Museums in Amsterdam with Free Entry for Children

Are you planning to visit Amsterdam with children? The following is a listing of museums in Amsterdam that give children and young adults free entry.

As you will see below, there is a wide discrepancy of age ranges for museums offering free entrance. By careful planning you could potentially save a significant amount of money.

Amsterdam has a wide-range of museums that can provide visual, historical and educational stimulus for kids as well as plenty of fun activities.

There are 8 museums which give free entrance to those aged 17 and under – Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk, EYE Film, Huis Marseille, Luther Museum, the Royal Palace, Van Gogh Museum and Willet-Holthuysen Museum. These could be the ones to target if you are on a tight budget.

There are a further 7 museums offering free entry up to 12 years old including the ARTIS Groote Museum, ARTIS Micropia, Diamond Museum, FOAM and STRAAT Museum.

It should be noted that the museums and attractions that are of particular special interest to children – such as NEMO Science Museum, ARTIS Zoo and Johan Cruyff ArenA – only allow very young children free entry.

If you wish to visit some of these it may be worth investing in an I Amsterdam City Card for you and your child(ren) – this offers free entry to most of Amsterdam’s main museums and attractions and we have marked this in the table below. You can get value from this card but only if you plan to visit multiple museums.

Alternatively, the GO City card offers a children’s version of their card – however the selection of attractions is less than the I Amsterdam card.

Most attractions + city transport	Includes children’s version	Includes Van Gogh Museum
I amsterdam City Card	GO City Amsterdam All-Inclusive Pass	Tiqets Amsterdam Digital Pass
1/2/3/4/5 days	1/2/3/5 days	package deal
€65 – €135	€59 – €119	€62
70 attractions + transport + canal cruise + bike rental	Over 25 attractions/tours + canal cruise + bike rental	Rijksmuseum + Van Gogh Museum + canal cruise
excludes Anne Frank House / Van Gogh Museum / tours	excludes Anne Frank House / Van Gogh Museum / transport	excludes any other attractions
Book here	Book here	Book here

Dutch residents should certainly invest in a Museumkaart for themselves and their children. Since this card is valid on an annual basis it is easy to get good value. Note, this card is difficult for non-residents to purchase.

Many Amsterdam museums offer special activities (such as treasure hunts) for children.

Also note that 3 museums have a separate children’s section – the Resistance Museum Junior, the Tropenmuseum Junior and the Jewish Museum Junior.

Free Child Entrance to Museums in Amsterdam (with age range)

IAMS = I Amsterdam City Card / MK = Museumkaart

With many museums now charging €20-€25 it certainly makes sense to plan your itinerary in advance and take advantage of the more generous free entry policies.

Last updated 30 March 2023. This article was first published in 2013 and has been regularly updated.