5 Best Sights in Mitte, Berlin

The permanent exhibit here is home to an outstanding collection of 18th-, 19th-, and early-20th-century paintings and sculpture, by the likes of Cézanne, Rodin, Degas, and one of Germany's most famous portrait artists, Max Liebermann. Its collection has masterpieces from such 19th-century German painters as Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich, the leading members of the German Romantic school.

Inside the former Tacheles art collective, contemporary photography museum Fotografiska has retained all the former inhabitants’ graffiti on the walls in the hallways and stairwells. Regularly rotating exhibitions range across several floors, showing a mix of photography and videos from both well-known artists, such as Andy Warhol, but also younger emerging artists. You won’t go hungry (or thirsty) here, as there’s a restaurant, two bars (including Bar Clara, on the rooftop), a café, and a bakery; visitors are even encouraged to peruse the artworks with drink in hand. The museum is open till 11 pm every day (last entry at 10 pm), making it perfect for an evening wander.

This light-filled, remodeled train station is home to a rich survey of post-1960 Western art. The permanent collection includes installations by German artists Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer, as well as paintings by Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, and Robert Morris. An annex presents the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection, featuring a selection of the latest in the world's contemporary art. The more than 1,500 works rotate, but you're bound to see some by Bruce Naumann, Rodney Graham, and Pipilotti Rist.

The reconstructed 18th-century Prinzessinnenpalais (Princesses’ Palace) now houses selections of Deutsche Bank’s contemporary art holdings, which rotate several times a year. Past exhibitions include Ways of Seeing Abstraction, works from German figurative painter K.H. Hödicke, and international photography from the 1970s to the present, along with shows featuring Deutsche Bank's “artists of the year.” Though the art selections may be compact, they’re most often provocative and worthwhile. Take an art break at the attached LePopulaire café, which serves up salads, sandwiches, and heartier mains for lunch or snacks.

At the northern tip of Museum Island is this somber-looking gray edifice graced with elegant columns. The museum is home to the state museum's stunning collection of German and Italian sculptures from the Middle Ages, as well as the Museum of Byzantine Art, and a huge coin collection.