10 Best Museums and Galleries in Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum is a popular art and history museum in Museum Square in the Amsterdam Oud-Zuid neighbourhood, with around 8,000 pieces on display from their collection of a million objects. You'll find several masterpieces here from legendary figures like Rembrandt, Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer.

Objects in the collection here are from several significant historical periods. The oldest pieces date back to the 13th century, while the most recent pieces are from around the turn of the 21st century. The Dutch Golden Age is the most prominent featured era, however, so keep that in mind when you visit.

The Anne Frank House is a biographical museum dedicated to its former resident, Anne Frank, who was a notable diarist during World War II. When you visit the museum, you can see the actual secret annexe she used along with 4 other people to hide from the Nazis.

In addition to the life and times of Anne Frank herself, this museum also has an exhibition space dedicated to showcasing all forms of discrimination and persecution that people across the world face. You'll find it on the eastern bank of the Prinsengracht.

The Stedelijk Museum is a prominent contemporary art museum just north of Museumplein that showcases art and design from the 20th and 21st centuries within a 19th-century building. You'll find an impressive array of featured artists here including the legendary Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol.

Nearly 90,000 pieces are in the collection here, and they cover a wide variety of artistic styles. Some of the more prominent styles on display include De Stijl, Bauhaus, CoBrA, pop art and neo-impressionism.

The Van Gogh Museum at Museumplein is dedicated to the legendary eponymous artist with one of the largest collections of his paintings and drawings in the world. Among its collection, you'll find 200 paintings, 400 drawings and 700 letters by the man himself.

The museum is set up to chronicle Van Gogh's life through his work. There are clear changes that occur over time that are most clearly expressed in his evolving self-portraits, though you can see general shifts in his work as a whole over time.

Foam, or the Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, is a photography museum in Grachtengordel that showcases photography genres and notable photographers through multiple exhibitions. Several different genres are on display like documentaries, fashion and art.

All sorts of photographers are featured here, from legends of the photography world to relatively unknown, up-and-coming photographers, though the latter's exhibitions are typically shorter. You'll also find a commercial gallery here called FoamEditions, so you can find something to bring home with you if you like.

The Nemo Science Museum is a fascinating destination in Oosterdokseiland near the IJ Tunnel with 5 floors of exhibitions that let visitors enjoy hands-on experiences. Given its numerous interactive exhibitions, this is an especially good museum to visit if you're travelling with children, though adults can find plenty of fascinating things to see as well.

Among the exhibitions here, you'll find a chain-reaction circuit, also known as a Rube Goldberg machine, that's run every half hour. Additionally, you'll find exhibits about the water cycle, DNA, animal brains and general physics.

The National Maritime Museum is a prominent museum in Wittenburg dedicated to local maritime history showcasing the shipping and sailing achievements of the Dutch. You'll find a wide variety of objects on display here including scale models of ships, historic maps of the world and weapons used on ships in times past.

Outside of the museum, you'll be able to see a replica of the Amsterdam, an 18th-century ship that travelled between the city and the East Indies. Don't forget to check out this replica ship during your visit, as it's open to guests.

The Amsterdam Museum is a city centre museum in Binnenstad that showcases the fascinating history of Amsterdam from an old city orphanage. The oldest artefacts here date back to the Middle Ages, though you'll find plenty of more recent pieces as well.

The collections host a wide variety of pieces including paintings, models, photos and archaeological findings. Additionally, you'll find more unusual objects like a Witkar, which was an eco-friendly vehicle manufactured in the mid-20th century. A carillon is on display here as well, and you can even try your hand at playing it.

The Rembrandt House Museum is an art museum dedicated to Rembrandt, a 17th-century painter known for his wide range of styles and subjects for his work. This museum is located within the house that Rembrandt lived in for 17 years just east of the Zwanenburgwal in Marken.

Inside the museum, you'll find a wide array of his works including paintings and etchings. Quite a few of his contemporaries are on display here as well, showcasing a wider view of the Dutch Golden Age in addition to Rembrandt's work.

The Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam is a dependency of the world-famous museum of the same name in Russia, and it offers an impressive collection of artworks. Inside, you'll find 2 exhibition halls along with several smaller exhibition rooms showcasing its vast collection. It's located just southeast of the Walter Suskindbrug Bridge near the Amstel.

The collection features 2 primary exhibitions. The first highlights the relationship between the Netherlands and Russia, while the second is about the Amstelhof building. Temporary exhibitions are typically on display as well, with most lasting for about 6 months.