaggy-haired New York noiseniks. From Hayler's extensive collection of Ramones T-shirts to posters, junk and memorabilia, this is an essential stop for not only fans of the band, but pretty much anyone who’s ever turned up an amp all the way to 11.

Ramones Museum Berlin, Krausnickstraße 23, 10115 Berlin (030 7552 8890, www.ramonesmuseum.com). S-bahn Oranienburgerstraße/Hackescher Markt. Open 12noon-10pm daily.

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