One of my favourite ways I spend my day off, is by visiting a museum. I have visited all the big and famous museums, think of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). I fell in love with the atmosphere of the museums and I have even worked in a museum myself. I’ve visited museums all over the world and have a broad taste in art. I don’t know that much about art but I am a loyal museum fanatic so I might call myself an expert in the field of museums.

My personal top 5 museums in the Netherlands:

1. Let's start with the most famous museum of the Netherlands: Het Rijksmuseum Amsterdam @rijksmuseum. Do you want to learn more about Dutch history and view the most well-known Dutch master painters? Visit the Rijksmuseum. This museum has all the big names and well-known paintings like De Nachtwacht from Rembrandt van Rijn, Het Melkmeisje from Johannes Vermeer, and many other master painters. Are you a book fan? Make sure to visit the museum library, it has a Harry Potter atmosphere and it’s even free to visit. Are you a huge van Gogh fan? Visit the Van Gogh museum afterwards, it’s on the same (museum) square. Tip: Amsterdam is usually super crowded, plan your visit and go early.

2. This museum deserves a high spot in my ranking. Kunstmuseum Den Haag @kunstmuseum.nl (previous: Gemeente Museum) is one of my favourite museums in the Netherlands. The building is an art piece itself and was designed by the famous architect Berlage. I’ve been there a few times and every time I was well surprised. The museum has a collection of top pieces, from big surrealistic painters like Picasso, Escher and Kandinsky to imposing (medieval) fashion pieces from Chanel and Balenciaga. This museum is one of Europe's largest art museums with 160,000 works of art. You can combine your visit with a trip to the photography museum (Fotomuseum Den Haag) that is located just one door away.

3. Het Noordbrabants Museum @hetnoordbrabantsmuseum: do you have a free weekend day? Make sure to visits the Noordbabants Museum. It’s only a short train ride away from Breda and I am certain you will fall in love with their permanent exhibitions and their temporary expositions. I have a strong connection with this museum because I worked there for a few years. I know their permanent collection, like the back of my hand: they own a lot of contemporary art from 1500-1800, a slightly unknown collection of Van Gogh paintings and they have a broad range of temporary exhibitions. When you visit this museum, you can buy a combination discount ticket with the Design Museum, it’s attached and this is also worth a visit. After you visited the museum make sure to check out the beautiful museum garden and brasserie. And if you don’t have time to visit the whole museum make sure to only visit the museum garden, shop and brasserie for free.

4. Are you more into modern art? Visit museum Voorlinden @museumvoorlinden. For this museum, you might have to travel a little since its located in Wassenaar (South-Holland), but easily accessible by public transport. This is one of the most famous museums in the Netherlands, this might be because their art is super extraordinary. In this museum, you will find multiple opportunities to take Instagram worthy photos. This museum is surrounded by nature. So, when you’re done with your visit you can go to the forests, dunes, meadows, waters and designed gardens characterized by the landscape.

5. Want a more interactive museum visit? Go visits the NEMO Science Museum Amsterdam @nemosciencemuseum. In this museum, you experience science in an interactive and fun way. NEMO has a big permanent collection with about 19.500 objects, they try to implement their permanent collection into their temporary expositions. Right now, they have an exposition about Humans, in this exposition, you will learn everything about humans through games, tests and museum objects.

Want to stay up to date about upcoming expositions? Follow the museum Instagram pages!

Note: due to the Covid-19 situation the museums are currently closed. Check, reserve and plan your visit before going to the chosen museums.

Student discounts & museum pass:  If you are planning to visit museums often you need to have a museum pass (Museum kaart). This card will cost you € 64,90,- and it's valid for a whole year. With this Museum card, you can visit multiple museums for ‘free’. With some museums or specific expositions, you need to pay a surplus. Also, not all museums accept the museum pass. For example, museum Voorlinden, this is a privately owned museum.

Want more info or purchase a museum card? Check this link: MUSEUMPASS

One thing is certain: when you visit these mentioned museums, you will leave inspired!