One of the must see museums when visiting Amsterdam…read more We also enjoyed taking a break at the cafe located inside the Rijksmuseum.

I am so bummed!! After being there for 5 hours, I still failed to make it to the 1700-1800 and the…read more2000s zones!! This place is HUGE! I now understand why tourists would plan an entire day there. Unfortunately, I had 2 other stops that day that I couldn't miss, so I had no choice but left at 2pm. I am soo glad I made it to the main hall first to see Rembrandt's Night Watch (granted it was through a piece of glass due to the restoration process). I would've been devastated if I couldn't. Love the info cards for almost all of the major art pieces to explain in detail on how it was created. Some tips: Buy your ticket ahead of time. Get there 15 minutes before your entrance time to get in line and for bag check. No water inside the exhibits. The coat check is your only option if you don't show up right at when they open. The lockers filled up within minutes. Don't be fooled by the opened ones because that means the lock is broken. Definitely worth a stop at the gift shop. (Like I said above) Plan to spend the whole day there.

Ecomare is an aquarium on the island of Texel in the Wadden Sea. I was pleasantly surprised by the…read moreinteractiveness of the aquarium. I thought all areas to be beautifully done and cleverly made. The children loved it and could have spend another hour just revisiting their favorites. Helpful tip: The preference is for the visitors to purchase tickets online. Listen to this advice as tickets are limited due to Covid restrictions.

Highly recommendable if you like to learn more about Tessels wildlife and nature…read more Fair entrance fee, good value for money.

I am beyond amazed that I get to see the actual Sunflower painting!! O.M.G!…read more I'm not posting any artwork here, because I don't want to take away anyone's experience. If I could go back to Amsterdam, I would definitely go back to this museum again. Yellow is such a joyful color. After visiting the museum, it has a deeper meaning to me. I went through entire museum floor by floor, showroom by showroom. Every corner has something that amazes me. I also got a chance to see how Van Gogh actually looked like! My goodness. I couldn't believe my eyes. A few tips: 1- you must make a reservation online ahead of time. I saw many people got turned away while I was waiting in line for security check. 1b- it's okay to be in line 15 minutes before your supposed arrival time. 2-it's best to buy the audio tour ticket along with the entrance fee instead of buying it on site. It was sold out when I got there. 3-there is a book store on the top floor, and you can actually take home a blank Sunflower coloring sheet for free! It's on an easel at the corner by the window.

TIP - order tickets ahead in time online to make sure you can get in on the day/time you want…read more A beautiful looking museum. Lots of Van Gogh art works to view and take in. Self guided tour comes with a player with headphones to that you can learn about the different Van Gogh art periods and works of art. Overall the museum was okay. You see a lot of Van Gogh art but not much about his life and world around him. I preferred the Rembrandt House as it showed his home and living arrangements - it gave you glimpse of his life at that time. I think the Rijks Museum would be a better choice to see a variety of artists.

Never quite seen so many music makers…read more There is a good kids attraction where they can do a scavenger hunt There is a guided tour that looks interesting Took about one hour for us to go through and feel like we were able to see everything

I seriously can't fathom why this museum is so poorly rated. This was probably my favorite museum…read moreon our trip. If you are going, make sure to take the TOUR. We made the 10:30am one. It's free and the young man, in addition to explaining what the automatons and musical instruments were and the history behind them, actually wound up all the ancient relics so you could see them in action. Some of this stuff is really old, which is mind boggling. Exceptional museum and so much fun (and I don't have children and am not a child!). A must-visit in Utrecht. Also, a separate note about Holland for those planning their trip. Utrecht and The Hague were our favorite cities. We found Amsterdam to be touristy and overrated. Delft is a nice day trip (20 minutes from The Hague) but don't go to the Delftware factory, it is a tourist trap. Skip Leiden: university town but not that interesting and not much in it.

A well laid out museum with a large collection of masterpieces from artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer…read moreand Ruebens. The famous Girl with the Pearl Earring is captivating but there are many others worth viewing. Check out the lower level and its presentation about how the museum dealt with occupation during WWII.

I'm not typically an art fan but as it houses some very famous paintings I decided it was a must…read moresee! It's well laid out and easy to move around even when it's busy. I recommend going when they open to avoid any crowds around the girl with the pearl earring. It was amazing to see The Bull in person. I never realised the scale of the paining but it's fast and incredible to see in person. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff and a fun gift shop if you're into trinkets and educational books. Well worth a visit, even if you're not a museum/art person.

From the owner: Het Marinemuseum laat bezoekers het verleden en het heden van de Nederlandse marine ervaren…read more Belangrijk onderdeel van het museum zijn de 3 museumschepen: de onderzeeboot Tonijn, het ramschip Schorpioen en de mijnenveger Abraham Crijnssen. Aan boord van de museumschepen is de geschiedenis van elk schip zichtbaar gemaakt. Aan boord vertellen oud-bemanningsleden prachtige verhalen. In de gebouwen van het Marinemuseum aan de wal zijn vaste en wisselende tentoonstellingen over de geschiedenis van de marine te zien. Een van de permanente tentoonstellingen is Schip en werf. Deze tentoonstelling is volledig gewijd aan techniek. Het brughuis De Ruyter is een van de nieuwste attracties van het museum. Hier ervaart het publiek de windkracht van de 3D-radar en krijgt op de brug een kijkje in het optreden van de Zeestrijdkrachten anno 2013. Jong en oud gaat zelf aan het werk in de interactieve expositie Schip en Werf waar men kan klinken, lassen, touwknopen, lading hijsen of het geschut bedienen. In het Marinemuseum zijn vaste en tijdelijke exposities te zien, zowel in gebouwen aan de wal als aan boord van de museumschepen. De collectie van het Marinemuseum is toegespitst op het cultuur-historisch erfgoed van de Nederlandse marine. De zeer diverse collectie omvat onder andere scheepsmodellen, schilderijen, prenten, wapens, uniformen, onderscheidingen, scheepssier, communicatieapparatuur en serviesgoed...

Loved this museum. It's a small museum but very interesting. It captures storytelling of Escher's…read morelife and how it is portrayed in his art. Loved how the rooms are laid out for this purpose as well. Good labeling on the pieces and useful to have the free audio tour accessible via phone.

Fantastic museum for any one who appreciates interesting art or is an Escher lover. The museum has…read morea QR code that you can scan which provides a free overview of the most popular prints. You can read or listen to the guide. This was very helpful in getting the background story on the art and covers the top 12. There are 2 floors of prints from Escher and artists who were inspired by him. No parking.

Lucky for us this museum was also opened on Monday. There's lot to see here. It's the first and…read moreoldest museum in the Netherlands. It's a museum of scientific data, manuscripts, fossils, minerals as well the home that the Museum was named after. We just meandered on our own there wasn't an official tour guide but there was lots to see. The museum is a homage to Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, who was a wealthy cloth merchant and banker of Scottish descent, who bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of religion, art, and science. It was the center for enlightenment study and education.

Very interesting and a multitude of displays, vintage instruments, paintings, coinage/medallions…read moreand many, many fossils and minerals. One could spend a whole day perusing the various collections.. Audio assist personalized speakers available in multi languages. Also has a nice, quiet inner courtyard with a small lunch menu available, very tasty sandwiches and more..

One of my favorite museums during my trip to the greater Amsterdam area!…read more The indoor museum exhibits were well maintained, laid out well, and had a good flow. The workers there were friendly and helpful. The outside section was huge! It's essentially an outdoor village that you can explore. There are farm animals like chickens, goats, and sheep wandering about. There are people working inside the village doing things like basketweaving, making fishing nets, etc so you can get a good idea of what life was like back then. I wish I had more time to explore. You could honestly spend the entire day here. Admission also includes a ferry ride to and from the Metro station. Check it out, it's worth a day trip from Amsterdam!

Excellent museum that consists of both the indoor portion and an outdoor area that consists of…read morehistorical buildings from a Zuiderzee village. I love that there are actual employees at many of the buildings within the village working on crafts from the time period. It felt really authentic and is great for all ages. There is also a free ferry provided by the museum that takes you directly from the train station to the village. The indoor exhibits are very engaging as well, flows well, and have a lot of interactive and colorful displays that make it perfect for kids to enjoy as well. Overall a visit to Zuiderzeemuseum is an excellent value and highly recommended if you're in the Netherlands.

Really awesome museum also known as the National Museum of Antiquities. Great museum for Egyptian…read morebuffs with lots of mummies and hieroglyphics. History goes through the Greeks in early middle ages. Plan to spend about 3 hours with the audio tour. Lots to see. They have a decent gift shop and cafe.

This Rijksmuseum location is MUCH smaller than Amsterdam's, but we were staying with friends in…read moreLeiden and visited it first. If we were not in Leiden because our expat friends live there, this museum would not have been on our radar at all. This museum is fairly low key and was NOT crowded on a Friday afternoon. Locker rentals are available to store coats/belongings and are included with the admission cost. For a small museum, there's a ton to see, and in two hours, we didn't make our way through everything. On our visit, they had an exhibition on the Year 1000, which was advertised throughout Leiden, and it was neat to learn about The Netherlands in the Middle Ages. The first floor is mostly Egyptian art which was also fascinating. From Amsterdam, the easiest way to get to Leiden is via train from Centraal station. If you want to explore a Dutch small town/college town, it's worth it to visit Leiden and check out the Rijksmuseum.