Do you also enjoy visiting museums? Then you can’t miss all these museums here in Amsterdam! Get your Museum Pass for €64.90 (half the price if you’re aged 18 or younger) and get access to 450 museums for a year all over the Netherlands!
Note that during corona times, you may be required to register for your entrance ticket online, so don’t forget to check the website of each museum before your visit!
Visiting the Rijksmuseum is a must if you’re living in Amsterdam. It is the national museum of the Netherlands and is dedicated to Dutch arts and history. It’s a giant museum with three floors, 80 galleries, and 8000 objects on display. I visited twice, took over six hours, and still couldn’t finish the audio guides to every artwork in the museum. One of the main reasons that you should visit the Rijksmuseum is the unmissable masterpiece, The Night Watch, painted by the famous Dutch Golden Age artist, Rembrandt. There are also other amazing collections such as The Milkmaid and The Threatened Swan.
If you want to visit the Rijksmuseum, here are my suggestions for you. Find a day that you are completely free and be both physically and mentally prepared so that you can appreciate as many collections as you can. Or you can visit the museum several times as I did. The entrance ticket for Rijksmuseum is € 20.00 for adults, free for ages 18 and under, and free if you have a Museum Pass. The audio guide is available for free on the Rijksmuseum app, prepare yourself with a smartphone and earphones and you can enjoy your visit to the Rijksmuseum!
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. (Credit: Sten Rademaker / Unsplash)
Is there anyone who hasn’t heard of Vincent Van Gogh? This post-impressionist artist whose creation abounds with lively colors and emotional appeal had a great impact on the art of the 20th century. There are two reasons why you should visit this museum. Firstly, to appreciate art- if you want to see the famous ‘Sunflowers’, this is the right place to go. You will also have the chance to look at the landscapes and self-portraits. Secondly, see Van Gogh’s life and persona through his paintings. They reveal a lot about him! When you go to the Van Gogh Museum, you will see that Vincent’s work has a lot of personal touches. The honesty of expression was the basis of his work. This is one of the reasons why his paintings affect the viewer so strongly. He also suffered from anxiety attacks and increasing mental disorders and scientists suppose that the motif of the sun glowing in van Gogh’s paintings with an almost abnormal intensity and the frequency of using yellows by him can be connected to his mental state.
-> Sightseeing tip: Before your trip to the museum, read about Vincent’s life. Getting more insights into the painter’s biography will bring your experience to a whole other level. Trust me!
When planning your visit to the Van Gogh museum bear in mind that the tickets are available online only. The price for adults is €19, for students, it is €10 upon presentation of (international) student card or proof of enrolment. With the Museumkaart the entrance is free. Remember that in corona times, you are required to wear a face mask and keep a 1.5-meter distance.
Sunflowers, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. (Credit: Van Gogh Museum)
Not everyone knows this, but MOCO actually stands for Modern Contemporary. And this is exactly the type of art you will find there. With Banksy’s work among many others. From 10 December 2021 to 31 March 2022, you will also find the New FuTure exhibition- a unique digital art exhibition based on blockchain technology. It includes twelve NFT works of art by anonymous collector 33. At the Moco Museum, you can also see HEXHIBIT III which is the result of Moco’s collaboration with Don Diablo, a digital art pioneer, and musician. This type of art is one of a kind because it is both digital and physical. Definitely worth checking out!
Finally, you need to see the famous wall with changing shapes and colors. It is called Digital Immersive Art, filled with diamonds, kaleidoscopes, bubbles, and music.
-> Interesting fact: The museum is located in the historic Villa Alsberg, a townhouse designed in 1904. It was one of the first privately-owned residencies on Museumplein and remained so until 1939.
Before visiting the Moco Museum, make sure to reserve the date and time slot in advance, because the museum has a limited number of tickets available per time slot. Bear in mind that at the Moco Museum the Museum Card is not accepted. For adults, the ticket price is € 15.50. For those aged between 13 and 17 years old as well as students, it is € 12.50 (only valid with (international) student ID card). With a valid I Amsterdam Card, the entrance is free.
The Digital Immersive Art exhibition. (Credit: Moco Museum)
If you’ve also read The Diary of Anne Frank, you may be interested in visiting the Anne Frank House. This is a tiny museum compared to many others, but it is still filled with history and valuable lessons. The most exciting part for me is being able to see the famous Anne Frank diary and the actual house the families lived in during World War II. And despite the tragic ending of the family, you won’t leave the museum with sadness; instead, you’ll leave with a sense of positivity and hope. As Anne wrote, “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”
Here are a few tips if you’re interested in a visit. Visit the museum in the earlier timeslots. This is because people enter in time groups and if you’re the earliest ones to enter, you get to better enjoy your time exploring the rooms without fighting in the crowds! Also, the Anne Frank House can only be visited with an online ticket for a specific date and time. It’s better to purchase tickets online at least a week before your planned visit, this helps ensure an available time slot for you to enter the museum, especially if you want to visit during the weekends! The ticket is €14.00 for adults (aged 18 or above), and just €1.00 if you have a Museum Pass.
The Anne Frank monument standing near the Anne Frank House. (Credit: ItzaVU / Shutterstock)
