25 Best Free Museums in Berlin

Everyone loves free, right? Luckily there are lots of free museums in Berlin where you can learn about history, appreciate art, or experience new things. Because not everything worthwhile has to cost money.

Lots of museums in Berlin have a free day, but I’ve put together this list of free Berlin museums to show you what you can visit with free entry any day of the week. Whether you’re on a budget or not, it’s always great to save a little money.

Free Berlin Museums

Berlin has loads of amazing museums, including the world class UNESCO Museum Island complex of museums. But if you’re traveling in Berlin on a budget, you might be interested in some of the free museums in Berlin.

Map of Berlin Free Museums

Here are the Berlin free museums all on one handy map so you can more easily plan your trip.

Topography of Terror

A free museum you should definitely include on your Berlin itinerary, Topography of Terror sits on the location that was the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS between 1933 and 1945. This is where persecution and killings of Nazi opponents were organized, and where the genocide of Jews, Roma, and Sinti was coordinated.

This powerful museum now serves as a place to remember history and warn us from repeating the terrors of the past, and it’s one of the best free museums in Berlin.

The indoor and outdoor exhibits here use photographs and documentation to tell visitors about the crimes that were organized here, plus there are excavation sites you can view through glass windows. Read my full guide to visiting Topography of Terror for more information and tips.

Opening hours: daily 10am – 8pm
Location: Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin

Palace of Tears

The Palace of Tears, or Tränenpalast in German, was used by the DDR dictatorship to control those who were crossing the border between the DDR and West Berlin. It was constructed in 1962 and is located at the Friedrichstraße train station.

Many people trying to cross here were forced by border guards to leave their families and friends as they were denied any access to the border. Today, the exhibits at this museum serve as a reminder of the separation of Germany and all the tears that were shed in connection with it.

For interesting free Berlin museums about the Cold War era, I highly recommend visiting the Palace of Tears Museum. Read more about visiting Tränenpalast.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 9am – 7pm; Saturday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Monday
Location: Reichstagufer 17, 10117 Berlin

Deutscher Dom at Gendarmenmarkt

The German Cathedral (Deutscher Dom in German) is located at Gendarmenmarkt and no longer operates as a church. Note: this is NOT the more famous Berliner Dom.

After being restored from WWII damage, the Berliner Dom reopened in 1992 as a free museum. Here you can see a German Parliament exhibition called “Milestones – Setbacks – Sidetracks” and admire the inside of this gorgeous building.

Opening hours: May – September, Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 7pm; October – April, Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; all year, closed Monday
Location: Gendarmenmarkt 1-2, 10117 Berlin

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, often referred to as the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, honors the large number of Jewish people who died at the hands of the Nazis. This is one of the most important World War II sights in Berlin, and it’s probably already on your Berlin bucket list.

The memorial consists of 2,710 concrete blocks of varying heights, and the ground they sit on is an uneven slope similar to a wave. It’s supposed to make you feel uneasy.

The information center is a free museum inside and showcases letters, diaries, photographs, and biographies of the victims to help personalize the experience.

The outside section is open 24/7, but note the opening times for the information center. Photography is allowed (no flash inside) but please be respectful. Do not sit on or climb on the cement slabs or take selfies. This is a place to reflect and remember those who were murdered.

Opening hours: Indoor museum: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Monday; Outdoor memorial: 24/7
Location: Cora-Berliner-Straße 1, 10117 Berlin

Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse

The Berlin Wall is one of the biggest reminders of the Cold War. And the Bernauer Strasse Wall Memorial is one of the best places in Berlin to learn about Berlin Wall history. The open air museum, visitors center exhibits and films, and documentation center are all free to visit.

This 1.4km (0.87 mile) section of road has some of the last remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall. When the Wall went up, neighbors living on opposite sides of the street were suddenly torn apart as the Wall separated buildings on the East side of the street from those on the West.

Markers on the ground show where apartment buildings once stood, where escape tunnels were dug, and much more. Info placards tell stories of the time leading up to the Wall and during its existence.

Go to the viewing platform in the documentation center to see over the Wall into the former death strip, and watch the two short but excellent films in the visitors center. This is one of my favorite Cold War sights in Berlin.

Opening hours: Visitors center and Documentation center: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm; closed Monday; Outdoors: technically daily 8am to 10pm, but there are no gates
Location: Location: Bernauer Str. 119, 13355 Berlin

Silent Heroes Memorial Center

This free Berlin museum remembers the Jewish people who resisted persecution before and during World War II and those who helped them. The exhibit shows the plight of those who faced deportation and worse, and how they decided to go underground in order to resist.

Learn about their living conditions and how people tried to help them, including both successful and failed attempts.

The Silent Heroes Memorial is actually part of a bigger memorial center called the German Resistance Memorial Center, which honors many who resisted the Nazi rule. The center’s location is also significant as it is the historic site of the attempted coup of July 20, 1944.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 6pm, Saturday – Sunday 10am – 6pm
Location: Stauffenbergstraße 13-14, 10785 Berlin

>>Read: 33 Cheap Things to do in Berlin

Museum Blindenwekstatt Otto Weidt

During World War II, Otto Weidt ran a workshop making brooms and brushes, and many of his employees were blind and deaf Jews. When they were in danger, he used his shop to help keep them hidden from persecution and deportation.

This museum tells the story of Otto Weidt and his workshop. There are so many good free Berlin museums about events during World War II, and this is definitely one of them.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 6pm, Saturday – Sunday 10am – 6pm
Location: Rosenthaler Str. 39, 10178 Berlin

Allied Museum

The Allied Museum, or Alliiertenmuseum in German, is a museum in southwest Berlin that tells the history of the Western Allies in Germany and in Berlin. You’ll see documents and memorabilia, as well as the British Hastings aircraft and a section of the British-American spy tunnel.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm; closed Monday
Location: Clayallee 135, 14195 Berlin

Museum in der Kulturbrauerei

Kulturbrauerei is a former brewery in Prenzlauer Berg that now holds a movie theater, a few shops, a club, and more, and events are held in its large courtyard.

There’s also a free museum here dedicated to every day life in communist East Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. It’s a great place to go to get a clearer picture of what people dealt with during that time.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 9am – 6pm, Saturday – Sunday 10am – 6pm
Location: Knaackstraße 97, 10435 Berlin

Museum Berlin-Karlshorst

This museum is in the building where Germany signed their unconditional surrender in front of representatives of Russia, the US, the UK, and France on the night of May 8-9, 1945. Aside from its significant location, the museum documents World War II on the eastern front.

The surrender that took place here was the ceremonial recognition of complete defeat and victory over Hilter’s regime. The Museum Berlin-Karlshorst (formerly called the German Russian Museum) isn’t so centrally located, but it’s a significant place to visit for World War II history and one of many free museums in Berlin.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Monday
Location: Zwieseler Str. 4, 10318 Berlin

>>Check out these great restaurants in Friedrichshain Berlin.

House of the Wannsee Conference

In the southwest corner of the city on the banks of the Wannsee lake lies another excellent free museum in Berlin. This luxury villa was the location of the infamous Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942. Nazi government officials met to discuss the so-called “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” here.

Today this location serves as a museum documenting this awful meeting and how their plan was put into action. It’s also a Holocaust memorial where you can learn about the genocide of the Jewish population.

Opening hours: daily 10am – 6pm
Location: Am Großen Wannsee 56-58, 14109 Berlin

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Urban Nation: Museum for Urban Contemporary Art

If you’re looking for free art exhibitions, Berlin is well known for its street art scene. Urban Nation was developed to focus on street art and urban art, and even the building’s facade is an ever-changing piece of street art.

This is a free entrance museum in Berlin, but they also offer guided tours and workshops for a fee. If you’re interested in street art, check out this fantastic free museum in Berlin. Read more about visiting Urban Nation street art museum.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Wednesday 10am – 6pm; Thursday – Sunday 12 noon – 8pm; closed Monday
Location: Bülowstraße 7, 10783 Berlin

Palais Populaire

Housed in the former residence of Prussian princesses, Palais Populaire is one of the few free galleries in Berlin, focusing on art, culture, and sports. This museum is free, and they often have free guided tours.

Exhibits are wide ranging and include literature, music, sports parkour, performance, and dance, as well as exhibitions from the Deutsche Bank Collection, and other exhibits from partners and private collections.

Opening hours: Wednesday and Friday – Monday 11am – 6pm; Thursday 11am – 9pm; closed Tuesday
Location: Unter den Linden 5, 10117 Berlin

Reichstag Building free tour

The Reichstag Building is where the German Parliament meets, and it’s one of the most famous landmarks in Berlin. It isn’t exactly one of the free museums in Berlin, but the exhibit you can see in the glass dome on the free tour is like a museum.

The audio guide tells you all about the history of the building, interesting facts about Germany and the government, and points out some of the surroundings you can see from the dome.

You must register ahead of time for the tour. Occasionally you can snag a last minute spot if someone cancels, but I wouldn’t count on that.

This is one of the most popular free things to do in Berlin, so plan ahead. Often they are booked up several weeks in advance.

Opening hours: varies, see registration site for more info
Location: Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin

Humboldt Forum

The Humboldt Forum just opened in 2021, and it’s quite impressive. While some special exhibits require a ticket, the permanent exhibits are free. Housed in the rebuilt Berlin Palace, this free museum mostly focuses on art and culture.

Note that even some of the free exhibits still require booking an advanced timed ticket. Be sure to check out the outside of the building and wander through the gorgeous courtyard.

The roof terrace offers excellent views of Berlin, but it costs 3 euros.

Opening hours: Wednesday – Monday, 10:30am – 6:30pm; closed Tuesday
Location: Schloßpl. 1, 10178 Berlin

Jewish Museum

The Berlin Jewish Museum tells the stories of Jewish people in Germany from the Middle Ages to present day. The whole museum, inside and out, is designed to be part of the experience of learning about the diverse Jewish culture and the gaps made by the Holocaust.

You can explore three different sections of the museum that teach about different aspects of Jewish life, culture, and history in Germany. The museum uses a lot of symbolism, which makes this creative space more impactful. For example, in one area, uneven ground conveys a feeling of uncertainty.

This is a fantastic free museum in Berlin if you’re interested in the history of the Jewish people in Germany.

Opening hours: daily 10am – 7pm
Location: Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin

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David Hasselhoff Museum

If you’re looking for something quirky to do in Berlin, stop by the David Hasselhoff Museum. It’s a little cheesy, and calling it a museum might be an overstatement. But it’s unique, quirky, and interesting nevertheless.

In the basement of the Circus Hostel, near the bar area, you’ll find the Hoff Museum with some photos and memorabilia honoring the singer/actor. Who is American, not German, in case you didn’t know.

This is a free museum, but I recommend staying for a beer or two. The bar also brews their own beer, and it’s quite tasty.

Opening hours: daily 7pm to midnight (these are the bar/brewery hours)
Location: Weinbergsweg 1A, 10119 Berlin

Futurium

The Futurium is a free Berlin museum that focuses on what the future might look like and how all possible outcomes are the result of our decisions and actions. One section focuses on different possibilities for the future, and another section encourages discussion about various topics relating to the future. The third section is where visitors can play around with things like future tech and their own inventions.

In addition to the interesting things inside the museum, the building itself is almost zero energy. This is due to its solar panels on the roof and a rainwater utilization system.

Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; Thursday 10am – 8pm; closed Tuesdays
Location: Alexanderufer 2, 10117 Berlin

Nazi Forced Labor Documentation Centre

The Nazi Forced Labor Documentation Center in the Schöneweide neighborhood is the location of a former forced labor camp. This is just one of over 3,000 that once existed in the Berlin area.

In the exhibition spaces and in the air raid shelter, you can view inscriptions, letters, and biographies of the people who were imprisoned at this labor camp. You can also tour some of the barracks, view the living conditions, and learn about the every day lives of the prisoners.

Free public guided tours are available on Sundays at 11am in English, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm in German.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Monday
Location: Britzer Str. 5, 12439 Berlin

Papestrasse SA Prison Memorial

For much of 1933, this location was a concentration camp run by the SA Field Police. This former SA prison is the only place remaining with traces of the terrors of the Nazis from as early as 1933.

Here the SA (Sturmabteilung, or Storm Troopers) imprisoned, interrogated, and tortured political opponents, Jews and other groups persecuted by the Nazi regime. The names of almost 500 prisoners are known, but it is believed that the number is much higher.

At this free museum, you can see exhibits documenting the history of this former prison. It also serves as a memorial to those who suffered here.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Thursday and Saturday – Sunday, 1pm – 6pm; closed Monday and Friday
Location: Werner-Voß-Damm 54A, 12101 Berlin

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Not only did tens of thousands of people die here, but this concentration camp was the headquarters of the whole concentration camp system. Even after the Nazis were defeated and World War II ended, the Soviets used Sachsenhausen as a camp for their own political enemies, and thousands more died over the next five years.

Though this is a somber site, it’s important to learn about those who suffered and died here. It’s not actually in Berlin, but it’s one of the more popular places to visit from Berlin since it’s such an important site.

Entrance is free, and you can reach the concentration camp using public transport as long as you have a ticket that covers zone C. Otherwise consider taking a guided tour like this one to enrich your experience: Sachsenhausen Memorial Half-Day Tour From Berlin.

For more details and directions, read my guide for how to get from Berlin to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

Opening hours: daily 8:30am – 5pm; outdoor area is open until 6pm
Location: Str. d. Nationen 22, 16515 Oranienburg

Access to Secrecy Stasi Exhibit

The well known Stasi Museum charges an entry fee, but next door you can visit the Access to Secrecy exhibit for free. Both are in the building that was the Stasi headquarters in East Berlin, and this free exhibit uses stories of individuals to explain the impact these records could have.

This exhibition examines the significance of the Stasi Records Archive, including the significance it has today. Learn why and how did the Stasi stored and processed so much information, why the files still exist today, and what kinds of information they contain.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm; Saturday – Sunday 11am – 6pm
Location: Ruschestraße 103, Haus 7, 10365 Berlin

Military History Museum

The Bundeswehr Military History Museum is another free museum in Berlin with an interesting location. It was founded in 1987, while Berlin was still split into East and West, and since 1995, it has been located at the former British military airfield at Berlin-Gatow. Though Tempelhof Airport is more famous for being the hub of the Air Bridge (Luftbrücke in German), many airplanes also took off and landed here during the Berlin Blockade 1948/49.

This museum focuses on air warfare and the history of Germany’s Air Force. You can see airplanes, helicopters, radar and air defense systems on the open air field here and learn about the development of military aviation during the Cold War. There are also exhibits in a few of the hangars and in the tower building.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm; closed Monday
Location: Am Flugplatz Gatow 33, 14089 Berlin

Free museum Sundays

Aside from all of these wonderful free museums in Berlin, if you’re visiting on the first Sunday of the month, you can visit dozens and dozens of museums across Berlin for free.

It’s a free museum day in Berlin, and it even includes the most popular museums such as the ones on Museum Island.

Many of them require advance booking so plan ahead. Check the list here.

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