CanadianJane

We are spending 3 1/4 days in Amsterdam. We are interested in going to the following museums:

Rijksmuseum
Anne Frank House
Rembrandt House
Van Gogh Museum

How much time have people spent in these museums? I imagine the Rijks is one that you might be able to spend many hours in.

I don't want to overplan our stay so any information you can provide will be appreciated.

simpsonc510

Van Gogh, easily a couple of hours or more each visit. (been several times)

IMDonehere

The key question is determine the level of interest and knowledge in art of others. We were there just two weeks ago and spent over three hours just in Hall of Honor in the Rijksmuseum. We have long been enamored by the Masters. I like to look at the brush strokes in the hands and the ruffs. We always imagine what the people who sat for the portraits actually looked like as their carbuncles and moral transgressions are scrubbed way, with the next commission in mind. And we now have a new admiration for Frans Hals. The other floors and exhibitions are also well done and interesting.

The Van Gogh is extremely well done and is highly instructive without being pedantic. There was also a wonderful and complicated exhibition of the work Félix Edouard Vallotton.

I am not much for the Impressionists and Van Gogh, except from a historical perspective but viewing Van Gogh up close offered a new appreciation.

Anne Frank, is a museum of a different sort and, for us, it was hard to linger due to the crowds.

kmowatt

I just got back from Amsterdam...loved it by the way!

I didn't do the Rijksmuseum...it's massive, and I just didn't think I could face it...

I did the Van Gogh...good...can be done in a few hours.
I did the Hermitage...excellent...they are currently showing a Silk Road exhibit...if you like Asian you will love this...2 hours was good

2 other smaller museums that I enjoyed were:
- van Loon
- Willet Holthuysen

Both are canal houses with good art and furniture and let you see inside a canal house...easy to do in an hour or two

kmowatt

PS - as stated above, be prepared for a LONG line to buy tickets at the Anne Frank house...pre-purchase for sure, but based on the ticket line, this is a busy place to visit

Bill_H

I saw the Van Gogh exhibit twice when the paintings were shown in Los Angeles several years ago, I think when the Amsterdam museum was being renovated. Loved it there and also loved the same paintings when viewed a third time in Amsterdam. A must-see.

Probably a minority opinion but I didn't enjoy the Rijksmuseum as much as I thought I would. For sure "The Night Watch" was spectacular, as were some of the Vermeer's, but overall it didn't blow me away like I hoped it would.

Haven't been to the others, most of our Amsterdam trips were short layovers on the way to Tanzania from the USA.

tom18

If you have interest in what life was like for the average person in Amsterdam during WWII, I strongly recommend the Amsterdam Resistance Museum. We spent three hours there and found it absolutely fascinating (as well as, in some cases, revolting). Here is a link:

http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/Ndtr...um%20Amsterdam

gailscout

Visited the Resistance Museum last May - ask for the English when getting a headset. Easily 3 hours. This museum piqued my interest in visiting the Toulouse Resistance and Deportation museum in Toulouse last month. Van Gogh - extremely busy and too many people taking photos with IPADs + headphones kept cutting - out and had to return twice. 2-3 hours. Rijks Museum had just opened but only crowded in the Hall of Honor and saw most of the museum - 4 hours.

Dukey1

I'm returning to Europe in July and spending one night in A-dam for the sole purpose of doing the Rijks and even then I'm only going to do a couple of my favorite rooms.

Agree with buying the AF House tickets on line and ahead of time as it is extremely popular; there can also be long lines to buy tickets to the Rijksmuseum for that matter.

Last time I was in the VanGogh the place seemed mobbed probably because it is so much smaller than some of the other venues.

In terms of time spent, I could easily spend close to an hour in just one of the Rijksmuseum rooms and in front of a couple of the paintings. Obviously your experience is probably going to be different but bat least you've given yourself lots of time.

nytraveler

Well Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities and the Rijksmuseum (a couple of 3 hour visits over 4 days) plus Van Gogh (solid 4 hours) plus Anne Frank (1.5 hours total) and one of the canal house museums (about an hour was enough).

But I would go back to the van Gogh again in a minute for another 4 hours and there was a lot in the Rijks that we didn't get to see.

Caveat: we LOVE museums, not just art but all of the exhibit (except the eastern pots in the Met - for some reason they don;t speak to me).

CanadianJane

Wow…thank you for all your feedback! We love art and museums so it is always a challenge to choose. Right now I am a little sorry we did not add a couple of days onto our visit to Amsterdam!

Dukey1

Don't sweat it because everybody has a different appreciation wiring. Just being IN Amsterdam can be quite enjoyable and I can guarantee that no matter which museum you visit there will something that seems wonderful and something else that seems ho hum.

A case in point is Bill-H's comment above about the "Night Watch" which to me is of little interest however in the room right around the corner is a Rembrandt I have been known to "contemplate" for more than a few minutes!

I can only recommend that if you do not have a "timed ticket" for one of the majors that you get there EARLY as they are enormously popular.

PalenQ

The Netherlands National Museum Pass will save you money just on those 4 biggie museums and with it, valid for a whole year, you can pop into many many other neat museums you would not normally pay to enter. Buy it at participating museums and at some you get priority entrance.

http://www.amsterdamtips.com/tips/mu...-amsterdam.php

the Anne Frank House now is also included.

Sue_xx_yy

On a Monday afternoon in May, we walked right up to the ticket office at the Rijks. Can't promise this will be the case all the time - it has been very busy after the renovation - and we easily spent over 3 hours just in the Hall of Honour.

We saw some Van Goghs, not in Amsterdam, but in the National Gallery in London on our way back home. Just so you have an alternative.

There is an excellent on-line Anne Frank museum which allows you to 'click' through the rooms and get to know the people who took refuge there. Just an idea in case you are tight on time, as this place in person requires timed tickets.

Second the recommendation of the Dutch Resistance Museum - two hours, but you could spend more.

menachem

FOAM/Huis Marseille