Gemäldegalerie Berlin

The Gemaeldegalerie at Berlin's Kulturforum holds one of the densest collections of European painting from the 13th to 18th centuries anywhere in the world. The holdings descend from the Prussian royal collection, first shown publicly in Schinkel's Altes Museum in 1830, and now comprise roughly 1500 paintings on display and another 1000 in storage. Highlights include five Vermeers, several Rembrandts, Duerer, Cranach, Caravaggio, Botticelli, Bruegel and an encyclopaedic survey of German and Netherlandish panel painting. The 1998 building by Hilmer and Sattler arranges the rooms around a large central hall, letting visitors take the Flemish, Italian, German or northern European schools as separate routes. Daylight from roof lanterns suits the panels perfectly and makes a morning here one of the calmest museum experiences in Berlin. Free audio guides and the adjacent Kupferstichkabinett round out the visit.