Berlin City Guide - Gedenkstätte - Mauermuseum - Unter den Linden and the Museumsinsel

Gedenkstätte
Bernauer Strasse 111
Website: www.the-berlin-wall.de or www.berlinermauer.de
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 1000-1700 (visitors centre).
Free admission.

Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (Mauermuseum)
Friedrichstrasse 43-45
Tel: (030) 253 7250.
Website: www.mauer-museum.com
Opening hours: Daily 0900-2200.
Admission charge.

Topographie des Terrors
Niederkirchnerstrasse 8
Tel: (030) 2548 6703.
Website: www.topographie.de
Opening hours: Daily 1000-2000 (May-Sep); 1000-dark (Oct-Apr).
Free admission.

Unter den Linden and the Museumsinsel
One of Berlin's most recognisable landmarks, the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate), stands at the western end of Pariser Platz. Stretching eastwards from here is Unter den Linden, along which some of the city's richest cultural treasures lie. These include the Deutsche Staatsoper (German State Opera), the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse), which is now a memorial to the victims of fascism and tyranny, and the Zeughaus (Arsenal), which houses the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum).

The Museumsinsel (Museum Island), at the eastern end of Unter den Linden, offers the Pergamonmuseum, containing a host of antiquities, including the enormous Pergamon altar, Bodemuseum and the massive, neo-baroque Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), opened in 1905 and recently renovated. Within the refurbished Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) is the 'Galerie der Romantik', a large collection of German and Austrian paintings from the first half of the 19th century. These include paintings by Caspar David Friedrich. There are also Impressionist works by Manet, Monet and Degas.

The Altes Museum (Old Museum) is a striking neoclassical building, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, which opened in 1830. The main floor houses a collection of antiquities, while the upstairs galleries house the collections of the Egyptian Museum, which will remain there until 2009 when they will move to the Neues Museum (currently being refurbished). It is possible to buy a joint ticket for all of the Museum Island museums.