Museum Island: Tickets, Hours & How to Visit
Straight talk before you plan a day here: the Pergamon Museum, historically Museum Island’s biggest draw, is fully closed and has been since October 2023. The north wing, with the Pergamon Altar, is not due back until 4 June 2027, and the Ishtar Gate wing stays shut until roughly 2037. None of that means skip Museum Island. The EUR 24 day pass still unlocks four genuinely world-class museums, led by the Nefertiti bust in the Neues Museum, and the Pergamon’s stand-in panorama installation is still running.
Museum Island tickets and hours
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | EUR 14 adult / EUR 7 reduced per museum, or EUR 24 / EUR 12 day pass for all five sites |
| Hours | Most houses run Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, closed Mondays (verify each museum before you go) |
| Time needed | Half a day for the day pass, 60-90 minutes per single museum |
| Booking lead | Book the Museum Island multi-museum ticket a few days ahead in peak summer |
Under-18s get in free everywhere on the island but still need a zero-cost ticket for entry control, so grab one at the door or online before you queue.
Is the Pergamon Museum open in 2026?
No. It has been fully closed since October 2023 for its biggest renovation in over 90 years. The north wing, home to the Pergamon Altar, the Collection of Classical Antiquities, and the Museum of Islamic Art, reopens 4 June 2027. The south wing, with the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way, will not reopen until around 2037.
What is Pergamonmuseum Das Panorama?
It is a separate Yadegar Asisi 360-degree installation at Am Kupfergraben 2, a four-minute walk from the main island, built as a placeholder while the Pergamon renovates. It reconstructs ancient Pergamon at giant scale alongside roughly 80 original sculptures, and it is bundled into the EUR 24 day pass, so it is worth the short walk even though the Altar itself is off-limits.
Is the Museum Island day pass worth it in 2026?
Yes, if you are visiting more than one museum. EUR 24 covers the Neues Museum’s Nefertiti bust, the Altes Museum’s Pantheon-style rotunda, the Alte Nationalgalerie’s 19th-century German and French painting, the Bode Museum’s Byzantine collection, and Das Panorama, all in one calendar day. Buying two single tickets already erases most of the savings, so the pass wins for anyone doing more than a quick single stop.
Getting there and what is next door
Museum Island sits in the Spree between Mitte’s Hackescher Markt neighborhood and the Lustgarten. The nearest stops are Hausvogteiplatz on the U2, about a 10-minute walk, or Alexanderplatz on multiple U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines, roughly a 15-minute walk or one stop on the M48 tram. The Berliner Dom faces the Altes Museum directly across the Lustgarten, so pair the two on one ticket day, and confirm current museum hours on smb.museum before you commit to a route.
One concrete tip: start at the Neues Museum first thing when doors open. The Nefertiti room fills with tour groups by mid-morning, and getting a clear five minutes in front of a 3,300-year-old bust is worth setting an alarm for.