Museum Island in Berlin
 

Hello, hoping for insight on how best to visit the riches of Berlin's Museum Island.
We plan to have the 3 day Museum Pass and would appreciate any advice - how did
you arrange your time there? Thanks!

29:
We were there in june 2012; 5 beautiful days in Berlin!
We liked the Pergamon Museum the most; really unforgetable.Next comes the Alte Nationagallerie; most beautiful sculpture of two princesses; and a room full of impressionist paintings that we had almost for us alone(of course there are many many ore excellent paintings).
The Neues Museum is good, you can't miss Nefertiti's Head; a jewell; but comes third without doubts.

Visiting the three in one day is too much; I will visit the Pergamon one day; and on another day the other two, devoting no les than 3 or 4 hours to the "Alte" and may be 2 hours to the "Neue"(more if you really like; but two hours were good for us).
As a side comment; the Reichstag is a must visit for us; and you must pre register via internet.
Also Potsdam is really good.
Enjoy your visit.

Get there EARLY in the day. I'll say it again: EARLY. The lines can be long especially when tour buses show up and discharge a whole BUNCH of people.

jelopez33, thanks for the detailed information. I do have Reichstag covered - made reservations for two visits, as I wanted the English tour (Tuesdays @2pm) but also wished to visit at night.

Re Potsdam, we travelled there on an earlier visit so this time I'm concentrating on museums.

Dukey1, even if one arrives EARLY, doesn't that just cover one musuem admission and we'd be in with the BUNCH for the others?

Hope this isn't considered rude, but I'm topping this myself in quest for more info.
I know a lot of Fodorites have been to Berlin!

29:
I don't know, but I think this can be interesting:
"Memorial to the German Resistance"; the museum packs documents and very little other things; but I was really moved when entering a big open space,where Stauffenberg and many other were executed.There is also a moving monument.
Near the Tiergarten, near Sony Center(you can walk); free admision; on Stauffenberg strasse.
Let me know if I can give you any other tip.

Just wanted to say how great the Berlin Museum 3 Day Pass is - price is now €24 but an excellent value.

If I had done more homework, I wouldn't have been surprised that it doesn't cover the Deutsches Historisches Museum - (German Historical Museum) or the DDR Museum, among others.

We used it extensively over three days in late September - and actually never saw any lines at all.

I have only been to the Pergamon Museum, did not visit the Bode or Altes Museum.

The Pergamon is great.

I highly recommend the Gemadegalerie near Potsdamer Platz.

Star painting Girl with Pearl Necklace by Vermeer is here.

I have no idea if this Vermeer will travel to show at Frick in NYC which starts in two weeks.

Have fun in Berlin.


Thin

If you make restaurant reservations for the Reichstag you skip the line. It's nice to eat up there. don't expect any bargains, though.

I did not use Museum pass but reserved time online for Pergamon and Neues. Pergamon reservation was a must.
I combined Reichstag with a breakfast at Kafer restaurant in the secure area on the rooftop of the Reichstag at the bottom of the Reichstag glass dome. I had a BF reservation at 9am, but I was allowed to enter the Reichstag complex before 8:30am so I did the tour of the dome before breakfast, returned the audio guide, then walked on the roof top to the Kafer restaurant at the same level. It is not a bargain, but since our hotel did not include BF, it was a fun way to see the Berlin skyline, have a BF, and visit Reichstag all in one visit. Yes, I had to make a reservation quite ahead at the restaurant site linked to the Reichstag site with the passport info for security checks. The guide books were not clear about the relationship between the Kafer restaurant and the Reichstag dome. You can go back and forth between the Kafer restaurant and the glass dome. They are on the same floor and in the same security area. We zipped through the metal detector inspection area. I don't remember if that was reserved for the Kafer restaurant.

Save some time for the Berlin Cathedral also on the island - not really old but impressive on the inside.

Went thru Pergamon Museum last year. It is almost overwhelming in that it is large and it is ancient. Advise anyone to take their time with each exhibit or otherwise you are just kind of drifting through.

Likely crowds and likely morning is best.
Bill in Boston

I am certain the "lines" issue is probably season-related. Just trying to be helpful.