Neue Nationalgalerie

Opened in 1968 in then West Berlin, the grand and airy Neue Nationalgalerie was devised as a counterpart to the art offerings on the Museumsinsel (Museums Island) in then out-of-bounds East Berlin. The temple-like and bulky slab of black steel and glass, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), surely qualifies as a Berlin landmark and sets itself apart from the rest of the Kulturforum arts zone, with the Gemäldegalerie and the Berliner Philharmonie [see entries] within spitting distance. The high-profile permanent collection — cubism, expressionism, Bauhaus, surrealism of the Group Zero and American color-field painting — is often not on show, yielding to temporary exhibitions. The gallery's CV includes Pablo Picasso, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Paul Klee, Francis Bacon, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Barnett Newman, Frank Stella, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Thomas Demand and Paul McCarthy. In 2015 the gallery shut for extensive (and stunning) renovation, overseen by David Chipperfield Architects, and re-opened August 2021. Stays open late (8pm) on Thursday. U-Bahn/S-Bahn: Potsdamer Platz.