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Rijksmuseum – tickets, prices, discounts, hours, guided tours

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Rijksmuseum is 800 years of Dutch art and history in one place.

The art museum displays around 8000 paintings, portraits, sculptures, weapons, clothes, dolls, etc. in its 80 galleries.

With around 2.5 million tourists visiting Rijksmuseum every year, it is the most visited museum in the Netherlands.

This article covers everything you must know before booking tickets for Rijksmuseum.

What to expect at Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum is the best place to see some of the masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age.

Even though the art museum has more than one million works of art in its collection, it is most famous for its fantastic collection of paintings.

Masterpieces by Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Franz Hals, Jan Willem Pieneman, Van Gogh, etc., are on display.

The Night Watch, The Milkmaid, Marriage portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen, The Threatened Swan, Battle of Waterloo, etc., are some of the most famous paintings on display.

Rijksmuseum Tickets Cost
Self-guided Rijksmuseum Ticket €24
Guided tour of Rijksmuseum €69
Private Guided Tour €540
I amsterdam City Card €60

Where to book tickets

Tickets for Rijksmuseum can be purchased online or in person at the attraction.

Online ticket prices tend to be cheaper than tickets at the attraction.

When you buy online, you can avoid the long queues at the ticket counters.

When you book early, you also get your preferred time slot.

Because some attractions sell a limited number of tickets, during peak days they may sell out. Booking early helps avoid last-minute disappointments.

How do online tickets work

Visit the Rijksmuseum ticket booking page, select your preferred date, time slot, and number of tickets, and buy the tickets right away.

After making the purchase, you will receive the tickets in your email.

Ticket printouts are not required.

You can enter the attraction by showing the e-ticket on your smartphone.

Rijksmuseum ticket prices

The self-guided Rijksmuseum ticket is the cheapest and most popular ticket and costs €24 for all adults 19 years and older. 

Entry to Rijksmuseum is free for kids 18 years and below, but you must mention them and get free tickets while booking.

The Rijksmuseum Guided Tour ticket costs €69 for all visitors aged 18 and above.

Children between the ages of four and 17 get a discount of €20 and pay only €40 for each ticket, while children below four can get tickets at €3.

Rijksmuseum tickets

You can book three types of experiences at Rijksmuseum: self-guidedguided tours, or private guided tours.

Self-guided Rijksmuseum ticket

This Rijksmuseum general admission ticket is the cheapest and the most popular among tourists and locals. 

This ticket gives you complete access to the permanent collection in the museum and has a one-day validity.

You can even get out of the museum and get back in.

Ticket Prices

Adult Ticket (19+ years): €24
Child Ticket (up to 18 years): Free

Guided tour of Rijksmuseum

This is also a skip-the-line ticket and is quite popular among tourists visiting art museums regularly.

An art expert takes you through Dutch art history during this two-hour guided museum tour.

The guide ensures you don’t miss the masterpieces and narrates interesting stories and anecdotes to spice up your visit.

The group size is limited to 10 adults for an immersive tour.

After the tour, you can continue to hang around the museum for as long as you want.

Ticket Prices

Adult Ticket (18+ years): €69
Youth Ticket (4 to 17 years): €40
Child Ticket (up to 3 years): €13

Private tour of Rijksmuseum

If you are an art enthusiast, a private tour of Rijksmuseum is the best way to explore the magnificent masterpieces of Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, etc.

The experienced art expert guide will explain the technical aspects of the paintings and discuss the hidden meanings of some of the works.

You can opt for a semi-private tour (small group of up to eight visitors) or a private tour on the booking page. Prices vary accordingly. 

The private tour is available in French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, English and Portuguese.

The semi-private tour is only available in English.

Semi-private tour in English

Adult Ticket (18+ years): €126
Youth Ticket (10 to 17 years): €111
Child Ticket (up to 9 years): €90

Private tour in English

Adult Ticket (18+ years): €540
Youth Ticket (10 to 17 years): €111
Child Ticket (up to 9 years): €90

Visual Story: 10 must-know tips before visiting Rijksmuseum

How to reach Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum.

Address: Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands. Get Directions

You can reach Rijksmuseum via both public and private transport.

Amsterdam is car-friendly, but we recommend you use public transport to reach Rijksmuseum.

By Tram

Trams 2, 5, and 12 can get you closer to Rijksmuseum.

Tram 2 takes you from Amsterdam Central Station to the Rijksmuseum tram stop.

Tram 5 goes from Zuid Station to the Rijksmuseum tram stop.

Tram 12 takes you to Amstel Station to the Rijksmuseum tram stop.

From the Rijksmuseum tram stop, the museum is a five-minute walk.

By Bus

Rijksmuseum is also accessible by regional buses.

Buses N22, N26, and N88 can take you from Leidseplein to the Rijksmuseum bus stop.

Bus number 397 gets you from Schiphol Amsterdam Airport to Rijksmuseum.

By Car

If you’re traveling by car, turn on Google Maps and get started.

There are ample car parking spots available.

Opening hours of Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum opens at 9 am and closes at 5 pm throughout the year.

The last entry is at 4.30 pm when the Rijksmuseum ticket desk closes.

The Rijksmuseum Gardens, Rijks Shop, and Rijks Café remain open for visitors from 9 am to 6 am and can be accessed without tickets.

How long does the tour take

Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait at Rijksmuseum
Art lovers in front of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait. Image: Stale Grut

Rijksmuseum recommends spending at least five hours to see all the exhibits at the art museum, but if you want to focus only on the masterpieces, you can finish your tour in two to three hours.

Art experts believe that after two hours, art fatigue sets in. So they recommend taking a quick break to recharge at one of the cafes.

Best time to visit the Rijksmuseum

Visitors at Rijksmuseum
Three girls watching a Rembrandt in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Image: Christian Fregnan

The best time to visit Rijksmuseum is when it opens at 9 am.

The next best time to visit Rijksmuseum is after 3 pm because the large group tours would have all left by then.

If you enter the Art Museum at 3 pm, you get a maximum of two hours to explore the museum because it closes at 5 pm.

Rijksmuseum is most crowded between 11 am and 3 pm.

Peak season

During the peak tourist months of May to September, Rijksmuseum gets crowded, and visitors wait in the ticket lines for even an hour.

If you prefer a less crowded experience, consider visiting during weekdays and avoid weekends and public holidays.

You must skip rainy days to avoid waiting in long lines, for everybody lands up at this indoor attraction.

However, if you book your tickets online, you can skip these long lines at the ticket counter in advance.

The Amsterdam Pass includes tickets to Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, a 1-hour canal cruise, and unlimited rides on Amsterdam’s public transport system for 48 hours. You also get a 10% discount code, which you can use (five times!) to get discounts on future purchases.

Waiting time at the Rijksmuseum

When you visit the Rijksmuseum, you must queue up at two lines.

The first waiting line is at the ticketing counter, and depending on the day and the season, you may have to wait anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour.

We suggest you buy Rijksmuseum tickets online to avoid this waiting (and save some energy for exploring the art museum).

If you have already booked your tickets in advance, you can directly queue up at the second waiting line – to get inside the Museum.

Visitors can’t skip the second queue, but the good news is it moves fast.

Rijksmuseum’s audio guide

Visitors who want to know more about the exhibits can book a physical audio guide device for €5 per person at the venue.

Or you can download the art museum’s mobile app for Android or iPhone

The app has 90-minute tours in Dutch, Dutch Sign Language, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.

The mobile app tours are the same as those on the audio guide available for hire in the museum.

If you forget to bring your headphones, you can purchase one at the museum.

Save money with unlimited free travel in Amsterdam – on buses, trams, trains, and ferries. Buy Amsterdam Travel Ticket

Famous paintings

If you are short on time, the best way to explore Rijksmuseum is by focusing on the masterpieces.

Of course, it isn’t easy to choose the best because every exhibit makes it to the museum only when it is worthwhile.

Here is our list of the most popular paintings in Rijksmuseum.

The Night Watch

It was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1642. The Night Watch was Rembrandt’s most famous painting during his period.

It is an oil painting on canvas of 12 inches by 14 inches.

The Milkmaid

Johannes Vermeer painted the Milkmaid between the years 1658 and 1660.

The painting shows a typical kitchen maid pouring milk from a jar.

Marriage portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen

This 1622 painting by Franz Hals is an unusual portrait by 17th-century standards.

First, it was rare to show the sitters smiling, and second, it was unusual for a couple to be sitting so close to each other in public.

The Threatened Swan

The Threatened Swan was the first acquisition of Nationale Kunstgalerlj (the museum that became Rijksmuseum).

That’s why, in a way, the painting became the symbol of the Dutch national resistance.

Jan Asselijn painted The Threatened Swan in 1650.

Battle of Waterloo

Jan Willem Pieneman painted the Battle of Waterloo in 1824.

The painting depicts the Duke of Wellington, who receives the message that Prussian forces are coming to his aid.

Interior with a woman beside a lenin cupboard

In ‘Interior with woman beside a lenin cupboard’, Pieter de Hooch depicts two contrasting views of the world – the outdoors and the interior.

This 1663 painting is approximately 28 inches (2 ft) by 30 inches (2.9 ft) – relatively bigger than the rest.

Winter landscape with ice skaters

Hendrick Avercamp painted Winter Landscape With Ice Skaters in 1608, and it went on to become one of his most successful artworks.

The painting has many characters and incidents, so that visitors can explore them all.

Early self-portrait of Rembrandt

Rembrandt van Rijn painted this in 1628 when he was only 22.

Interestingly, when the paint was still wet, Rembrandt is known to have used the butt end of his brush and made scratches to accentuate the curls of his tousled hair.

Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem

Rembrandt van Rijn painted Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem in 1630.

The focus of the painting is on Jeremiah’s sorrow after the king is blinded and Jerusalem is set on fire.

Portrait of Lizzie Ansingh

Therese Schwartze painted Portrait of Lizzie Ansingh in 1902.

This was an informal portrait of Schwartze’s niece and fellow painter, Lizzie Ansingh.

Portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham

Anthonius Mor created Portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham and his wife over five years – from 1560 to 1565.

Mor depicts the famous English merchant alongside his wife, Lady Anne Fernely, in a companion portrait.

The Merry Family

Jan Steen created the painting called ‘The Merry Family’ with many characters in 1668.

In this famous piece of art, he depicts a family drinking alcohol together.

He wanted to warn the viewers about the dangers of immorality.

Rijksmuseum’s map

If you have booked a guided tour of Rijksmuseum, you don’t need a map.

However, if you don’t have a guide to take you around, you must get a map.

The Rijksmuseum is divided into various sections, zones, and floors, mostly depending on the painting’s year of creation.

For a first-time visitor, the massive art museum can be confusing.

A map of Rijksmuseum can help visitors save time and find amenities such as washrooms, cafes, and souvenir shops.

Download Rijksmuseum floor plan

FAQs about Rijksmuseum

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Rijksmuseum.

Can I give my Rijksmuseum Amsterdam ticket to someone else?

Yes, you can offer the tickets to other persons as they are not labeled.

Is the museum accessible to people with disabilities?

The Rijksmuseum is accessible for all visitors. It provides facilities and services for disabled people, including wheelchair access and accessible restrooms.

Is photography allowed in the Rijksmuseum?

Photography for personal use is permitted in museum, but flash, tripods, or selfie sticks are often prohibited.

What is the best way to explore Rijksmuseum?

You can explore the museum through the Rijksmuseum’s free app. With 14 different multimedia tours and many beautiful routes created by visitors with Rijksstudio, the app is perfect for discovering the museum and its collection.

Is there a cafe or restaurant inside the museum?

The Rijksmuseum has a cafe and a restaurant where you can enjoy a meal, snack, or coffee during your visit.

Does the Rijksmuseum have a shop?

You can find a large shop inside the Rijksmuseum and a smaller store in the Teekenschool next to the museum. The Rijksmuseum shop includes accessories, art posters, wall decorations, ritual products, books, toys, gifts, prints, and much more, all inspired by the art collection of the Rijksmuseum. 

Sources
# Rijksmuseum.nl
# Wikipedia.org
# Artsandculture.google.com
# Lonelyplanet.com

The travel specialists at TheBetterVacation.com use only high-quality sources while researching & writing their articles. We make every attempt to keep our content current, reliable and trustworthy.

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This article was researched & written by

Edited by Rekha Rajan & fact checked by Jamshed V Rajan

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