The Long Night of the Museums (24 August) wants visitors to make mischief, for one night that is. This year, 75 of Berlin’s biggest historical and cultural institutions are opening their doors for a nightlong exploration of Berlin’s secrets. From 6pm to 2am, thousands of visitors will get the chance to experience the city’s museums in a whole new light. The programme is packed, so to help ease the stress we’ve curated a guide to tickets, transportation and must-see exhibits.
What is Long Night of the Museums?
If just being able to visit your favourite museums well after regular opening hours wasn’t exciting enough each year, participating institutions craft a programme of special experiences around a curated theme.
This year the theme “Berlin Secrets” invites visitors to look a little closer at the biggest mysteries in art, culture and history. This year’s Long Night of the Museums is sure to be mysterious, surprising and (of course) loads of fun.
How much are tickets?
A ticket for Long Night of the Museums covers a whole night’s worth of activities. Here’s the price breakdown (and what you can expect) from purchasing the ticket:
Prices
- Tickets are €12 (€10 reduced, click here for info about eligibility) if you purchase on their website before August 11
- Tickets bought online or in-person after August 11 are €18 (€12 reduced)
- Kids up to age 12 have free admission (but a free ticket must be reserved online beforehand)
- Purchase your ticket online here.
What it gets you
- Tickets are valid at all participating institutions from 6pm on August 24 to 2am on August 25
- Tickets include access to shuttle buses for transportation
Is special transport available?
When thousands of people take to the streets of Berlin, getting around can be… difficult. Included in the price of admission is access to five shuttle routes that hit Berlin’s most iconic institutions.
The LNM team have even commissioned vintage buses for their north and south shuttles (perfect for getting around *and* getting around in style). To see the routes for the shuttles, check out their website.
What are the highlights?
To celebrate Berlin’s mysteries, several institutions throughout the city will hold special performances between midnight and 2am (what they call “Late Night Specials”) in addition to their regular exhibitions.
To help you narrow down your plan (because even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to see all 75 exhibits in a night), we’ve highlighted some of the institutions (and events) worth a visit.
Speed Dating: What do curators and archivists actually do?
Ever wondered about the work that goes on behind the scenes at your favourite museums? A team of curators, directors, museologists, registrars and archivists are silently working away not just to produce exhibitions, but to understand and protect the artworks and artefacts that crowds flock to see. This LNM, a varied group of professionals from the Dokumentationszentrum für Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung (Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation) will be presenting a fascinating talk revealing little-known facts about the work they do.
- Dokumentationszentrum Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung, Stresemannstr. 90, Kreuzberg, 7:30pm, 9pm & 10:30pm (in English and German), details.
Voguing Ball
The Museum für Kommunikation Berlin is highlighting the connection between climate awareness and pride. What do the two have in common? They both stand for collectivisation and inclusion of course. This LNM, they’re transforming their atrium into an arena, so may the best voguer win! Whether you are new to this expressive art form or a voguing fanatic, the Museum für Kommunikation Berlin is ready for you to strut your stuff (and probably learn some new moves).
- Museum für Kommunikation Berlin, Leipziger Str. 16, Mitte, 11pm to 2am, details.
Street Views: Text and drawing workshop
Richly nuanced portraits of urban life, Akimbode Akinbiyi’s exhibition ‘Being, Seeing, Wandering’ tells stories of life in a city through a series of analogue black-and-white photographs. As part of LNM, visitors to the Berlinische Galerie can get to know Akinbiyi’s work in a whole new way. You’ll discover motifs in his photographs and experiment with writing and drawing, designing your own collage booklet that you’ll be able to take home with you at the end of the night.
- Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr. 124-128, Kreuzberg, 7-10pm (workshops in English, German and Spanish), details.
Secret Salsa Party
Starting at 11pm, visitors can take a break from seeing exhibitions to dance Salsa outside of the Deutsches Historisches Museum. With views of both the Spree and the museum’s iconic spiral staircase, this is the perfect place to watch (or take part in) some dancing before your next museum visit.
- Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2, Mitte, 11pm to 2am, details.
The Good Time Capsule
Sometimes, you just need to laugh at the state of the world. Join a team of comedians and scientists as they put together an imagined time capsule of ideas, objects and inventions that will help preserve human life at the end of the world.
- Museen für Naturkunde, Invalidenstr. 43, Mitte, 7:30pm (in English), details.
Guided Tour: With Legs Wide Open
What was it like to be a sex worker in Medieval Berlin? Where do Berlin’s queer culture and sex work intersect? How did sex workers experience the Holocaust and Germany’s colonial past? What does a Utopian brothel look like? These questions (and more) will be answered in this special guided tour of Berlin’s Gay Museum.
- Schwules Museum, Lützowstr. 73, Schöneberg, 8:30pm (in English), details.
Deep Sea Cabaret of Mysteries
Exploring the mysteries of the deep sea has never been easier (or more fun). Stop by Berlin’s Puppentheater-Museum for puppet shows, music and performance with Lady Octopus and the Siren Sisters. There are several shows throughout the night, but this is sure to be a crowd favourite, so consider showing up early for their late-night, interactive showings.
- Puppentheater-Museum, Karl-Marx-Str. 135, Neukölln, shows at 11pm, 11:45pm and 12:30am, (performances either have no speaking, or are in English and German), details.
