Gemaeldegalerie

The Gemaeldegalerie is one of the great painting collections of the world, and one of its best-kept secrets. It holds the State Museums' European paintings from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, and the range is astonishing: early Italian gold-ground altarpieces, the German Renaissance of Duerer, Cranach and Holbein, Early Netherlandish masters such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, the Italian Renaissance of Raphael, Titian and Botticelli, and a seventeenth century of rare depth. The collection of Rembrandt and his circle is among the most important anywhere, Vermeer is represented by two paintings including Woman with a Pearl Necklace, Pieter Bruegel the Elder's crowded and hilarious Netherlandish Proverbs is a perennial favourite, and Caravaggio's provocative Amor Vincit Omnia is one of the most talked-about pictures in the building. The collection was divided by the Cold War, with parts in East and West Berlin, and it was reunited in 1998 in this purpose-built gallery at the Kulturforum near Potsdamer Platz. The building is designed around the paintings: a long sequence of rooms arranged by school and period around a central hall, with daylight from above, so you can walk the history of European painting in order. Because it sits away from Museum Island and the main tourist circuit, it is usually calm, even at weekends, and you can stand in front of a Vermeer or a Rembrandt without craning over heads. The gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 10am to 6pm, and it is part of the Kulturforum group of museums alongside the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Museum of Decorative Arts and the Kupferstichkabinett.

How to plan your visit: the gallery is large and the walk through all the rooms is long, so it pays to decide in advance which schools interest you most. A good first visit covers the Early Netherlandish and German rooms, the Italian Renaissance, Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age, and the Vermeers. Allow two to three hours. It is closed on Mondays. The Kulturforum ticket, which Tiqets sells as an attraction pass, covers the Gemaeldegalerie and other museums at the Kulturforum, which is the best value if you plan to see the Neue Nationalgalerie too; check what is included on the day you book. Under-18s go free at the State Museums.

Getting the most from it: pick up a floor plan at the entrance, because the numbering of the rooms and cabinets can be confusing, and use the central hall as your compass. The small side cabinets often hold some of the best pictures, including smaller Netherlandish panels and portraits, so look in as you pass. Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs rewards a long look, as you try to spot each of the dozens of sayings it illustrates. The audio guide is useful for the main works. The building has a cafe in the Kulturforum foyer, and the piazza outside links you to the Philharmonie and the State Library. If you only have an hour, go straight to the Dutch and Flemish seventeenth-century rooms for Rembrandt and Vermeer, then cross to the Italian Renaissance for Raphael, Titian and Botticelli; that route takes in many of the most famous pictures without rushing. Remember that, as in every museum, individual works can be on loan or in conservation, so if one painting is the reason for your trip, check that it is on show before you go.

Who it suits and what to pair it with: dedicated art lovers above all, who will find it one of the best reasons to visit Berlin; couples who enjoy unhurried museums; and travellers who have done Museum Island and want something different. It is less suited to young children. The Kulturforum is a short walk from Potsdamer Platz, so pair the Gemaeldegalerie with the Neue Nationalgalerie next door, the Panoramapunkt view at Potsdamer Platz, and an evening concert at the Berliner Philharmonie a few steps away.