Destinations

The 10 Best Museums in Amsterdam

The institutions in Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter—and beyond—have never been better.

November 24, 2022

10 Best Museums in Amsterdam From Quaint Canal Houses to Modern Graffiti Galleries

While Golden Age art and Van Gogh paintings tend to hog all the attention, and scoring a ticket to the Anne Frank House can feel akin to winning the lottery, Amsterdam’s 50-plus museums offer visitors a wide array of intriguing options. After ticking the boxes on the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, skip the crowds and explore lesser-known gems, from a 17th-century mansion stuffed with antiques to a canal-front townhouse hiding a remarkable historical secret. If you’re into cutting-edge art, the Moco Museum, with its vast Banksy collection, and newcomer STRAAT, awash with talented graffiti artists, both oblige. For something different, cinema and architecture buffs will be equally delighted by the space-age Eye Film Museum. Here, our list of Amsterdam’s best museums that’ll have you covered—no matter your interest.

This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

Photo by Erik Smits
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Rijksmuseum
Reborn in 2013 after a decade-long, $441 million revamp, this is the biggest of Amsterdam’s “big three” museums. Yes, there are plenty of galleries of Golden Age paintings, though with 8,000 masterworks on display, this isn’t a niche affair. Model ships, rich costumes, and Asian art figure into the museum’s well-paced chronological trot from the Middle Ages to Mondrian. The museum app, with its 14 themed tours, is well worth downloading for free from the Apple Store and the Wi-Fi is good enough to make wayfinding a breeze.
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Anne Frank House
The only thing that stands out about this 17th-century canal house is the infamous line outside. Entry is by online reservation only, with timed tickets released two months ahead and a limited number on the day itself. The most poignant of the city’s museums, it’s utterly worth any crowd-related hassles for the emotional exhibits—not least the attic where the Frank family hid from the Nazis, and where young Anne penned her famous diary. It takes about an hour to complete a loop of the house. No matter how much you think you know about Anne Frank’s story, you’ll come away from the house realizing you didn't know very much at all.

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Eye Film Museum
This eye-catching museum dedicated to film made a big splash when it opened in 2012— the first major public building to be constructed on the north bank of the River IJ—and a decade later, it’s still one of the area’s most popular attractions. The Eye’s striking aerodynamic shape—some have compared it to spaceship, or a praying mantis—makes it a big draw for architecture buffs, but cinephiles will have a field day, whether exploring its permanent and temporary film-related exhibits, or seeing a movie in one of its four theaters. Chantal Akerman, Martin Scorsese, William Kentridge: some of the biggest names in film and video have been highlighted in Eye’s temporary exhibitions. Film clips and shorts are often integrated with letters, photographs from sets, and other paraphernalia, and the accompanying film program showcases more of the directors’ work. The museum also has an extensive collection of movie posters (more than 55,000) and these are regularly rotated along the walls and corridors of the building
Photo by Jan Arsenovic
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Moco Museum Amsterdam
With its heady mix of Pop Art and works by graffiti rock stars, Moco has enough contemporary swagger to make the neighboring Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum quake in their old-school boots. Not quite on the main tourist trail, this private museum was opened in 2016 by prominent local gallerists Lionel and Kim Logchies. It continues to hog headlines, helped along by a magnificent setting in Villa Alsberg, a 1904 beauty designed by the nephew of Rijksmuseum architect Pierre Cuypers. The permanent Banksy display, featuring a whopping 50 works (rarely seen indoor paintings and drawings, plus transplanted street murals like the beloved Girl With Balloon) by the rock-star British graffiti artist, is a thing to behold, though the temporary shows of pop-art greats are worth checking out, too. Expect to be in and out in under an hour.

Roderik van Nispen
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STRAAT Museum
Graffiti fans, rejoice: Amsterdam now has a second museum devoted to street art—and it’s a doozy. STRAAT seeks out cutting-edge and emerging talent, with more than 130 artists from 32 countries represented in its 150-plus-strong collection. Occupying a colossal warehouse in the former shipbuilding area of NDSM, STRAAT has some 86,000 square feet of exhibition space inside, while outside, its façade is plastered in murals—including a huge kaleidoscope-like portrait of a smiling Anne Frank by Brazilian street art legend Eduardo Kobra.
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Museum Van Loon
This impeccably preserved 17th-century canal house still exudes the wealth of its patrician owners, the Van Loons, one of whom co-founded the Dutch East India Company. Expect to see intriguing contemporary photographs and site-specific works strewn across the house. Cocteau operas are performed in the canal-side garden come summertime. Note, this is very much a living house. The Van Loons still reside upstairs, which is off-limits, and artifacts are displayed in a casual, lived-in way. Stop into the carriage house-cum-café post-visit for a slice of some of the best apple pie in town.

Photo by Jan Kees Steenman
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Van Gogh Museum
This Dutch institution welcomed more than 2.1 million visitors in 2019, making it the most visited museum in the Netherlands. The Potato Eaters, Wheatfield with Crows and, yes, the postcard-perfect Sunflowers series are all among the 200-strong painting collection. But this is more than just a rundown of van Gogh’s greatest hits. Drawings and letters dive into the artist’s depression (and that ear incident), there’s a video installation charting his rise, and works by the first generation of artists to be inspired by him are on view. Save the speed-walking for elsewhere; this is one where you'll want to linger.
Photo by Gert Jan van Rooij
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Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Some of the biggest names in art and design from the 19th century to the present day make up the 500-piece-strong permanent collection, which includes works by Picasso, Matisse, De Stijl, Claes Oldenburg, and Marlene Dumas. The museum has been cherry-picking new movements for decades and recently divided them into three distinct groups—works from 1880 to 1950, the 1950s to 1980, and the 80s to today—putting the art in context with social and political movements. Most dynamic is the latter, dubbed “Tomorrow is a Different Day,” which spotlights groundbreaking contemporary artists like El Anatsui.

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Huis Marseille
Set inside two grand 17th-century canal houses is Huis Marseille, the oldest photography museum in the Netherlands. But don’t be fooled: Despite the building’s Golden Age heritage, with rooms featuring original marble fireplaces and 18th-century ceiling frescoes, this museum is all about contemporary photography. Though this private museum counts 750 photographs by leading talents like Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky, and Andres Serrano in its permanent collection, they aren't always on view. Works alternate among the 14 galleries, which are largely given over to temporary exhibits by established and emerging photographers. With such a small size, you will be in and out in no time.
Photo by Arjan Bronkhorst
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Our Lord in the Attic Museum (Ons' Lieve Heer Op Solder)
This stunning Golden Age house has a hidden asset: during the persecutions of the Protestant Reformation, the merchant owner had an entire Catholic church constructed under the eaves. (You don’t need to be a believer to appreciate it, but if you are, they still hold Mass the first Sunday of every month except in July and August). Top billing goes to said attic space, now restored to its 1862 glory, and the audio tour, packed with strange and surprising facts about how the owners lived. Best of all, the foot traffic is about one-twentieth of what you'll encounter at the Rijksmuseum. We're sold.