Hamburger Kunsthalle

The Hamburger Kunsthalle grew out of a collection assembled by the Hamburg Kunstverein, which opened to the public in 1850. Its red-brick main building went up between 1863 and 1869, a domed extension by Fritz Schumacher followed between 1914 and 1921, and in 1997 the Galerie der Gegenwart, designed by Oswald Mathias Ungers, added space for contemporary work. Together they hold a collection covering seven centuries of European art, from the Middle Ages to the present.

The collection runs from the medieval altarpieces of Master Bertram and Master Francke, through Old Masters including Rembrandt, Rubens and Goya, to the 19th century. Caspar David Friedrich's The Sea of Ice, painted in 1824, is one of the best-known works in the building. Later rooms take in Manet's Nana, Max Liebermann, Paul Gauguin, Edvard Munch's Madonna and German Expressionists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Franz Marc, with Paul Klee's Revolution of the Viaduct and Fernand Léger's Woman with a Cat representing classical modernism. The Old Masters galleries also include Tiepolo, and the domed hall of the 1920s extension is a fine space in its own right. The contemporary galleries include work by Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Richard Serra and Tracey Emin.

This is a large museum, and it is easy to try to see too much. Pick two or three periods and give them time, and check what temporary exhibitions are on, as these are a major part of the programme. Note that building work can affect circulation: at the time of writing the connecting passage between the buildings was temporarily closed, with separate entrances for each, so check the museum's notices before you go.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with a late opening until 21:00 on Thursdays, and is closed on Mondays. There is a café and restaurant and a museum shop, and the museum offers tours in German Sign Language and Easy Language. Allow at least two hours, or half a day if you are visiting a special exhibition as well.

The Kunsthalle stands just north of the Hauptbahnhof, so it is one of the easiest museums in the city to reach by train, U-Bahn or S-Bahn. The nearest exit is Hauptbahnhof Nord, and the Alster lakes are a short walk away.