What is a Museum Pass and should you get one?

If you’re planning to visit multiple museums during your vacation in the Netherlands, you might be interested in purchasing a Museum Pass. Read this blog and find out everything you need to know about it, and you might even find an easy way to save some money on your trip!

What is the Museum Pass?

The Museum Pass, or Museumkaart in Dutch, is a pass with a validity of one year that allows you to access around 500 museums all over the Netherlands. Most museums will grant you free access, while some might give you a discount on the normal ticket fare. A minority of museums do not accept it.
Beware, the possession of this pass does not automatically grant you entry to all museums. Most museums still require you to make an online reservation.

How much does it cost?

The Museum Pass costs €75 (about $86 or £65) for adults and €39 (about $45 or £34) for children up to 18 years old, as of 2026. If you would like to extend your pass after one year, it costs €69.
Although Dutch museums can be quite expensive to visit, €75 is still a rather high amount for visiting only one or two. So make sure to calculate if it is convenient in your situation to purchase the pass.
The table below gives you an overview of the costs saved with the Museum Pass for 4 of the most popular museums.

Museum	Location	Adult Ticket
Van Gogh Museum	Amsterdam	€25
Anne Frank House	Amsterdam	€16,50*
Rijksmuseum	Amsterdam	€25
Mauritshuis	The Hague	€21

So if you are planning to visit these four popular museums, just like most tourists are, you would already save €11,50 per person! And if you are thinking of adding more museums to the list, then the amount saved grows.
Most museums have different rates for children, so it might not be as convenient to get a Museum Pass for them.

How do you get one?

The Museum Pass is easily purchasable in most museums where it is valid. There you will get a temporary Pass that is valid for 5 museum entries and must be activated within a month from purchase. If you are planning to visit 5 museums or fewer, then you might not need to activate it. But if you want to use it for more, then you can make an account and activate it.

There are two options for you. The first is to get a digital card, easily accessible on the Museum Pass App. Unfortunately, some application stores do not have it, so make sure that you can download it before coming to the Netherlands, if you choose the digital version.
The second option is to get a physical card. You need a Dutch address to receive it, and it will take a few days to arrive. If you do not have a Dutch address yourself, ask a friend or maybe the hotel you are staying at if it would be possible to use theirs.

While preparing your trip to the Netherlands, there are a lot of things to take care of and it is very easy for the preparation to turn overwhelming. Besides, the Netherlands is not known for its low prices, so it can get quite expensive, too! We hope that this helped make your planning a little easier and a little less expensive.

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