High-calibre temporary exhibits, curated by the Deutsches Historisches Museum, occupy this spectacular contemporary annexe designed by Chinese-American architect IM Pei. Fronted by a glass spiral, it’s an uncompromisingly geometrical space, made entirely from triangles, rectangles and circles, yet imbued with a sense of lightness achieved through an airy atrium and generous use of glass.


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1. Deutsches Historisches Museum

0.07 MILES

If you’re wondering what the Germans have been up to for the past 1500 years, take a spin around the baroque Zeughaus, formerly the Prussian arsenal and…

2. Neue Wache

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This temple-like neoclassical structure (1818) was Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s first important Berlin commission. Originally a royal guardhouse and a…

3. Kronprinzenpalais

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Now occasionally used as an event space and for special exhibits, this froufrou baroque palace was blueprinted by Johann Arnold Nering as the residence of…

4. Neues Museum

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For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…

5. Schlossbrücke

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Marking the transition from Unter den Linden to Museum Island, the Palace Bridge is considered among Berlin’s prettiest. Designed by Karl Friedrich…

6. Altes Museum

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A curtain of fluted columns gives way to the Pantheon-inspired rotunda of the grand neoclassical Old Museum, which harbours a prized antiquities…

7. Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

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Marx and Engels studied here, and the Brothers Grimm and Albert Einstein taught here: Humboldt is Berlin’s oldest university, founded in 1810 in a palace…

8. Palais Populaire

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Contemporary art, culture and sports activities are the focus of this gallery sponsored by Deutsche Bank and set within the updated rooms of a rococo…