Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Rijksmuseum
The Netherlands' national museum: The Night Watch, Vermeer and 800 years of Dutch history.
Checked 7 October 2026
The Rijksmuseum on Amsterdam's Museumplein is the home of Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's Milkmaid and around 8,000 works of Dutch art and history. Every visitor needs a ticket with a start time, booked on rijksmuseum.nl, and that includes Museumkaart and City Card holders who get in free. Adults pay €25, everyone 18 and under is free, and paid tickets cannot be refunded, only moved to another date.
About Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands: art and history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with the Dutch Golden Age at its heart. Around 8,000 objects are on show, from Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen to Delftware, ship models, weapons, fashion and Asian art, and four paintings by Van Gogh, including a self-portrait.
The museum was founded in The Hague in 1798 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, first into the Royal Palace on the Dam and later the Trippenhuis. Its present home, a red-brick palace by Pierre Cuypers (who also designed Centraal Station), opened in 1885. After a ten-year renovation it reopened in April 2013.
The building is part of the visit. A public passage runs right through the middle of it, used by pedestrians and by a steady stream of cyclists; both museum entrances are inside it. Upstairs, the Gallery of Honour leads like a church nave to The Night Watch, and off a side gallery you can look down into the Cuypers Library, the museum's 19th-century research library.
Right now The Night Watch is the subject of Operation Night Watch, the largest research and restoration project in the painting's history. Conservators work on it in a glass chamber in the gallery, in full view of visitors: in 2026 they are removing old layers of varnish, swab by swab under the microscope.
What to see
The Night Watch and Operation Night Watch
Rembrandt's 1642 group portrait of a militia company fills the end wall of the Gallery of Honour on the second floor. It stays on view during the restoration, inside a glass chamber where conservators are removing old varnish in front of the public. The glass keeps the crowd a step back, which at busy times actually makes it easier to see. Go first thing: as the morning goes on this becomes the most crowded room in the museum.
Gallery of Honour: Vermeer, Hals, Steen
The long hall leading to The Night Watch holds the museum's best-known Golden Age paintings, among them Vermeer's Milkmaid, Rembrandt's Jewish Bride, Jan Asselijn's Threatened Swan and Jan Steen's lively family scenes. If you only have an hour, this floor is the one to see. From 9 October 2026 to 17 January 2027 two paintings by Willem de Kooning hang close to The Night Watch.
Cuypers Library
The largest and oldest art-history library in the Netherlands. Museum visitors see it from a viewing gallery on level 2, reached through a side gallery and a glass door marked 'Bibliotheek'. Photos are allowed from the gallery; reading-room use is for researchers who reserve a desk.
Van Gogh in the Rijksmuseum
The museum owns four paintings by Van Gogh, including one of his self-portraits, which surprises visitors who assume all his work is next door at the Van Gogh Museum.
17th-century dolls' houses
Intricate 17th-century dolls' houses, furnished in miniature, that show the inside of a wealthy Golden Age household. They are a favourite stop on guided tours and with children.
Rijksmuseum Gardens (free)
The gardens around the building are free to walk into and open 9:00–18:00, with an outdoor sculpture show each year. The museum's pages disagree on the season: one says the gardens open in summer only, the FAQ gives no season. Until 25 October 2026 they hold thirteen large steel sculptures by Carel Visser, some up to eight metres tall.
Willem de Kooning at work (9 Oct 2026 – 17 Jan 2027)
A major retrospective of the Rotterdam-born painter's drawings, over 120 works across 65 years, with paintings and sculptures, in the Philips Wing. It is included in the €25 ticket, but you need to choose an exhibition start time when booking; you see the exhibition first, then the permanent collection. An audio tour costs €6.50 extra.
Rijksmuseum tickets: which to buy and where
Buy the €25 adult ticket on rijksmuseum.nl and pick a start time; under-18s are free but still need a ticket. Museumkaart, I amsterdam City Card and other free-entry holders must also book a start time, using the free options in the same shop. Paid tickets are non-refundable, and if you arrive after your 15-minute entry window the museum cannot help you.
The official ticket site
Rijksmuseum
The official shop is on the museum's own domain, rijksmuseum.nl (the page is titled 'Official ticket shop with cheapest entry tickets'). It sells adult tickets, free under-18 tickets, Museumkaart and EYCA tickets and a free 'other admissions' option for City Card and other pass holders. Up to 15 tickets per order, of which 5 for under-18s; tickets are not tied to a name. Payment is cashless throughout the museum.
Adult ticket with start time
€25; 18 and under free
Official ticketsSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Permanent collection and the current exhibition (choose an exhibition start time when booking). Stay until closing; no re-entry once you leave. Security and bag rules still apply.
- Best for
- Almost everyone
Official site · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)EYCA or CJP youth card ticket
€12.50 (EYCA, in the official shop; the museum's prices page says €11.25 for CJP and EYCA)
Official ticketsSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Same as the adult ticket, at half price for holders of a European Youth Card (EYCA) or Dutch CJP card; bring the card.
- Best for
- Young visitors who already hold an EYCA card
Official site · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)Museumkaart (Dutch Museum Card) booking
Free with the card; the card costs €75 adults, €39 under 19
Official ticketsSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Free entry, but you must still book a start time in the official shop and bring the card. Visitors can buy a temporary paper Museumkaart at participating museums: valid at once for up to 5 visits within 31 days, then registered online to become a year card.
- Best for
- Visitors seeing four or more Dutch museums, or EU residents who will be back within a year
Official site (booking); Museumkaart foundation (card) · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)I amsterdam City Card
from €67 (24 hours, adult); €140 for 5 days
ResellerSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- Free Rijksmuseum entry plus public transport, a canal cruise and over 70 museums and attractions. Book your Rijksmuseum start time in the official shop under 'Other free or reduced admissions'. The Van Gogh Museum is not included.
- Best for
- Busy sightseeing days that also use trams and a canal cruise
I amsterdam (city marketing) · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)Rijksmuseum Entry Ticket (reseller)
from €27
ResellerSkips the ticket line
- Includes
- The same timed museum entry, plus free cancellation up to 24 hours before (official tickets cannot be refunded). The €6.50 multimedia tour is not included.
- Best for
- Visitors whose plans may change and who want the refund option for €2 more
GetYourGuide (an official sales partner of the museum) · as of October 2026See this ticket → (opens in a new tab)
How to buy
- Go to rijksmuseum.nl/en/tickets and choose your tickets: adults €25, 18 and under free, or the free Museumkaart / 'other admissions' options if you hold a pass.
- Pick a date and start time. If you also want the temporary exhibition, choose its start time too: you see the exhibition first, then the rest of the museum.
- Pay by card, keep the e-ticket on your phone (no need to print) and arrive within your slot: you can enter up to 15 minutes after the time on the ticket, and a little early is usually fine.
- Can't make it? Paid tickets are not refunded, but you can ask to move them to another date or time, free, through the contact form at least 48 hours ahead.
Look-alike sites
The official shop is www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/tickets, on the museum's own domain. The museum names its official sales partners as GetYourGuide, Musement, Tours & Tickets, Blue Boat, the I amsterdam City Card, Go City, the museum shop on Museumplein, ANWB and Stadspas; buy anywhere else and the museum gives no guarantee. Search ads and ticket portals with 'Rijksmuseum' in the name often charge more for the same €25 slot or bundle in an audio guide you can get for free in the museum app. Next door, the Van Gogh Museum warns that criminals are active and that platforms other than its official ones may sell fraudulent tickets for it: the same caution applies here, so check the domain before you pay.
We can never guarantee a ticket seller, tour company or deal. Prices, opening hours and what is included change, often without notice: check the details on the seller’s own page before you pay, and book through the official site where you can. How to avoid ticket scams · Disclaimer.
Guided tours of Rijksmuseum
Most visitors do fine on their own with the free Rijksmuseum app and its audio stories. The museum's own one-hour 'Best of' tour at €7.50 on top of your ticket is the cheapest guided option by far. A platform tour at €75 or more makes sense only if you want a longer, story-led walk in another language or a meeting point outside with tickets handled for you.
Official guided tour
The Best of the Rijksmuseum
Rijksmuseum
Daily, in English, for ages 16 and up. Starts at the Information Desk. Covers The Night Watch, The Jewish Bride and other favourites, and the guide takes requests. Book entrance tickets first, then the tour time. No cancellation after payment; date changes up to a week before.
€7.50 per person, plus entrance
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)Private guided tour
Private tour
Rijksmuseum
Same route with your own museum guide; book at least 14 days ahead. Tours for blind, low-vision, deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors and visitors with special needs cost €30 instead of €125.
€125 per tour (up to 15 people), plus entrance
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)App / audio guide
Rijksmuseum app and multimedia tour
Rijksmuseum
The free app has hundreds of audio stories and routes, including a one-hour highlights route; there is free Wi-Fi in the museum. Visitors without a smartphone can rent a device at the museum, and the exhibition audio tour can be added when booking.
App free; multimedia device or exhibition audio tour €6.50
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)Small-group guided tour with ticket
Rijksmuseum Guided Tour incl. Entrance Ticket
360 Amsterdam (sold on GetYourGuide)Amsterdam-based tour company. Meet outside Cobra Café on Museumplein (Hobbemastraat 18); the guide hands out tickets. Golden Age focus: The Night Watch, Rembrandt portraits, dolls' houses, the Cuypers Library. Several languages; free cancellation up to 24 hours. Late arrivals cannot join. The company also runs a semi-private Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum combination (max 8 people, 5.5 hours) on its own site.
from €75 (ticket included)
See this tour → (opens in a new tab)
We can never guarantee a ticket seller, tour company or deal. Prices, opening hours and what is included change, often without notice: check the details on the seller’s own page before you pay, and book through the official site where you can. How to avoid ticket scams · Disclaimer.
Rijksmuseum deals and discounts
The official €25 ticket is the best buy for a single visit, and everyone 18 and under gets in free. The real savings are the Museumkaart if you see several Dutch museums, or the I amsterdam City Card if you also use trams and a canal cruise the same day.
Free for 18 and under
Everyone aged 18 and under gets in free, but still needs a free ticket with a start time (up to 5 per order).
Museumkaart: €75 for a year of Dutch museums
Free entry to the Rijksmuseum and over 500 Dutch museums for a year (under 19: €39). Visitors buy a temporary card at a participating museum, valid for 5 visits within 31 days; register it online to get the year card sent to an EU address. The digital card is for EU residents only. With the Rijksmuseum (€25) and the Van Gogh Museum (€25) both free on it, it pays off from about three big museums. You still book a start time.
I amsterdam City Card
From €67 for 24 hours (adult), with free Rijksmuseum entry, public transport, a canal cruise and many other museums. Worth it only on a packed day: the Van Gogh Museum is not on it.
Half price with EYCA or CJP
Holders of the European Youth Card (EYCA) or the Dutch CJP card pay half price: €12.50 in the official shop and the FAQ, but €11.25 on the museum's prices page. Expect to pay what the shop shows.
Free: the gardens, and the shop and café after 17:00
The museum gardens and their sculpture show are free (9:00–18:00; one museum page says summer only). Between 17:00 and 18:00 you can walk into the Atrium shop and café without a ticket.
Free companion for disabled visitors
Visitors who cannot get around the museum on their own may bring a companion for free; book the companion a free ticket with a start time under 'other valid admission ticket'.
Best time to visit Rijksmuseum
Book the 9:00 slot, queue in the Passage from about 8:30–8:45 and go straight up to The Night Watch on level 2: for the first 15 minutes or so you may have it almost to yourself, while tour groups start on the lower floors. The museum says it is quietest before 11:00 and after 15:30.
Tuesday and Wednesday are the quietest days; weekends and Dutch school holidays the busiest. The museum is open every day of the year, holidays included, from 9:00 to 17:00, and there are no late evenings.
Tickets rarely sell out far ahead: in summer 2026 same-day slots, even early ones, were still on sale. Book further ahead for a blockbuster exhibition, or if you want one specific morning slot in high season.
Tips and tricks
Gathered from travel forums, locals and the sight’s own advice, rewritten in our own words. What worked for others, not a guarantee.
See The Night Watch first, the rest after
With the first slot, head straight for the Gallery of Honour and The Night Watch, then work down through the building. Even with timed tickets the Gallery of Honour gets very crowded later in the day.
From Rick Steves Netherlands forum, 2026
Leave the backpack at the hotel
Only handbags up to A4 size are allowed inside. Backpacks and umbrellas go into the free cloakroom, but there is no space for suitcases, folding bikes or large bags: use the Lockerpoint on Museumplein.
From Rijksmuseum cloakroom page, 2026
You cannot pop out and come back
Once inside you can stay until closing, but you may not leave and come back in on the same ticket. Eat in the café in the Atrium, or have lunch before you go in.
From Rijksmuseum FAQ, 2026
Book the exhibition slot when you buy your ticket
A standard ticket does not let you into the temporary exhibition without a separate (free) exhibition start time. If you forgot, add one in the shop under 'I already have a ticket/voucher'.
From Rijksmuseum ticket info, 2026
Download the app at home
The free Rijksmuseum app has hundreds of audio stories and short routes, so you don't need to rent the €6.50 multimedia device. Bring headphones; there is free Wi-Fi inside.
From Rijksmuseum visit page, 2026
Look down into the library
Many visitors walk past the Cuypers Library. It's on level 2: walk through the side gallery and look for the glass door marked 'Bibliotheek'. Photos are fine from the gallery, without flash.
From Third Eye Traveller, 2025; Rijksmuseum FAQ, 2026
No flash, no selfie sticks
Photos and sketching with pencil are allowed, but no flash and no selfie sticks. Some rooms have a quiet rule; guides tell their groups where.
From Rijksmuseum FAQ and GetYourGuide product page, 2026
Late? Your slot is gone
Your ticket lets you in up to 15 minutes after the time printed on it. If you are later than that, the museum says it cannot help, so allow time for trams and the security check.
From Rijksmuseum ticket info, 2026
How to get to Rijksmuseum
- Address: Museumstraat 1, on Museumplein. Both entrances are inside the Passage, the arcade under the building; coming from Museumplein they are on your left.
- From Centraal Station: tram 2, 5 or 24 to the Museumplein or Rijksmuseum stop. Or take metro 52 to Vijzelgracht, then walk under 10 minutes. From Amstel station, tram 12; from Zuid, tram 5.
- On foot: the museum is about a 10-minute walk from the canals and shopping streets, and about 20 minutes from the Anne Frank House.
- By car: cars cannot reach the entrance. Use the Q-Park Museumplein garage (Van Baerlestraat 33b) or, cheaper, a P+R site: from P+R ArenA take the metro to Weesperplein and tram 7 to Spiegelgracht. Drop-off is at the kiss & ride on the corner of Jan Luijkenstraat and Stadhouderskade, about 100 m from the entrance.
Scams and problems to watch for
Marked-up tickets on look-alike sites
Ticket portals and search ads use the museum's name and sell the same €25 timed ticket at a markup, or bundle it with an 'audio guide' that the free app already gives you. The official shop is rijksmuseum.nl/en/tickets; the museum publishes its list of official sales partners. The Van Gogh Museum next door warns that platforms other than its official resellers may sell fraudulent tickets for its own visits.
Walking in the cycle lane
The Passage through the museum is a busy public cycle route, and the bike lanes around Museumplein carry fast, silent traffic. Don't stand in them to take photos, and look both ways before crossing. Cyclists have priority and accidents are serious.
Pickpockets on trams 1, 2 and 5
The Canadian government's travel advice names trams 1, 2 and 5 between Centraal Station and the museum district as places where pickpockets work, often in teams where one person distracts you (spilling something, asking for directions) while another takes your wallet. Keep phones and wallets in front pockets, especially when getting on and off.
Fake 'plain-clothes police'
The Canadian government's travel advice reports people posing as plain-clothes police officers in the Netherlands who ask foreigners to 'verify' their documents or foreign currency, then rob them. Its advice: politely decline and offer to go to the nearest police station instead.
Accessibility
The whole museum is accessible by wheelchair and mobility scooter, with lifts to all floors, but the lift in the KPN Wing is too small for large scooters (staff will route you through the 19th-century wing). Of the two entrances in the Passage, the one with a lift is on the left as you come from Museumplein, and security staff will direct you there; the other has 20 steps. Wheelchairs, walkers, canes, strollers and folding chairs can be borrowed free at the Information Desk, which also has an accessibility map. There are accessible toilets and an adult changing place, and assistance dogs are welcome. A companion of a visitor who cannot get around alone enters free but needs a free ticket with a start time. Visitors with an invisible disability who cannot queue can fill in a form to enter straight away. Cars cannot reach the entrance: there is a drop-off point about 100 m away at Jan Luijkenstraat/Stadhouderskade, disabled parking outside Jan Luijkenstraat 4 and in Q-Park Museumplein, and the nearby Spiegelgracht bus stop is not adapted for wheelchair users. Tours for blind, low-vision, deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors cost €30 instead of €125.
Combine it with
Van Gogh Museum
Across Museumplein, a few minutes' walk. It also costs €25 (€26 from 1 January 2027), is free for under-18s and with the Museumkaart, but not with the City Card, and its timed slots sell out faster than the Rijksmuseum's: book it first and fit the Rijksmuseum around it. Open until 21:00 on most Fridays.
Stedelijk Museum
Amsterdam's museum of modern art and design, at the far end of Museumplein. Good as a third museum on the same square if you still have energy.
Vondelpark
The city's big park starts a few minutes' walk west of Museumplein: a place to sit down after a long museum morning.
Keukenhof
On SightsaleThe tulip gardens near Lisse open in spring only and make a separate day out from Amsterdam; don't try to squeeze them into a museum day.
Kinderdijk
On SightsaleThe windmills of Kinderdijk near Rotterdam are a day trip from Amsterdam for another day of your stay.
Questions people ask about visiting Rijksmuseum
How much are Rijksmuseum tickets in 2026?
€25 for adults, free for everyone 18 and under, and free with the Museumkaart, the I amsterdam City Card and a few other passes (October 2026). EYCA and CJP card holders pay half price. All visitors, including free ones, must book a start time.
Do you need to book Rijksmuseum tickets in advance?
Yes, you need a ticket with a start time, best bought online at rijksmuseum.nl. The museum's own pages disagree on door sales: some say tickets are only sold online, others that a limited number are sold at the entrance while stocks last, so don't count on buying at the door. In summer 2026 same-day tickets were often still available, so a few days ahead is usually enough unless there is a blockbuster exhibition.
Is the Rijksmuseum free with the Museumkaart or I amsterdam City Card?
Yes, both give free entry, but you still have to reserve a start time in the official shop: choose 'Dutch Museum Card' or 'Other free or reduced admissions' and bring your card. Visitors can buy a temporary Museumkaart (€75 adult) valid for 5 visits in 31 days at participating museums.
How long do you need at the Rijksmuseum?
An hour is enough for the Gallery of Honour with The Night Watch and the Vermeers; two to three hours for the main highlights. Many visitors say a full day still isn't enough to see everything. Your ticket lets you stay until closing at 17:00.
Can I see The Night Watch during the restoration?
Yes. The Night Watch stays on view in the Gallery of Honour while Operation Night Watch takes place in a glass chamber around it. In 2026 conservators are removing old varnish there in front of visitors.
Can I get a refund on Rijksmuseum tickets?
No, paid official tickets are non-refundable, but you can ask to move them to another date or time free of charge, at least 48 hours ahead, through the museum's contact form. Free tickets can be cancelled. If you might need to cancel, some official sales partners such as GetYourGuide offer free cancellation for a slightly higher price (from €27).
What is the best time to visit the Rijksmuseum?
The 9:00 opening slot on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The museum says it is quietest before 11:00 and after 15:30; go to The Night Watch first, before the tour groups.
More sights in Netherlands
Keukenhof
Lisse, Netherlands
A 32-hectare show garden near Lisse: 7 million bulbs in bloom for eight weeks each spring
- From
- €21 adult online
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours in the park; a full day with the bulb fields around it
Hidden gemKinderdijk
Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Nineteen old drainage windmills in a polder near Rotterdam, still lived in by millers.
- From
- Dike path free
- Time needed
- 1 hour for one museum mill; 2–3 hours for the highlights; a full day with both boats
Zaanse Schans
Zaandam, Netherlands
Working windmills and green wooden houses on the river Zaan, 20 minutes from Amsterdam.
- From
- Village free; mills €7.50 each; Ticket Zaanse Schans €29.50
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours for the village and one or two mills; half a day with the Zaans Museum
Before you go
The things that apply at every big sight: booking ahead, what skip-the-line really means, and the scams that follow tourists everywhere.