Berlin City Guide - Schloss Charlottenburg and museums - Schloss Charlottenburg - Kulturforum (Cultural Forum)

Schloss Charlottenburg and museums
The Charlottenburg Palace was built in 1699, as a summer residence for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of King Frederick 11. Visits to the Old Palace are by guided tour only. Prices and hours vary for the New Wing, the Orangerie, the mausoleum and other parts of the complex. The museums and galleries that are in and around the palace include the Berggruen Collection, opposite the palace, which contains 100 artworks by Picasso, as well as a representative collection of his contemporaries.

Schloss Charlottenburg
Spandauer Damm 10-22
Tel: (030) 320 911.
Website: www.spsg.de
Opening hours: Old Palace: Tues-Sun 0900-1700, last tour at 1600; Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (Apr-Oct); New Wing: 1100-1700 (Nov-Apr); grounds open daily 0600-2100 (summer); daily 0600-2000 (winter).
Admission charge.

Museum Berggruen
Westlicher Stülerbau, Schlossstrasse 1
Tel: (030) 3267 4811.
Website: www.smb.spk-berlin.de
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge.

Kulturforum (Cultural Forum)
Located in the west of the city, the Kulturforum is a cultural centre, grouping together all the museums that have European art as their chief focus, including a Musikinstrumenten-museum (Musical Instrument Museum), a hall for chamber music and the Philharmonie concert house, home to the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. The opening of the Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery) in 1998 brought a stunning collection of 13th- to 18th-century paintings to the site. It joined the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) and the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery). The latter, built to the designs of Mies van der Rohe, contains German Expressionist and Realist art, as well as other works of the 20th century. There is also a sculpture garden.