The Long Night of Museums (Die Lange Nacht der Museen) is a event which occurs twice a year in the German capital. It is a incredible event as thousands of Berliners and tourists take advantage of a totally free night of culture.

What?

It is a major cultural event for the city which was until 1989 divided by the wall. It a means to show everyone the vast diversity of exhibits, palaces, churches and museums that are scattered throughout the city. They range from former Royal Palaces such as Schloss Charlottenburg to all the museums on Museum Island to the Jewish Centre a museum to Jewish culture that is situated within the remains of the New Synagogue which was destroyed by the Nazi's.

The range of subject matter and speciality of some museums and galleries is amazing. Some are one culture or period. Others like the National Gallery and Natural History Museum encompass so much you may well have to go back and pay to take it all in.

Basically although you have eight hours it is not nearly enough time to take everything in in the chose that is laid before you. So if you are a tourist it may be wish to aim to start you holiday close to the long night and then go back for a better look at anything that caught your eye.

You can pick up you ticket for the event through tourist information and also get a brochure¹ to show you the bus routes and museums, palaces, galleries and churches which are available.

There are also other events concerts, dancing, film shows etc which occur at certain venues throughout the night and times are listed in the brochure to help you plan to get to these; or to avoid the crowd at certain locations you want to see.

When?

It happens at the end of January/start of February and again at the end of August/start of September. The museums stay open from 1800 until 0200 in the morning, hence it really is a long night.

Be prepared even though you might think that Museums at midnight will be nice a quiet they aren't during the Long Night, in fact they are probably at their busiest during this period so be prepared for a lot of people cramming around every exhibit.

Transport

As part of your ticket for Lange Nachte der Museen you have access to a number of specially laid on express bus routes which will transport you to all the various locations. There are some stops on the various routes with more than one museum, so if you are looking to see as much as possible bear this in mind when planning your route.

Planning

Once you have your brochure and ticket get out you map and sit down and work out a rough plan of attack. There is so much you could do but only so much time in which to attempt it. Best thing to do is make a check list:

• Things you absolutely want to see.
• Other places at those bus stops.
• Things that might be fun to see.
• Other places at those bus stops.
• Which bus routes they are on.
• Where is it best change buses.
• Other places at those bus stops.
• Other places of interest along the bus routes.
• Where you might want to stop to eat/drink, or bring along a picnic.

Once you have worked out all these things work out where it is best to start at six and get there in plenty of time to eat before setting off; you will need the energy. But then be prepared to change all you plans if you hear of something even better from one of the many thousands of people you will come across throughout the evening.

Not Unique

The event is not unique to Berlin other similar long nights of Museums also happen in Aachen, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Erfurt, Hanover, Zurich and others. So check out the web site of any basically cultural German speaking city and see what you can find.