A curtain of fluted columns gives way to the Pantheon-inspired rotunda of the grand neoclassical Old Museum (smb.museum/ensmb.museum/en; €14), home to a prestigious collection of antiquities. In the downstairs galleries, sculptures, vases, tomb reliefs and jewelry shed light on various facets of life in ancient Greece, while upstairs the focus is on the Etruscans and Romans. Top draws include the Praying Boy bronze sculpture, Roman silver vessels, an "erotic cabinet" (over 18s only!) and portraits of Caesar and Cleopatra.
The Altes Museum building was the first repository to open on Museumsinsel, in 1830, and is considered the most mature work by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.