In August 2024 Matthew and I went on a Viking River Cruise that ended in Amsterdam. We decided to take advantage of the two-day extension that they offered to explore the city since we had never been before. There were so many things to see and do, but we wanted to make sure that we got to experience at least one of their museums. We appreciate art but do not know much about it, so we knew we would enjoy it much more with a guide and decided to book a tour. Read on to find out about our experience at the captivating Rijksmuseum and decide if this museum should be part of your trip and if you should book a tour for your group.

The Tour Details

Once we decided what museum we wanted to see (it was a really hard decision between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh), I went straight to my trusty tour booking website, Viator. I have used them for years for tours in the USA and abroad and have never been disappointed.

• What’s Included:

  • Museum Ticket

  • All Fees and Taxes

  • Access to the Café and the Shop in the Museum

  • Expert Guide

  • Tour given in English

• Before You Go:

  • Your private guide will be waiting for you beside the museum entrance, holding your tickets (under the arcade of the Rijksmuseum next to the orange “School” sign). Your guide will have your entry tickets and will meet you 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. Upon arrival, all you need to do is show the voucher you received after booking the tour.

  • Meeting point: Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Start time: 3:00 PM and tours available every day.

  • Tour Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

  • The tour will end inside the museum. After the tour, you can explore the museum at your leisure, shop for souvenirs at the museum shop, or relax and enjoy food and drinks at the museum café. The museum closes at 5pm.

• Cost:

  • $99.92 per person with tax and everything (not including a tip).

  • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.

• What You Will See:

  • From the listing on www.viator.com:

    • “Discover the treasures and embark on a journey through the Dutch Golden Age, exploring masterpieces by celebrated artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and many others.”

    • The library, where you can marvel at centuries-old manuscripts.

    • The intricately detailed dollhouses, offering a charming glimpse into daily life during the Golden Age.

• Muesum FAQ:

  • Open Daily from 9a-5p (Shop and Cafe open till 6pm).

    • Between 5pm-6pm you can enter without a ticket.

  • Admission free for guests up to 19 years of age.

    • Adult entry is $22.50.

    • Tickets are only available online and they sell out. I highly suggest booking in advance. We booked our tour 3 months in advance. We tried to get tickets to the Van Gogh museum two days in advance but they were completely sold out.

    • All visitors are required to book a start time. Once inside you can stay as long as you would like.

  • The Green Gardens around the museum are only open during the summer and are open from 9a-6p.

  • The museum is cashless, and you can only pay with digital payment methods or debit or credit cards.

  • There is a free app you can download to buy tickets, get a free audio tour, and scroll through an online collection.

  • There is a free, supervised cloakroom where you can leave your bag, umbrella, daypack or school backpack.

  • Only (hand) bags are allowed into the museum. Other items, such as umbrellas or larger bags, should be stored in the cloakroom.

  • At the Museum Square there is a Lockerpoint where you can store your luggage safely.

  • There is a restaurant with a Michelin Star (from 2016) called RIJKS at the museum.

  • Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the slowest days according to the museum’s official website and every day before 11am and after 3:30pm.

  • You are allowed to take photos without a flash.

  • There is free Wi-Fi.

  • The museum itself does not book guided tours.

The Gardens (Before The Tour)

We walked from our hotel to the museum and arrived with about a half an hour to spare. Once we found our meeting place and felt sure we knew where we were, we decided to take our time to explore the gardens. They are free to roam and absolutely beautiful. You could even sign up to grab a canvas and paint/draw in the gardens for an hour for a few euro and there were about 20 people scattered all throughout the area making incredible take home memories.

We really enjoyed passing by and admiring their talent. The museum also has free Wi-Fi so I was able to facetime with my parents and check in with them and let them see the gardens and they loved getting to experience that with us.

Let The Tour Begin

From the gardens we entered the “arcade” or the tunnel looking part of the back of the museum pictured above to meet our guide. We waited underneath a yellow sign for her to arrive and for our tour to begin.

She arrived right on time and had our tickets in hand. Once we entered the museum she showed us where the restrooms were in case we needed to take care of any business before we got started. No one else had booked the tour for the day so it ended up just being the three of us! She asked if there was anything specific we wanted to see and we were really just hoping for the highlights which were already part of the tour so we set off.

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands and is dedicated to Dutch arts and history. It was established in 1798. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers (he also designed the Amsterdam Central Train Station and the two buildings definitely look related) and first opened in 1885. Above are some photos from one of the main areas before we walked into the first gallery.

Paintings

The first painting that our guide took us to was called Still Life With Cheese. Our guide pointed out that with a table painting from this time period, you always see peeling of fruit, and a distinct green glass, and a plate halfway off table to show dimension. The closer you look at the birds the more real the texture of the cloth seems. Towards the end of our tour we actually get to see green glasses like the ones in the painting.

In this next one, you can see windows reflected in several of the objects on the table and the most expensive thing on the table is salt. The pepper is rolled in newspaper. It was so beneficial to see it from the guides perspective because to me it just looks like a pretty table spread!

The next one we looked at was The Love Letter by Johannes Vermeer. This painting is unique because it features a “through view”. This is apparently very ahead of its time. Our guide shared with us that any musical instrument featured in a painting was a symbol of love. The sea in picture behind them is a sign of the story. She is awaiting her lover who is away at sea. She has a pearl earring and his most famous painting is the girl with the pearl earring. This artist also features dark blue in every single painting of his.

Next on the wall we observed The Milkmaid. This is the most valuable of Vermeer’s collection. We spent time talking about how he painted the milk in small dots. There is a foot warmer on the floor that was originally a laundry basket and was found by x ray. This could explain why her arms are purple (if she was doing laundry).

The last Vermeer we spent time on was Woman reading a letter. We noted that it was totally blue toned. Also she may be with child. The blotch on her cheek is actually an earring.

Next we moved on to The Threatened Swan. This painting is significant because it was the first purchase of the museum. 

She is fiercely protecting her egg. The sun is shining just on swan. The dog inscription says enemy of the state (and was put on the painting after the artists death and was apparently political at the time). 

We did get to see a Van Gogh which I was super excited about!! They had Self-Portrait on display. It is from 1887 and is done shortly after he moves to Paris and is trying out a new colorful style of French painting. He does several self-portraits in this new style so that he does not have to pay for a model.

Next we moved on to Rembrandt. The cocky guy painted and drew over 100 portraits of himself. He was known to be really religious (which is why he is an apostle in this self portrait). His paintings were only bright where the viewers attention should be. He also mixed clay with color. 

The Rembrandt above is: The Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild, Known as ‘The Syndics’. The man in the back without the hat is actually not one of the officials/wardens and Rembrandt painted them to look as if we have interrupted them.

The Night Watch

We finally made our way to the most treasured piece in the whole museum, The Night Watch.

These types of paintings were fairly common back in the day. It is of the Amsterdam militia, the civic guard of the city. The captain is in black and Lieutenant in gold. So, the drama was that each man featured in the painting had paid the same amount to be featured, and in the final painting people had their faces covered and were super unhappy. Rembrandt was also the first person to depict the figures in action in a group portrait. They are typically all standing in a line looking straight on (typical photo below).

The museum has been restoring it for 5 years and they think they still have years’ worth of work to do. The area with the dog is the most fragile. 

After Night Watch, Rembrandt was no longer commissioned to paint.

The Library

After the Night Watch we maneuvered through some galleries towards our next destination.

The Cuypers Library is the largest and oldest art historical library in the Netherlands. It was named for the museum architect.

There was an incredible coin collection inside as well and we spent a few minutes looking back in history at all the little bits and baubles.

The Dollhouses

Our guide wanted to make sure we saw a really unique part of the museum, the dollhouses. In particular, the Petronella’s Dollhouse is a highlight in the museum. Back in the 17th century, the dollhouses were made to display one’s wealth and good taste to visitors. They were exquisite and had such incredible details in every single centimeter of the small space. There was even a storage closet and a laundry room. Each object has been crafted from authentic material and is precisely to scale.

When the dollhouse was still being shown at the owner’s home, there was running water in its kitchen! There are 83 leather bound books in the library as well as clothes in the closet and China in the cabinets! Real paintings hang on the walls in the nursery by Cornelis Dusart.

Petronella’s dolls’ house is so unusual that a portrait was painted of it. The picture reveals that the dolls’ house was originally protected by yellow curtains. I have a photo of the painting included in the gallery above.

Other Objects

We had seen all the big-ticket items and had some time left in our tour, so our guide took us to some of her favorite and more unique pieces in the museum. We saw incredible earrings (they looked SUPER heavy and impossible to wear), undergarments and corsets from yesteryear, light boxes, porcelain chandeliers, a leather whale wine bottle, a really cool lock and key collection, and those real-life green glasses that we had seen in paintings earlier in our tour. Photos below.

We also saw this model ship that had been built back in the 1600’s that the museum had somehow put video imaging on so that you could see what the sailors would be doing on the ship. It was amazing to see the new technology layered on that delicate piece of history. See the video below.

She also took us through an “armory” room of sorts, and we saw all kinds of cool swords and guns. One gun was as small as my pinky finger and one sword was bigger than Matt!!

In Conclusion

If you are looking for a great way to spend a few hours and you enjoy art, I highly recommend the Rijksmuseum during your visit to Amsterdam. If you are like us and need a little guidance or just want to feel like you are getting some behind the scenes info, do yourself a favor and book a tour. There is something for everyone to enjoy in this museum (which is ultimately why we chose it over the Van Gogh) and depending on the time of year, you can also enjoy the gardens. I hope this has been helpful. Enjoy and safe travels!