Museum Weekend in the Netherlands - are lines avoidable?
 

Hi all --

I just learned that my mother's upcoming visit coincides exactly with Museum Weekend throughout the country (2-3 April). While this is great news (nothing beats free!), I'm wondering if this means that lines for absolutely everything will be crazy? And if that's the case, any suggestions on how to avoid the lines? If I have a Museumjaarkaart and we buy her an iAMsterdam card, can we still skip the line on Museum Weekend, or does it revert to first come-first serve?

I usually don't mind waiting in line, but my mother is 62 years old and will only be here 2 days, so I would hate for her only memory to be how long she stood in line to see the Anne Frank House.

Thought I'd try again at asking this:

How do museum lines work during the free weekend coming up?

I have a Museumkaart and we may buy her an iAMsterdam card. But if we will have to wait in line regardless, we may not bother.

My mother arrives in Amsterdam on early Saturday morning. We are staying in Amsterdam one night (departing late Sunday evening). I've already bought our Anne Frank tickets for Sunday morning.

Or maybe I am over-thinking things and the "free weekend" is not that crowded?

The main museums in Amsterdam - the van Gogh, Rijks and Hermitage don't have free entry that weekend.

If you go to http://www.museumweekend.nl/Home/Zoe...city=Amsterdam You can see a list of museums offering free entry.

By the way the weather forecast is fantastic for Saturday - 22C and sun all day! Have a great weekend.

For the Rijks, I would say get there EARLY. For the Anne Frank, order tickets ON LINE in advance; did these very things when in AMS a year ago and didn't have to wait in any lines for any long period and it was the day a CRUISE SHIP had docked nearby and they were ALL in town visiting like the REST of us.

Thanks so much! Big relief. I was picturing a free-for-all at the Van Gogh museum!

We've already ordered our Anne Frank tickets online for Sunday, and will plan accordingly for the rest of the weekend. Given the weather, we may end up just walking the canals and searching out poffertjes and stroopwaffels.

Thanks! I'm so excited to see my mommy!