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2 HUMBOLDT FORUM
Head over Karl-Liebknecht Bridge
to Museum Island and the new
Humboldt Forum. Built on the
footprint of the 18th-century Royal
Palace, badly damaged in the
Second World War, the building
blends the palace’s reconstructed
baroque facades and portals with
contemporary architecture. As
well as an exhibition chronicling
the site’s history, the Humboldt
Forum houses the Berlin State
Museums’ collections of global art.
humboldtforum.org
4 GEMÄLDEGALERIE
Stroll along Berlin’s central
boulevard, Unter den Linden,
all the way to the Brandenburg
Gate. From there, head south-west
across leafy Tiergarten park and
you’ll emerge at the modernist
Berlin Kulturforum. Here you’ll
find the Gemäldegalerie — the
Gallery of Old Masters — one of the
world’s most important collections
of European paintings. Take time
to admire masterpieces by the
likes of Caravaggio, Rembrandt
and Raphael. smb.museum
1 DDR MUSEUM
Begin on the banks of the River
Spree at the brilliantly immersive
DDR Museum, which provides a
unique look into everyday life in
former East Germany. Visitors are
encouraged to get hands-on with
the exhibits, many of which have
come from private households.
Learn about Stasi surveillance, go
for a simulated drive in a Trabant
— the cars were nicknamed
‘Trabis’ — or explore a detailed
reconstruction of a flat in an East
Berlin tower block. ddr-museum.de
6 MARTIN-GROPIUS-BAU
Finish off at the grand,
Renaissance-style Martin-
Gropius-Bau, on the former
border of East and West
Berlin; if you approach it from
Niederkirchnerstrasse, you’ll walk
alongside a section of the Berlin
Wall. Opened as a museum of
decorative arts in 188 1, today it’s
one of the city’s leading exhibition
spaces, displaying modern and
contemporary art by such names
as Frida Kahlo and Ai Weiwei.
berlinerfestspiele.de
5 NEUE NATIONALGALERIE
It’s a short walk past St Matthäus
church to the striking Neue
Nationalgalerie, which reopened
in 2021 following an extensive
restoration. Its collections of
modern art chronicle the major
movements of Europe and North
America, primarily focusing
on 20th-century artists but
encompassing some 150 years of
art history. Pablo Picasso, Gerhard
Richter and Paul Klee are all
represented among a body of some
4,000 works. smb.museum
3 PERGAMONMUSEUM
Stroll past the Altes Museum
to the Pergamonmuseum,
dedicated to ancient Roman,
Greek and Middle Eastern art
and archaeology. The three-
winged complex houses a wealth
of treasures and magnificent
reconstructions of architectural
monuments, including the vivid
blue, sixth-century Ishtar Gate of
Babylon and the 170 BC Pergamon
Altar (note that the hall housing
the latter is closed for renovation
until 2025 ). smb.museum
ON THE TRAIL
BERLIN
Discover world-class culture on a walking
tour of six of the German capital’s best
museums. Words: Christie Dietz
JUNE 2022 23
SMART TRAVELLER
