The 5 Unmissable Art Museums in the Netherlands

Come rain or shine, visiting a museum is always a good idea, and it is no surprise that a museum stop is almost always included in every respectable tourist itinerary. Not only Amsterdam, but also the rest of the Netherlands, offers a very wide range of museums to choose from. This list includes the five art museums we think you should not miss when visiting the Netherlands.

1. The Van Gogh Museum

This museum needs no introduction. It is no wonder that this is the most visited museum in the Netherlands. It hosts the biggest collection of paintings by one of the most acclaimed and famous painters of the Western World. Here, not only will you get to see masterpieces like Sunflowers (1889), The Potato Eaters (1885) or The Bedroom (1888), but you will get to learn about Vincent Van Gogh’s troubled life, including the sweet relationship with his brother Theo, as well as finding out how he developed his own style and technique and how and why the whole world fell in love with him.

2. Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is the Dutch Museum. After moving between different locations, the museum found its permanent home in this massive construction, with its iconic mix of Gothic and Renaissance elements, designed by Pierre Cuypers, one of the most prominent Dutch architects. Besides artefacts spanning 800 years of Dutch history, you can find paintings by the most important Dutch masters, such as Van Gogh, Vermeer and Rembrandt, as well as works by artists from all over the world. The museum is also famous for its big temporary exhibitions, which display both loaned and owned works. In terms of variety and quality of pieces, you will hardly find a museum that is so effectively able to tell Dutch history through its collections.

3. Mauritshuis

This majestic 17th-century palace, situated right next to the complex of the Binnenhof, hosts one of the most beautiful collections of Flemish and Dutch Golden Age paintings. In the Mauritshuis you can find the Dutch Mona Lisa, the Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665), as well as world-renowned masterpieces such as The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632), The Goldfinch (1654) and The Bull (1647). The building was built for a (very rich) governor of the colony of Dutch Brazil, and the collection began as the private collection of William V, the last stadtholder. Within the halls of this museum, you can still perceive the regal and elegant atmosphere of its origins.

4. Panorama Mesdag

What makes the Panorama Mesdag make it to this list is, without a doubt, its uniqueness. Nowhere in the Netherlands (and barely anywhere in the world) will you be able to find such a huge painting. You stand in the center of the 115-metre-long and 14-metre-tall canvas, where you can admire how the village of Scheveningen looked in 1880, while having the feeling of being inside the painting itself. Despite the Panorama being the main attraction of the museum, you can still see a collection of paintings by husband and wife, Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje van Houten.

5. The Depot of Boijmans Van Beuningen

While the actual museum is under renovation, you can still visit its Depot. A unique chance to explore a side of a museum that is often hidden from tourists. In the Depot, you can peek into the storage rooms and watch the restorers at work, which makes it so special. And, of course, with it being in Rotterdam, the architects’ playground, you can’t expect a boring building! An almost 40-metre-tall building completely covered in reflective panels that gave the building its popular nickname “The Pot” and makes its way into being one of Rotterdam’s icons.

All the museums on this list are timeless and unique in their own special way. They often offer temporary exhibitions and are constantly purchasing new pieces, so make sure to check out their website for what is on.

Visit

We recommend that you purchase an online ticket before your visit, as most of these museums are very busy, especially during high season. If you are thinking of checking them all out, you might be interested in purchasing a museum card, which will make your trip cheaper and easier. If this is the case, you should definitely check out our blog on the museum card and find out how it works.

And what is a museum visit without a guided tour? Whether you want a guided tour of the museum itself or to combine a guided city tour with a museum visit on your own, we are here to help. Our local tour guides will be more than happy to tell you all they know about the history behind the paintings that make the five museums on this list unmissable.