Bode-Museum

The Bode-Museum is the building on the postcards of Museum Island: the rounded, domed neo-Baroque palace that rises straight out of the river where the Spree divides at the northern tip of the island. It opened in 1904 as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, conceived by the great museum director Wilhelm von Bode, after whom it was renamed in 1956, and his idea was revolutionary at the time: instead of separating painting, sculpture and the decorative arts, he displayed them together in rooms designed to evoke the periods they came from. Today the building principally houses the Sculpture Collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art, and it is one of the finest places in the world to see European sculpture from the Middle Ages to the late eighteenth century. The Italian Renaissance rooms are the highlight for many, with works by Donatello and his contemporaries, glazed terracottas from the della Robbia workshop and carved altarpieces, while the German galleries hold superb late Gothic wood sculpture, including works by Tilman Riemenschneider. The Byzantine collection covers late antique and early Christian art, from sarcophagi to icons and mosaics. The building is a pleasure in itself: you enter through the Great Dome hall, with a statue of the Great Elector on horseback, and move through basilica halls, cabinets and staircases that feel more like a palace than a museum. Because most visitors on Museum Island go straight to Nefertiti and the antiquities, the Bode-Museum is often blissfully quiet, which makes it a favourite with Berliners. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, with a late opening until 8pm on Thursdays, and it is included in the Museum Island day ticket.

How to plan your visit: the museum opens from 10am, closes at 5pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, stays open until 8pm on Thursdays and until 6pm at weekends, and is closed on Mondays. The visitor entrance is at the tip of the island, reached by the Monbijou Bridge from the Hackescher Markt side, so it is a short walk from the S-Bahn and from the cafes of Mitte. The museum is only partially wheelchair accessible, so check the details in advance if that matters to you. If you are visiting other museums on the island the same day, the Museum Island day ticket is the best value; on its own, a single ticket or the Tiqets venue page will do.

Getting the most from it: start in the Great Dome hall and the basilica hall behind it, which is laid out like a Renaissance church interior with altarpieces and sculpture, and then choose a focus rather than trying to see every room. The Italian Renaissance galleries and the German late Gothic wood carvings are the two strongest threads. Thursday evenings are the best time of all, when the museum is calm and the light fades over the river. The cafe in the domed hall is one of the most elegant on the island and a good place for a break, and the views from the windows over the Spree and the Monbijou Bridge are lovely.

Who it suits and what to pair it with: art lovers who have seen the Neues Museum and want something quieter and less obvious, couples looking for a beautiful, uncrowded museum, and history buffs interested in the Byzantine world. Children may enjoy the sheer theatricality of the building, and under-18s go free, but the collection itself is more for adults. Pair the Bode-Museum with the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Neues Museum on a day ticket, a stroll in the small Monbijou Park across the bridge, and dinner around Hackescher Markt.