Museums · Amsterdam · Netherlands
7 best museums in Amsterdam
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Jvhertum, Public domain
Quick answer
Start with Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House. Together the 7 picks below take roughly 12–14 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 7
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 12–14 hours
- Areas
- Museum Quarter, Canal Ring and Oosterdok
Museums in Amsterdam
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Museum · Museum Quarter
1.Rijksmuseum
The Dutch national museum's Gallery of Honour leads to Rembrandt's The Night Watch, with Vermeer's The Milkmaid, Frans Hals portraits and Delftware nearby.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Museum Quarter
2.Van Gogh Museum
The largest collection of Vincent van Gogh's work — around 200 paintings and 500 drawings — traces his development from the dark Potato Eaters to Sunflowers, The Bedroom and the Almond Blossom he painted for his newborn nephew.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
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Museum · Canal Ring
3.Anne Frank House
In the canal house at Prinsengracht 263, Anne Frank, her family and four others hid from the Nazis for two years in the Secret Annex behind a movable bookcase.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Iconic
- Rainy day
Gallery · Museum Quarter
4.Stedelijk Museum
The city's museum of modern art and design, a 19th-century building with a white extension nicknamed 'the bathtub', covers Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Karel Appel and the CoBrA group, Warhol and contemporary design.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Oosterdok
5.NEMO Science Museum
Renzo Piano's green copper building rises like a ship's bow over the IJ tunnel, with five floors of hands-on science exhibits for children of all ages.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Views
- Architecture
Museum · Old Centre
6.Our Lord in the Attic
Behind a 17th-century canal-house façade in the Red Light District hides a complete Catholic church built across the attics of three houses, at a time when Catholics could not worship openly.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Museum · Old Centre
7.Rembrandt House Museum
Rembrandt lived and worked in this house on Jodenbreestraat from 1639 until bankruptcy forced him out in 1658.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Museum Quarter | Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum | 3 hours + 2 hours + 2 hours |
| Canal Ring | Anne Frank House | 1–1.5 hours |
| Oosterdok | NEMO Science Museum | 2–3 hours |
| Old Centre | Our Lord in the Attic and Rembrandt House Museum | 1 hour + 1–1.5 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 7, 2 low cost, 5 mid-priced. Book ahead for Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House. The longest visit is Rijksmuseum; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Rijksmuseum: Timed tickets are sold online; book a day or more ahead in high season.
- Van Gogh Museum: Tickets are sold online for timed slots and sell out in high season.
- Anne Frank House: Entry is only by online ticket for a set time slot, and tickets sell out quickly.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Museum Quarter): Rijksmuseum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Museum Quarter): Van Gogh Museum → Stedelijk Museum, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Canal Ring and Oosterdok): Anne Frank House → NEMO Science Museum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Old Centre): Our Lord in the Attic → Rembrandt House Museum, at least 2 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 7°C (45°F), about 10 rainy days, quiet crowds. One of the quietest months, with occasional frost; good for museums and brown cafés.
- January: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 12 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold, grey and short days, but quiet museums, low prices and the Light Festival along the canals.
- November: highs of 10°C (50°F), about 13 rainy days, quiet crowds. Wet and windy with short days, but Museumnacht, Sinterklaas and the Light Festival bring evening events.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Canal Ring (Grachtengordel) — Gabled merchants' houses along the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht
- Jordaan — Narrow streets, brown cafés and Saturday markets west of the canals
- Museum Quarter (Museumkwartier) — Grand villas, Museumplein and the Vondelpark
- Plantage and Oost — Leafy streets around Artis zoo and the Hortus Botanicus
More of Amsterdam
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Amsterdam?
Rijksmuseum. The Dutch national museum's Gallery of Honour leads to Rembrandt's The Night Watch, with Vermeer's The Milkmaid, Frans Hals portraits and Delftware nearby.