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Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's best known attraction is the Van Gogh Museum on Museumplein located in the pleasant Museum Quarter district of the city. The museum houses the world's largest collection of paintings by infamous Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh who lived between 1853 and 1890 - which makes it a "must-see" for visitors to Amsterdam. |
The Van Gogh museum originally opened in 1973 having been designed by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld, who died before it was built. Over 3 levels it contains a permanent collection of Van Gogh's paintings, drawings and letters plus some paintings from other 19th century artists.
The Van Gogh paintings are divided in sections - from early work in Netherlands (including The Potato Eaters from 1885), his move to Paris and then the more colourful South of France period which includes The Yellow House 1888 and the iconic Sunflowers 1889.
The modern new wing was added in 1999, designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa - this is used for special exhibitions and is accessible by going down the escalators on the ground floor.
The Van Gogh museum is extremely popular with visitors and there are always long queues to get in. One of the major advantages of holding a Museumkaart is that you get immediate entry with no queuing. Alternatively you should consider buying your tickets online (€ 3.50 booking fee applies) which will also allow you to jump the queue.
The galleries themselves are also very busy so you may require some patience to get up close to the paintings.
There is a cafe (with free wifi) and large shop on the ground floor.
 | The museum is open daily between 1000 and 1800. Friday is late night opening until 2200. (Ticket office shuts 30 minutes before museum closing). Admission costs €14 for adults, while under 17s, Museumkaart and IAmsterdam card holders get free entry. |
Audio tours (9 languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Mandarin) and PDA hand-held computer multimedia tours (English and Dutch) are available for €5 each. Kids (recommended ages 6-10) can try their hand at the "Treasure Hunt" activity sheet available free at the information desk. There is a children's audio tour (English and Dutch) which costs €2.50. Children's workshops can also be organised.
Guided tours by art historians can be arranged by contacting cultural bureau ARTTRA at +31(0)20 625 9303.
Museumplein can be easily reached on foot (about 10 minutes walk from Leidseplein). From Central Station you can take Tram 2 or 5 and get out at Van Baerlestraat. The Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk museums (under renovation) are close by.
Van Gogh Museum,
Paulus Potterstraat 7, MuseumPlein, Amsterdam
T: +31(0)20 570 5200
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