Berlin: 15 Free and affordable museums under €10
With hundreds of museums and historical sights to choose from, Berlin is truly a museum lover’s paradise. The good news is Berlin also isn’t likely to burn a hole in your pocket. Most museum entries range between €8-15 for adults, which is quite a bit less than what you’ll pay to enter Florence or Paris’ big galleries.
That said, there are still plenty of free or relatively cheap museums in Berlin. We’ve put together a list below, and included some additional tips for how to get more cultural bang for your buck.
Free museums
Nearly 50 museums and historical sights in Berlin do not charge an entry fee. Here are some of the highlights.
Allied Museum
Housed in the Outpost Theatre, a former movie theater for American soldiers in the heart of the former American sector, the Allierten Museum (Allied Museum) traces the history of Allied forces in Berlin from 1945 to 1989. (Address: Clayallee 135)
The Berlin Wall Memorial is a powerful experience. Photo: Craig Nelson
Berlin Wall Memorial
Located on Bernauer Strasse in Berlin’s Mitte district, the Berliner Mauer Gedenkstätte (Berlin Wall Memorial) has preserved a section of the wall to offer a historical glimpse at Berlin’s divided past. (Address: Bernauer Straße 111)
Daimler Art Collection
Daimler’s contemporary art collection presents works across a wide spectrum of major 20th-century art movements up to the present. (Address: Alte Potsdamer Straße 5)
District Museums
Each Berlin district also has its own admission-free museum tracing the neighborhood’s history and development. Some examples include the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum (Address:Adalbertstraße 95A), the Wilmersdorf-Charlottenburg Museum (Address:Schloßstraße 55) and the Mitte Museum (Address: Pankstr. 47).
Holocaust Memorial
You’ll be amazed how disorienting and moving it is wandering through the concrete pillars erected on uneven terrain in the beautifully haunting Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. (Address: Cora-Berliner-Straße 1)
Knoblauchhaus
Erected in 1760, this house lets the visitor delve into the world of the Biedermeier period by exploring the original furnishing and objects owned by the Knoblauch family. (Address: Poststraße 23)
Topography of Terror
This museum, located at the former SS headquarters, documents Nazi institutions of terror during this dark chapter of Germany’s history. (Address: Niederkirchnerstraße 8)
Tränenpalast
Until 1990, this building located at Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse station was the departure hall for border crossing from the GDR to West Berlin. The scene of many heartbreaking goodbyes between Germans from the West and those from the former East, Berliners soon aptly dubbed the place “Tränenpalast” (Palace of Tears). (Address: Reichstagufer 17)
Museums under €10
Here’s a list of museums in Berlin with tickets for under €10 and also offering free admission to those 18 and under.
Berlinishe Galerie
A Museum of modern art, photography and architecture, Berlinische Galerie presents art from Berlin from 1870 to the present day. Adult admissions: €7 (Address: Alte Jakobstraße 124–128)
Märkisches Museum
Take a stroll through Berlin’s history in the permanent collection of Berlin’s city museum. Adult admission: €5 (Address: Am Köllnischen Park 5)
Mies van der Rohe Haus
Located far off the tourist beat in a residential neighborhood in Berlin’s Hohenschönhausen district, this house was designed by the famous Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe. Adult admission: €5 (Address: Oberseestraße 60)
Museum für Kommunikation
The Museum für Kommunikation (Communication Museum) is worth a visit for the three robots in the atrium alone. Adult admission: €4, free admission for children 17 and under (Address: Leipziger Straße 16)
Museumsdorf Düppel
This open air museum is a reconstructed medieval village where you can briefly live like its 1259. Adult admission: €3 (Address: Clauertstraße 11)
Museums entry packages
If you’re a true culture nut and plan to hit Berlin’s museums in a major way, you can also save on admission fees by purchasing a Berlin Museum Pass, which grants free admission to 50 museums and exhibitions over three consecutive days.
The three-day pass costs €24 for adults and €12 for students. If you’re not quite that ambitious, you can also purchase other passes for a shorter period of time, such as the one-day pass for Museum Island.
Related: Which museum pass in Berlin makes the most sense for your trip?
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