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Van Gogh Museum – tickets, prices, timings, guided tours, waiting time, paintings

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Van Gogh Museum is an art museum dedicated to the 19th-century painter Vincent Van Gogh and his contemporaries.

The museum’s permanent collection includes over 200 paintings by Vincent van Gogh, 500 drawings, and more than 750 letters.

With more than 2.5 million tourists annually, it is Amsterdam’s most visited museum.

This article covers everything you must know before booking Van Gogh Museum tickets.

What to expect at Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam traces Van Gogh’s artistic life and hosts the world’s largest collection of his work.

The museum’s artwork is displayed chronologically from the ground floor to Floor 3 and offers an intimate look into the life and mind of the artistic genius.

Besides Van Gogh’s paintings, you can also see some works by his contemporaries, including Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Monet.


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Where to book tickets

Tickets for the Van Gogh Museum 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 Van Gogh Museum 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.

Van Gogh Museum ticket prices

The self-guided Van Gogh Museum ticket is the cheapest and most popular ticket and costs €22 for all adults aged 18 years and above. 

Van Gogh Museum’s multimedia guide costs €4 for all visitors aged 18 and above, and for visitors aged 17 and younger, the multimedia guide costs €2.

Entry to the Van Gogh Museum is free for visitors up to 18 years, but you must mention them and get free tickets while booking.

The Van Gogh Museum Guided Tour ticket costs €126 for all visitors aged 18 and above, while the tickets cost €111 for children between the ages of 10 and 17, and for children below nine, the ticket costs €90.

The museum doesn’t offer discounts to seniors or students. 

If you hold the I Amsterdam Card, you qualify for a 100% discount on the Van Gogh Museum ticket. You can show your card and walk in!

Van Gogh Museum tickets

Van Gogh Museum tickets

In pic: Interestingly the Museum uses Van Gogh’s paintings on its tickets. Image – Adellbaker.com

Van Gogh Museum Skip the Line tickets

This ticket gives you skip-the-line access to the Van Gogh Museum. You don’t have to wait in the queue at the entrance.

With this ticket, you also get access to all temporary and permanent exhibitions in the museum.

You can upgrade the experience by opting for an audio guide at an additional cost of €2 to €3 per ticket.

There are time slots available every 15 minutes, starting from 9 am to 4.30 pm.

The audio guide is available in 10 languages.

While you can access the cloakroom onsite with this ticket, you won’t be able to keep large rucksacks and bags, wheeled suitcases, and items such as prams and folding bikes.

Ticket Prices

Adult Ticket (18+ years): €22
Child Ticket (up to 17 years): Free

Van Gogh Museum Guided Tour tickets

Van Gogh Museum Guided tour

A local art expert takes you around during this two-hour guided tour and shows Van Gogh’s masterpieces on display in the museum.

After the tour, you can stay on and enjoy the world’s most extensive collection of Van Gogh paintings.

You can opt for a small group tour (maximum of eight visitors) or a private one.

Ticket Prices

Small Group Tour

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

Private Tour

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

Van Gogh Museum combo tickets

Combos or bundles are a great way to save money – they are usually 10 to 15% cheaper than if you booked the experiences individually.

Another reason combo tours are popular among Amsterdam visitors is that the tourist attractions are nearby.

For instance, did you know that only 300 meters (985 feet) separate the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum.

Here are the most popular combo tours, which also include a visit to the Van Gogh Museum.

Van Gogh Museum Tickets Cost
Rijksmuseum + Van Gogh Museum €232
Van Gogh Museum + Canal Cruise €36

DISCOUNT ALERT
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.


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Van Gogh Museum multimedia guide

Van Gogh Museum is better explored with an art expert guiding you.

The museum’s multimedia guide is the next best thing after the Van Gogh Museum guided tour.

While booking your Van Gogh Museum tickets, you can book the guide as well. Or you can pick them up from the Multimedia Desk in the museum.

How to reach Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Museum is at the Museum Square in Amsterdam South’s borough, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. 

Address: Museumplein 6, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands. Get Directions

You can take public or private transport to the venue. 

Trams are the best way to reach Van Gogh Museum.

By Tram

You can take Tram 2, 5, or 12 and get down at Van Baerlestraat or take Trams 3, 5, or 12 and get off at Museumplein.

From both the stops, the art museum is less than five minutes of walk away. 

By Bus

You can also board bus number 347 or 357 and get down at the Museumplein stop, a five-minute walk from the museum.

By Car

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

If you plan to drive, you can use Van Gogh Museum’s parking at Q-Park, underneath Museumplein.

Opening hours of Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum stays open from 9 am to 6 pm on all days except Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm.

During the peak season of July to September, the Van Gogh Museum opens at 9 am and closes at 6 pm.

The last admission is 30 minutes before closing time.

Waiting times at Van Gogh Museum

With more than 2.5 million tourists visiting Van Gogh Museum every year, there is bound to be a queue at the ticket counter.

The time you spend in the queue will depend on the time and the day of the week.

9 am to 10 am: 15 minutes of waiting time on weekdays and more than 30-35 minutes on weekends.

10 am to 1 pm: Depending on the season and the weather, waiting time ranges between 90 minutes to 2 hours on weekends. On weekdays, it comes down to more than an hour.

1 pm to 3 pm: Most weekends, the waiting time during these hours is around 45 minutes or more. On weekdays, it is 30 minutes or so.

3 pm to 6 pm: Moderate crowd on Fridays and weekends with a waiting time of about 15-20 minutes. On other days if you are lucky, you may get your tickets in just ten minutes.

However, if you buy Van Gogh Museum tickets online, you can avoid these queues, save time, and walk right into the museum.

How long does the tour take

A complete tour of the Van Gogh Museum takes around one to two hours. If you’re an art enthusiast or want to examine the details of each artwork, you might spend more time in the museum.

However, real Van Gogh buffs are known to spend up to four hours exploring his paintings.

The art museum has four floors in the main building and three in the exhibition wing, with many stairs, so be ready for a lot of walking.

Best time to visit the Van Gogh Museum

The best time to reach the Van Gogh Museum is before 10 am. 

From 11 am, the Dutch art museum starts getting crowded, and till 3 pm, there are long lines at the entrance and the exhibits. 

If you can’t reach before 10 am, the next best time to visit Van Gogh Museum is after 3 pm.

Weekends are crowded, and waiting in the queues can take 90 minutes to two hours.

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

It is better to avoid Van Gogh Museum on rainy days – on bad weather days, all tourists land at the indoor attraction.

Van Gogh Museum map

Van Gogh Museum is colossal, and there is a lot to see – the trick is not getting lost and missing out on masterpieces. 

From the location of the stairs to the sections of paintings and letters, the museum map gives you an idea of every part of the Van Gogh Museum.

Having the Van Gogh Museum’s floor plan on your mobile is a convenient way of guiding yourself inside the museum.

DID YOU KNOW?
During his peak, Van Gogh worked on 900 paintings in 10 years – that’s one painting every four days. Unfortunately, during his lifetime, he managed to sell only one of his paintings. However, after his death, his paintings have been in massive demand. Portrait of Dr. Gachet even sold for as high as $148.6 million.


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Van Gogh Museum paintings

Every painting of Van Gogh is unique, but some are more special than others.

Van Gogh’s sources of inspiration and the depth of his paintings are worth understanding before you explore them in person.

Here are nine paintings you must not miss during your visit to the Van Gogh Museum.

1. The Potato Eaters

One of the most famous works of Van Gogh, ‘The Potato Eaters,’ was made between April – May 1885.

The painting was criticized back then due to its dark colors and imperfections, but its message is commendable.

The painting shows a group of working-class people having supper.

They have unhappy, bony faces painted in dusty colors like an unpeeled potato.

2. Sunflowers

Van Gogh painted ‘Sunflowers’ with just three shades of yellow and nothing else in 1888 and 1889.

Through this painting, he wanted to show that one can create artwork with various variations of a single color without losing articulacy.

As per Van Gogh, the painting communicated ‘gratitude.’

3. Almond Blossom

Almond trees are a symbol of life as they flower early in spring.

Vincent gifted the painting of the Almond Blossom to his brother and sister-in-law, who just had a baby.

Theo had promised his brother that his son would be named after Vincent.

Interestingly, it was Vincent Willem (son of Theo) who founded the Van Gogh Museum.

4. Garden with Courting Couples: Square Saint-Pierre

Van Gogh called this painting ‘the painting of the garden with lovers.’

It has couples romancing under chestnut trees in a park.

Vincent longed to get a wife and family, but unfortunately, he had complicated love affairs.

5. Self-portrait as a painter

Self portrait as a painter at Van Gogh Museum

The last work Van Gogh produced in Paris was his portrait as a painter with a palette and paintbrushes behind his easel.

In ‘Self-portrait as a Painter,’ he used bright, unblended colors to show himself as a modern artist.

Paris had exhausted him physically and mentally, so he painted himself sad in the painting.

Image: Vangoghmuseum.nl

6. The Yellow House

The Yellow House painting was that of the house in which Van Gogh finally moved in.

It was his dream home where like-minded painters could come, live and work with him.

A friend of his lived near the railway bridge shown in the painting.

He also painted the restaurant close to this house where he would often eat.

7. The Bedroom

Van Gogh had prepared his room in the Yellow house with simple furniture and his paintings adorning the walls.

While painting ‘The Bedroom,’ Van Gogh used bright colors, which have discolored over the years and thus look contrasting.

To resemble a Japanese print, he had flattened the interior and missed out on the shadows. He liked this painting a lot.

8. Irises

Van Gogh painted ‘Irises,’ in 1890, while in the psychiatric hospital Saint-Rémy.

For him, the painting was mainly a study of color.

He set out a powerful color contrast by placing purple flowers against a yellow background, making the flowers stand out even more strongly.

Now, the color has faded to turn blue.

9. Wheatfield with Crows

This painting, in which he painted a stormy sky with crows and a dead-end path, is claimed to be one of his very last works.

The dead-end path made many people claim that he was referring to his approaching death.

Through this painting, he expressed sadness and extreme loneliness along with the healthy and fortifying side of the countryside.


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FAQs about the Van Gogh Museum

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Van Gogh Museum.

Is photography allowed in the Van Gogh Museum?

Photography for personal use is generally allowed in most museum areas, but using flash, tripods, or selfie sticks is prohibited.

Are guided tours available at the Van Gogh Museum?

The museum offers guided tours and self-guided tours as well. Audio guides and informative brochures are also available for visitors.

Is there a cafe or restaurant inside the Van Gogh museum?

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

Is the museum accessible to people with disabilities?

The Van Gogh Museum is accessible to all visitors. Facilities and services for disabled people, including wheelchair access and accessible restrooms, are available.

Is there a specific order in which to view the museum’s collections?

The Van Gogh Museum is designed to be self-guided, and there’s no strict order. However, you can start with the introductory sections on Van Gogh’s life and then explore his works chronologically to understand his artistic development better.

Sources
# Vangoghmuseum.nl
# Wikipedia.org
# Britannica.com
# Amsterdam.info

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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