Amsterdam museums are the main category of city attractions. Here are more than 150 unique places telling about history and modernity, art and entertainment, famous figures and unknown creators. Each of them is interesting in its own way, but it will take more than one day to get around them.
What museums in Amsterdam are worth seeing in the first place and where to go with young children? Where are the most interesting sights of the city and what is their work schedule? This and other useful information for travelers is in our article.
Note! The first entry to 40 Amsterdam museums is free for I Amsterdam City Card holders. An exact list of available attractions and other map benefits can be found here .
NEMO Museum
Place No. 1 in the list of Amsterdam museums that young travelers need to visit. Where, if not at the Scientific and Educational Museum of the Netherlands, interest in physics, chemistry and other disciplines studying the world wakes up in children and adults.
At the NEMO Museum in Amsterdam, everyone can not only listen to an interesting lecture or watch a training video, but also conduct several experiments in a chemical laboratory, find themselves inside a soap bubble, build a building from cocktail tubes (perhaps the best way to study the laws of physics) or test your talent artist on one of the walls of the building.
Interesting! As we have already said, in the NEMO museum in Amsterdam it will be interesting not only to small children. On the third and fourth floors there are attractions for adult travelers, but access there can only be obtained using a special token confirming your age (issued by employees).
A separate attraction of the city is the roof of the museum, which offers panoramic views of the whole of Amsterdam. There is also a cafe with an average price level: tea and coffee 2-3 euros, sandwiches – about 5 €. You can bring your products to the museum, you can eat them in one of the special cafeterias located on its territory.
- Exact address: Oosterdok 2. From Amsterdam Central Station can be reached on foot in 10 minutes;
- The roof and cafes are public areas, so that after a cup of tea to return to viewing exhibits, do not throw out the entrance ticket. In addition, it is valid all day and allows you to enter / exit an unlimited number of times;
- On the ground floor of the museum there is a room with left-luggage offices that can only be opened with a 50 cents coin;
- Admission to NEMO for children over 4 years old and adults costs 16.5 €, for students – 8.25 €. You can buy a ticket in advance on the official website (www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/en) or at the box office upon arrival;
- The museum is closed on Mondays. On other days, it is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
State Museum of Amsterdam
The history of the ancient landmark begins in 1800, when Louis Bonaparte, the brother of the legendary commander and the king of Holland, opened an art museum in The Hague. After 8 years, the collected collections were transported to Amsterdam, the Royal Palace, and only in 1885 did the Reyksmuseum appear for tourists as they are now.
The State Museum of Amsterdam is one of the 20 most visited art museums in the world. It houses the largest collection of famous masters of Dutch origin, unique jewelry and antique porcelain.
Wow! The central place in the museum’s exposition is occupied by Rembrandt’s masterpiece “Night Watch”, written in 1642. In order to place the painting in the most visible place, in 1906 several rooms of the building were completely rebuilt.
- Address: Museumstraat, 1;
- The museum has a cafe and a specialized store (high prices);
- Admission for adults is € 17.5; children under 18 years old do not need to pay a visit. You can order tickets on the official website www.rijksmuseum.nl;
- The Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9-00 to 17-00 in the evening. Ticket offices close at 16-30.
- The ticket is valid all day and allows you to enter and exit the museum an unlimited number of times;
- If your time is very limited, download the Rijksmuseum app from the Internet. It has an audio guide that will give you a short route through the main masterpieces and tell you all the most important about them.
Modern Art Museum
At the end of the 19th century, a landmark appeared in Amsterdam, telling details about the history and inhabitants of the city. Initially, old household items from the homes of local residents were stored here, but in the middle of the century many exhibits dispersed to other museums. Around the same time, several collections of paintings by French and Dutch artists, sculptors, and designers arrived at the Stedeleikmuseum. In the mid-1970s, household items left the walls of the museum, and it became the first place to bring together so many exhibits of modern art.
Interesting to know! The Van Gogh Museum is part of the Stedeleikmuseum, since from 1930 to 1972 most of its exhibits were stored there.
Today the Amsterdam Museum of Modern Art presents the largest collection of works by Malevich, many works of Monet, Picasso, Cezanne, Chagall and Rietveld.
- At the checkout you can ask for a free audio guide in English, French or Dutch;
- Entrance price – 17.5 €, for students – 9 €, for children under 12 years old – free of charge;
- The Stedeleikmuseum is open daily from 10 to 18:00, on Friday – until 22. Address: Museumplein 10;
- The museum often hosts exhibitions of world famous artists, you can find out about them in advance in the news section on the website www.stedelijk.nl.
Museum of Microbes
Opened in 2014, Micropia is still the only museum in the world with microbes instead of ordinary exhibits and glass flasks instead of picture frames.
Micropia is one of Amsterdam’s best museums to visit with children. Of course, you won’t be able to touch the microbes, but you are always welcome to see them through a microscope. This place is not like an ordinary scientific laboratory. Here you will learn in a fascinating way about many things that you encounter in everyday life: what happens to spoiled foods (where else you will see a hamburger a year ago), who lives in your toothbrush, how the cold virus spreads and what interesting happens in an ordinary jar preserves.
Can you do it? So that tourists had the motivation to go around the entire museum and not miss anything, the museum staff launched a kind of competition. At the entrance, each visitor receives a card on which to collect 30 fingerprints of microbes located in different parts of the museum.
- The Microbe Museum in Amsterdam is located at Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, at the zoo.
- Ticket price: 15 € for adults, 7.5 € for students, 13 € for children aged 3 to 9 years. Book and receive a 1 € discount here – www.micropia.nl/en/.
- The exposition in the museum is constantly updated: here you can see how a beautiful cake baked the day before yesterday, as well as french fries cooked more than a year ago.
- If you are going to visit not only the museum, but the zoo itself, buy a comprehensive ticket on the Micropia website – this saves you 6 euros.
Church of the beloved of our Lord in the attic
There are people who never give up, and Ian Hartman is one of them. In 1661, this Dutchman, without knowing it, founded one of Amsterdam’s most mysterious museums in order to be able to practice his religion, despite state prohibitions.
Every Sunday, for 450 years, masses are held in an underground church located in the attic of a residential building. More than 100,000 tourists annually visit the monastery of the brave merchant and admire his work.
The future begins with us! It was the discovery of an underground church, built by an ordinary resident of Amsterdam, that led to the adoption of laws in the Netherlands allowing the practice of other religions.
- The museum has a free audio guide service in Russian;
- When entering the house, do not forget to wear special slippers so as not to spoil the wooden floor, which is more than 400 years old;
- Tickets can be bought in advance on the site attractions. Price for adults – 11 €, for children 5-17 years old – 5.5 €, for children under 4 years old free;
- The house is located at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38. It is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, on Sunday from 13:00.
- The museum has a cafe and a theme store.
Moko
Another modern art museum in Amsterdam was opened less than 10 years ago by Lionel and Kim Loghisy. Masterpieces finished just yesterday are stored in Mocha, here you can see the conflicting works of the Irish brothers Icy & Sot, graffiti of the British street artist Banksy and the American representative of pop art Roy Lichtenstein. The main goal of all the masters whose paintings and sculptures are exhibited in Mocha is to indicate, and sometimes ridicule, the shortcomings of our society.
- Admission to the Mocha Museum in Amsterdam is free for children under 10 years old. A full ticket costs 12.5 €, for students under 16 years of age – 7.5 €, students and I Amsterdam City Card holders can enjoy a 25% discount;
- The best examples of contemporary art can be found at Honthorststraat 20. It is open every day, the exact work schedule depends on the season, you can find it on the website mocomuseum.com.
National Maritime Museum
In 1973, the Navigation Museum was opened at the site of the warehouse of the Dutch navy.
Today, his collection includes paintings depicting naval battles and portraits of naval officers, ship models, navigational instruments, ancient atlases, and many other exhibits related to navigation.
Among the unique items stored in the Maritime Museum of Amsterdam, it is worth highlighting the work of Transylvanian “De Moluccis Insulis”, in which he first described in detail the adventures of Fernand Magellan.
Het Scheepvaartmuseum is divided into three parts located on different sides of the courtyard (hence the name):
- In the north wing, tourists can feel like naval officers or pirates as part of the interactive “Travel by Sea”. If you have long wanted to know what sailors experience during a severe storm or Antarctic expedition, this is entertainment for you.
- In the eastern part there are hundreds of models of yachts, atlases, various devices, thematic paintings, photographs and furniture used in ships.
- The western wing also surprises visitors with modern exhibits and adventures, including Life on board and The Whale Story. It will be especially interesting for young tourists and teenagers.
- The museum has a huge library with tens of thousands of books on the marine theme. Everyone can go there and see the ancient works;
- The Maritime Museum is one of the most popular in all the Netherlands. Over 300,000 people visit it every year;
- Het Scheepvaartmuseum is located at Kattenburgerplein 1. It also has a restaurant and gift shop. The whole complex is open daily from 9-00 to 17-00.
- The cost of a full ticket is 18 euros, for students and children 4-17 years old – 8 €. You can buy it on the site of attractions www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl.
Rembrandt House Museum
The unique art museum was opened in 1911 at the initiative of Rembrandt’s fan, Jan Vet, in a house bought by the great master back in the middle of the 17th century. Here everything is as it was with the creator – restoration work was carried out exactly with the inventory compiled by the notary Rembrandt in 1656.
Today the museum is the only place in the world where the most complete collection of graphic works by the author is stored (260 of 290). In addition, there are 4 genuine paintings by Rembrandt, as well as the works of his students and teacher – Peter Lastman. As part of a visit to the exhibition, you can learn how engravings were made, how paintings were painted in the 17th century and what was part of the paints of that time.
- The attraction is open every day from 10 to 18. The entrance fee is 13 €, for students – 10 €, children 6-14 years old – 4 €. Tickets can be bought online.
- The Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam is located at Jodenbreestraat 4.
Body museum
Having studied in Micropia, who lives on our body, it is worthwhile to understand what is happening inside it. One trip to this educational center can replace a whole course of anatomy, because all the information here is presented in an accessible and fascinating way.
The exhibits of Body Worlds are nothing more than real human bodies. More than 200 real anatomical samples have been carefully processed and are kept in special conditions to show you the invisible world that is inside you.
On 6 floors, each of which is devoted to a separate topic, you can examine the human heart in great detail, see how bad habits affect our organs, find out how we feel when we experience positive emotions and understand how the blood moves through the body. Body Worlds is so interesting that many tourists spend several hours visiting it without noticing it themselves.
- The Body Museum in Amsterdam was opened in 2014. It is located in the city center, at Damrak 66.
- Body Worlds receives visitors every day from 9 to 20:00, on Saturday – until 22;
- Buying tickets online (www.bodyworlds.nl), you get the opportunity to save up to 4 €.
Anne Frank House Museum
The building is saturated with the atmosphere of World War II. The story of a little Jewish girl whose family was hiding from the Nazis, embodied in furniture, photos and stories. More that millions of people suffered during the Holocaust, fascism and anti-Semism, you will not know anywhere.
More information about attractions is presented on this page .
Van Gogh Museum
It is in this place that the most complete collection of works by the great artist is stored. In addition to the works of Van Gogh, here you can see paintings by Picasso, Monet, Signac and other creators. The museum regularly hosts exhibitions of classical and contemporary art.
A detailed description of the museum can be found in this article .
Museum of sex
If you think you know everything about it, you are mistaken. Here you will find many interesting exhibits, especially in rooms dedicated to the hobbies of the Marquise de Pompadour, the world famous Marilyn Monroe and Oscar Wilde. Note: some exhibits are moving.
Detailed information about this object with a photo is the topic of a separate article .
Amsterdam museums are one of the many reasons to visit this beautiful city. Choose the one that you liked the most and go on a fascinating tour. Have a nice trip!
All the museums of Amsterdam described on the page are marked on the map in Russian.
Note to the tourist: 5 free entertainment in Amsterdam.
