Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin

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If you only have time to visit one of the museums of the island, you should certainly choose the Pergamon, a veritable feast of art Greek, Babylonian, Roman, Islamic and Middle Eastern found by German archaeologists in the early nineteenth century. The museum houses three major collections: the collection of classical antiquities, the museum of antiquities in the Middle East and the Museum of Islamic Art.

Si solo tienes tiempo para visitar uno de los museos de la isla, debes sin duda elegir el pergamon, un verdadero festin de arte griego, babilonio, romano, islamico y de oriente proximo hallado por los arqueologos alemanes a principios del siglo XIX. El museo alberga tres importantes colecciones: la coleccion de antiguedades clásicas, el museo de antiguedades de oriente proximo y el museo de arte islamico.

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The Altes Museum or Old Museum opened its doors to the public in 1830. The building which was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Modelled on the Greek Stoa in Athens with its Classical 18 colonnade façade. The building was badly damaged during WW2 and reconstruction work continued until 1966. At present the museum houses a collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. One of the biggest attractions at the museum is the bust of Queen Nefertiti, discovered in 1912 and dating back to 1360 B.C. that has pride of place on the ground floor. The museums world famous collection contains altogether some 45,000 objects. Entrance is free between 6pm & 10pm on Thursdays.

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The Pergamon Museum is one of the five museums sited on Museum Island and the newest. A number of museums have stood on the site, the present one being rebuilt after WW2 after the previous building with faulty foundations was damaged during the war. Today the three winged building houses three separate museums, the Antiquity Collection, the Islamic Art Museum and the Near East Museum. The centre piece of the museum is the large Pergamon Altar which dates from 160BC.
Opening Hours
Sun - Wed: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thu - Sat: 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Free entrance between 6pm & 10pm on Thursdays

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The Pergamon Museum is the most popular museum on Museuminsel. You didn't think that so many tourists would queue up and spend their morning or afernoon in a museum dedicated to ancient Babylonian archeology, but it's a fact.
When I entered I understood why this museum manages to attract so many visitors: the exhibits are stunning. You don't need to have a university degree in Babylonian archeology to admire the deep blue colors and exotic animal reliefs of the huge Ishtar gate. Walking through this gate you feel like you are in a time machine, walking down the processional way of ancient Babylon in 580 BC. Most of the other Babylonian exhibits are on a much smaller scale, although the stories associated with them cover all aspects of life in ancient Babylon. The audio guide is a good idea, but I found it too long and too detailed. At the time of my visit the exhibition rooms were packed with visitors who were standing still, hardly moving around, listening to the lengthy explanations on their audio guides. It does not do much for the flow of the visit through the museum.

It was refreshing to go out again unto the main lobby, hop with the time machine to ancient Greece and Asia Minor, and admire the huge Pergamon altar (2nd century BC). The altar took 20 years to rebuild from its pieces. When I climbed the steps of the altar I felt like I was on site in ancient Bergama, and not in a museum in 21st-century Berlin. When you reach the top of the stairs you see the big and impressive frieze, which tells a story from the Greek mythology with amazing life-like figures. The section of classical antiquities also contains the impressive market gates of Miletus, and much more.
The third part of the museum is dedicated to Islamic art.

So, you don't need to be a history expert or an archeology buff. Visit the Pergamon Museum and be overwhelmed by the great feats of the ancient world!

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The name maybe does not sound inviting: "Old National Gallery", but this museum on Museuminsel holds a very interesting collection of paintings and sculptures.
The building itself (reconstructed after WW II) is also interesting, and looks much like a classical temple.

Most of the works of art are from Germany, but there are also paintings by impressionists and post-impressionists like Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cézanne and sculptures by Rodin.
I learned a lot about Adolf Menzl's (e.g. "The Iron Rolling Mill") and Max Lieberman's work in this museum.

The attached photos show some of my favorites: "Don Quixote" by Daumier, and 2 highly-expressive masterpieces by Munch.
And remember: On Thursday evenings entrance is free!

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It was Thursday evening; I've already visited two other museums on Museuminsel, and was getting tired, but there was still time left until closing time (10pm on Thursdays!).
The Bode-Museum was just 200 meters away, not to mention the free entrance on Thursday evenings, so I walked in, not expecting too much, especially after visiting the other, more illustrious, museums...

I was very pleasantly surprised. The Bode-Museum is large and spacious, with ample room to show every work of art to its best advantage. There is a first-class collection of Byzantine art. For me, the best part was the superb, comprehensive sculpture collection, one of the best I have seen. Much of the original collection was acquired by the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm in the 17th century, but this was later greatly expanded. During the Cold War era the collection was split between East and West Berlin, and now, like the city, it is re-united.

The photos show some of my favorites from the sculpture collection.

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The Altes Museum on Museuminsel is the home of a really remarkable antique collection, mainly sculptures but also ceramics and more. The art works are so compelling and so attractively displayed, that you do not have to be a history freak or an amateur archaelologist to admire them.

There are two floors: the entrance floor contains classical antiquities, mostly Greek. You stand face to face with Pericles, you admire the bronze statue of the "Praying Boy" and learn that most probably this boy was holding some sacrificial vessel and not really holding out his arms in prayer. The classical antique collection was started in 1698, and the museum showcases contain the best of the best.

The upper floor contains the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection. The star of the Egyptian show is no doubt Queen Nefertiti, probably the most famous ancient Egyptian statue in the world. It is truly enchanting. However there are a lot of other wonderful exhibits (Pharaohs, family group sculptures, scribes, and a cat who also draws many admirers, to name a few).

One important tip: On Thursday evening the museum is open until 10pm, and entrance is then free!

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We went only to the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island but it was really a great day out.Having walked there from our hotel near Checkpoint charlie up Wilhelmstrasse (where Hitler's bunker was) up and across by the Berliner Dom , we spent around 4 hours looking at the Babylon Truth and Myth collection as well as the permanent collection of the Babylonian period.It was great, and from then we went on to the Jewish quarter and the Synagogue.So it was a really full day.
The museum is most interesting (if you like museums,of course) and the specific collection dealing with the real Babylon as against Babylon as it figures in Western cultural tradition and myths in art, literature and music was really great.
All in all a splendid day out.