Cellular membranes change shape and composition in a controlled way in order for life to prosper. They are set apart from other cellular structures by their two-dimensional nature, which governs their properties and the processes happening in or on them. During the last decade, a boom of new techniques has allowed the study of the surface of biological membranes in unprecedented ways and has greatly advanced our understanding of its molecular organization. In this review, we first describe the principles of state-of-the-art microscopy methods and the suitable model membranes for the study of dynamic processes. Then, we explain how they can be used to investigate lipid dynamics, the lateral organization of membrane domains and the dynamic structure of cellular membranes.