Berlin Museum Pass: €32 vs €61 in day tickets
Berlin Museum Pass: €32 for 3 days. On Museum Island alone the €24 day ticket wins; across three areas the pass saves €29. Checked prices, closures, a plan.
The Berlin Museum Pass costs €32 for three consecutive days, or €16 reduced, and covers more than 30 museums. On a plan of Museum Island, the Kulturforum and the Technikmuseum, the day tickets add up to €61 per person, so the pass saves €29. For two people that is €64 against €122.
That plan is the whole trick, and it is where the pass often goes wrong. Used on one area only, the pass loses to a €24 day ticket. We checked the arithmetic so you can decide before you pay.
The short version
- The pass is €32 (€16 reduced) for three consecutive calendar days, sold by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
- It beats single tickets from the third museum, but it does not beat the €24 Museumsinsel day ticket if you only visit Museum Island.
- It is not transferable, so two people need two passes: €64.
- It covers permanent exhibitions. Special exhibitions are usually extra, and the Pergamonmuseum is closed.
- Our pick: buy it only if you will spend three days in three different areas.
The Berlin Museum Pass maths: when €32 wins
The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin says you save by visiting “just 3 museums”. That is true against single tickets: Neues Museum, Altes Museum and Bode-Museum are €14 each, so three come to €42. It is not true against the area tickets the same organisation sells, and on Museum Island one €24 ticket covers all the houses, so three single tickets make little sense.
| Your plan | Day tickets, one person | Pass, one person | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museum Island only, one day | €24 (Museumsinsel-Ticket) | €32 | Day ticket is €8 cheaper |
| Museum Island plus Kulturforum, two days | €24 + €22 = €46 | €32 | Pass is €14 cheaper |
| Museum Island, Kulturforum, Technikmuseum, three days | €24 + €22 + €15 = €61 | €32 | Pass is €29 cheaper |
| The same three days, two people | €122 | €64 | Pass is €58 cheaper |
Read the second row twice. The pass costs €8 more than the Museum Island day ticket, and that €8 buys you the right to add the Kulturforum for nothing. So the real question is not how many museums you will visit. It is how many different areas of Berlin you will visit in three days in a row.
What the Berlin Museum Pass covers, and what it does not
The official list, dated January 2026, names the houses in the table below with their ordinary day-ticket price. We left out houses whose price we could not confirm on the operator’s own page.
| Museum | Single ticket | Area ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Neues Museum | €14 | Museumsinsel €24 |
| Altes Museum | €14 | Museumsinsel €24 |
| Bode-Museum | €14 | Museumsinsel €24 |
| Gemäldegalerie | €14 | Kulturforum €22 |
| Kunstgewerbemuseum | €10 | Kulturforum €22 |
| Museum für Fotografie | €12 | None |
| Museum Europäischer Kulturen | €10 | None |
| Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg | €10 | None |
| Schloss Köpenick | €8 | None |
| Deutsches Technikmuseum | €15 online | None |
| BERLIN GLOBAL (Humboldt Forum) | €9 | None |
Three things the glossy pass pages do not make obvious. First, the Pergamonmuseum is on the list but closed for construction. The Staatliche Museen’s tickets page gives a reopening date of 4 July 2027, while the pass list says spring 2027, so do not plan around either. Second, Märkisches Museum and Museum Berggruen are listed as closed. Third, some houses have no permanent show to see. At the Deutsches Historisches Museum the permanent exhibition is closed and the pass is valid for the Pei building, and at the Jüdisches Museum Berlin the permanent exhibition is free, so the pass applies to special exhibitions.
Three days, one pass, one person who has to be there. The pass cannot be shared, so the plan only works if you both commit to the same three dates. Post your dates on MITRA and someone who wants to see the same museums can join you. Get MITRA on Google Play · Download on the App Store
The rules that catch people out
- Three consecutive calendar days, not 72 hours. You choose the first day when you buy the online ticket, and the days run in a row.
- One entry per museum per day. The terms of use allow entry once a day to each museum’s permanent exhibition. They are dated February 2023, so confirm at the door if you plan a return visit.
- Not transferable. The terms say so, and you may be asked for ID at the entrance.
- No refund. The terms exclude cancellation and exchange.
- Special exhibitions cost extra. At the Staatliche Museen houses some come with a separate paid time-slot ticket. The pass itself needs no time slot for the permanent collection.
- Monday and Tuesday are the trap. Every Museum Island house on the Staatliche Museen opening-hours page is closed on Monday, and the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (Museum Island) and the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Kulturforum) are closed on Tuesday as well. Start the pass on a Wednesday or a Friday, not a Monday.
Monday is the day the list works against you, but it is not empty. The June 2026 list of Monday openings names BERLIN GLOBAL, the Berlinische Galerie, the Deutsches Historisches Museum, the Brücke-Museum, the Georg Kolbe Museum, the Bauhaus-Archiv temporary site and the Nikolaikirche. Some of those close on another weekday, so check the day before you set off.
A three-day plan that earns the €32
This is the plan behind the €61 figure. We checked the opening days on the Staatliche Museen page and on the Technikmuseum’s own site, which is open Tuesday to Friday 9:00 to 17:30 and at weekends 10:00 to 18:00.
- Day one, Museum Island. Neues Museum, Altes Museum and the Bode-Museum are all on the island, and all close at 17:00 or 18:00. Skip the Panorama: its own English tickets page lists the Museum Pass as not covering it, even though the pass list names it, so the operator contradicts itself.
- Day two, Kulturforum. Gemäldegalerie, Kunstgewerbemuseum and the Neue Nationalgalerie are all at the Kulturforum, so one €22 ticket would cover them. Remember the Kunstgewerbemuseum is closed on Tuesday.
- Day three, something that is not art. The Deutsches Technikmuseum costs €15 online (€17 at the till) and is closed on regular Mondays. It is the cheapest of the three day tickets in this plan, but without it the pass saves only €14.
If you would rather spread the cost, our guide to free museums in Berlin shows what you can see without the pass at all, and rainy day activities in Berlin covers the days when you want to be inside anyway.
Who the pass is not for
- Anyone staying on Museum Island for one day. The €24 Museumsinsel-Ticket is €8 cheaper.
- Under-18s. The Staatliche Museen houses admit children and young people up to the age of 18 free of charge, with ID.
- People who want the big special exhibitions. The pass covers the permanent collections, so exhibition tickets are on top.
- Anyone who cannot do three days in a row. It is three consecutive days or nothing.
People who qualify for a reduced ticket pay €16 for the pass, but they must carry proof, as the terms state. The Staatliche Museen sets the reduced rate at 50 percent for schoolchildren, students, and some other groups, again with ID.
Going round museums with someone
Museums are one of the easiest things to do with a new person, because the exhibits give you something to talk about. In our view, the best format is two hours in one museum, then a coffee. The pass makes that cheap to repeat: a second visit to a different museum the next day costs nothing extra.
Because the pass is personal, each of you buys your own, so one of you does not have to pay for the other’s choice. Agree the first day before you buy, book both passes for the same first day, and meet at the first entrance rather than at the ticket counter. For a cheaper way into the same idea, see our costed weekend in Berlin.
Questions about the Berlin Museum Pass
How much is the Berlin Museum Pass?
It costs €32, or €16 reduced, for three consecutive days. The reduced pass needs proof of eligibility.
Is the Berlin Museum Pass worth it?
It is worth it if you visit three different areas in three days. Museum Island, the Kulturforum and the Technikmuseum cost €61 in day tickets against €32 for the pass. On Museum Island alone, the €24 day ticket is cheaper.
Can two people share one Museum Pass?
No. The pass is not transferable, so two people need two passes, which is €64 at the full price.
Does the Museum Pass cover special exhibitions?
Usually not. It covers permanent exhibitions, and some special exhibitions need an extra paid time-slot ticket.
Is the Pergamonmuseum included?
It is on the pass list but closed for construction. The Staatliche Museen gives a reopening date of 4 July 2027, while the pass list says spring 2027.
Which day should I start the pass?
Not a Monday. The Museum Island houses are closed on Mondays, and the Kunstgewerbemuseum is closed on Tuesdays too.
Want to keep reading?
- Free museums in Berlin
- Rainy day activities in Berlin
- A cheap weekend in Berlin
- Berlin in October
- Things to do in Berlin on a Sunday
A three-day pass is easier to use with a fixed partner. Pick the days, post the museums you want on MITRA, and see the museums on your pass list with someone instead of on your own. Get MITRA on Google Play · Download on the App Store
Sources
Every price and rule checked on the organisers’ own sites on 2 October 2026. Images are illustrative, not photos of a specific museum.
- https://www.smb.museum/en/plan-your-visit/museum-pass/
- https://www.smb.museum/en/plan-your-visit/prices-tickets/
- https://www.smb.museum/en/plan-your-visit/opening-hours/
- https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/pergamonmuseum-das-panorama/plan-your-visit/prices-tickets/
- https://www.smb.museum/en/plan-your-visit/concessions-free-admission/
- https://www.smb.museum/fileadmin/website/Besuch_planen/PDF/Museumspass/Museumspass_Liste_der_teilnehmende_Haeuser.pdf
- https://www.smb.museum/fileadmin/website/Besuch_planen/PDF/Museumspass/Museumspass_montags_geoeffnet.pdf
- https://www.smb.museum/fileadmin/website/Besuch_planen/PDF/Museumspass/Museumspass_Berlin_Nutzungsbedingungen.pdf
- https://shop.smb.museum/#/tickets/combi?group=museumPass
- https://technikmuseum.berlin/en/visit/tickets
- https://technikmuseum.berlin/en/visit/info
- https://www.stadtmuseum.de/en/berlin-global
