10 Best Museums and Galleries in Amsterdam
Where to Discover Amsterdam's History, Art, and Culture?
The Dutch city of Amsterdam has much to offer travelers looking to immerse themselves in the local culture. While there are plenty of ways you can explore the heart of what makes Amsterdam so unique and special, there’s nothing quite like visiting a museum or gallery.
Museums and galleries in Amsterdam have much to offer, whether you’re looking to explore the local history or see how the Danish express themselves through various mediums of art. Take a look at the 10 best museums and galleries in Amsterdam that you can peruse during your visit.
1. Rijksmuseum
Local art and history aplenty
Good for: Couples, Families, History
The Rijksmuseum is a popular art and history museum in Museum Square in the Amsterdam Oud-Zuid neighborhood. It has 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 prominently featured era, however, so this is definitely the place to come if this sparks your interest. Read more
Location: Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 9 am to 5 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 674 7000
Rijksmuseum
2. Anne Frank House
The story of a wartime diarist
Good for: Couples, Families, History
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 annex she used, along with family members and their friends, 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 the history and condemnation of all forms of discrimination and persecution that people across the world face. You’ll find this thought-provoking museum on the eastern bank of the Prinsengracht. Read more
Location: Westermarkt 20, 1016 GV Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 9 am to 10 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 556 7105
Anne Frank House
3. Stedelijk Museum
Impressive modern art all around
Good for: Couples, Families
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 artists featured 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. Read more
Location: Museumplein 10, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 10 am to 6 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 573 2911
Stedelijk Museum
4. Van Gogh Museum
The works of an iconic artist
Good for: Couples, Families, History
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 was 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 of style, mood, and sanity in his work as a whole over time. Read more
Location: Museumplein 6, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Saturday–Thursday from 9 am to 6 pm, Friday from 9 am to 9 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 570 5200
Van Gogh Museum
5. Foam (Fotografiemuseum)
The stunning art of photography
Good for: Couples, Families
Foam, or the Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, is an incredible photography museum in Grachtengordel that showcases multiple photography genres and notable photographers through a good range of exhibitions. Some of the genres on display include documentaries (photojournalism), fashion, and art.
All sorts of photographers are featured here, from legends of the photography world to relatively unknown, modern up-and-coming photographers, though exhibitions on the latter are typically shorter. You’ll also find a commercial gallery here called FoamEditions, where you can purchase lovely photo souvenirs to bring home with you. Read more
Location: Keizersgracht 609, 1017 DS Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Saturday–Wednesday from 10 am to 6 pm, Thursday–Friday from 10 am to 9 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 551 6500
Foam (Fotografiemuseum)
6. NEMO Science Museum
Family fun with interactive science
Good for: Couples, Families
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 science experiences. Given its numerous interactive exhibitions, this is an especially good museum to visit if you’re traveling with children, although adults can find plenty of interesting things to see as well.
Among the exhibitions here, you’ll discover a chain-reaction circuit, also known as a Rube Goldberg machine, that’s run every half hour. Additionally, there are exciting exhibits about the water cycle, DNA, animal brains, and general physics. Read more
Location: Oosterdok 2, 1011 VX Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Tuesday–Sunday from 10 am to 5.30 pm (closed on Mondays)
Phone: +31 (0)20 531 3233
NEMO Science Museum
7. National Maritime Museum
Dive into maritime history
Good for: Couples, Families, History
The National Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) is a prominent museum in Wittenburg dedicated to local maritime history and 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, such as canons.
Outside the museum, you’ll be able to see a replica of the Amsterdam, an 18th-century ship that traveled between the city and the East Indies. Guests can even come aboard the replica to admire its craftmanship up close. Read more
Location: Kattenburgerplein 1, 1018 KK Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 10 am to 5 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 523 2222
National Maritime Museum
8. Amsterdam Museum
The twists and turns of Amsterdam’s long history
Good for: Couples, Families, History
The Amsterdam Museum is a city center museum by the Amstel river that showcases the fascinating history of Amsterdam from an former city orphanage. The oldest artifacts 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 archeological findings. Additionally, there are more unusual objects like a Witkar, which was an eco-friendly vehicle manufactured in the mid-20th century. A carillon (instrument consisting of bells in a tower played via a keyboard) is on display here as well, and you can even try your hand at playing it. Read more
Location: Amstel 51, 1018 EH Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 10 am to 5 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 523 1822
Amsterdam Museum
9. Rembrandt House Museum
The works of a 17th-century master
Good for: Couples, Families, History
The Rembrandt House Museum (museum Rembrandthuis) is an art museum dedicated to Rembrandt, a renowned 17th-century painter known for his wide range of styles and subjects. This museum is located within the house that Rembrandt lived in for 17 years just east of the Zwanenburgwal in Marken.
Inside the museum, a wide array of his works are on display including paintings and etchings. The works of quite a few of his contemporaries are exhibited here as well, showcasing a wider view of the Dutch Golden Age in addition to Rembrandt’s masterpieces. Read more
Location: Jodenbreestraat 4, 1011 NK Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 10 am to 6 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 520 0400
Rembrandt House Museum
10. H’ART Museum (Hermitage Amsterdam)
The sister site of a world-famous Russian museum
Good for: Couples, Families, History
The H’ART Museum in Amsterdam (also known as “Hermitage Amsterdam”) is a dependency of the world-famous museum of the same name in Russia, and it offers an impressive collection of artworks. It’s located just southeast of the Walter Suskindbrug Bridge near the Amstel river. Inside, you’ll find 2 vast exhibition halls along with several smaller exhibition rooms displaying its extensive collection.
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. Read more
Location: Amstel 51, 1018 EJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open: Daily from 10 am to 5 pm
Phone: +31 (0)20 530 8755
H'ART Museum (Hermitage Amsterdam)
This article includes opinions of the Go Guides editorial team. Hotels.com compensates authors for their writing appearing on this site; such compensation may include travel and other costs.