This post covers tickets and discounts to the Van Gogh Museum as well as information about planning your visit here. If you're ready to purchase tickets, click here.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GO TO THE VAN GOGH MUSEUM?
Without a discount pass, general admission to the museum is €19.
TIP: If you’re looking to visit the Van Gogh Museum, it’s worth noting that admission is included with multiple tourist passes.
Make sure to read our discounts section for more details on these services.
Prices
- General Admission: €21
- Free admission for visitors 18 and under
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
There is no additional charge for temporary exhibits. General admission guarantees access to all exhibitions in the Van Gogh Museum.
It is highly recommended to purchase admission ahead of time, as this museum uses timed tickets.
If you decide to get your tickets on-site during busy hours, you may be asked to wait for the next available time.
DISCOUNTS TO THE VAN GOGH MUSEUM
There are a few different ways to save money on tickets to the Van Gogh Museum.
Arguably the most popular discounts are found in tourist attractions discount passes, which can save you anywhere from 20% - 50% on admission to many of Amsterdam’s most popular tours and attractions, including some of the following examples:
- Rijksmuseum
- Stedelijk Museum
- Diamond Museum
- Madame Tussauds
- Heineken Experience
- Nemo Science Museum
- Ripley's Believe it or Not
- Rembrandt House Museum
- Hop-on-Hop-off Bus Tour
- Hop-on-Hop-off Cruise
- And more!
- I Amsterdam Card
- Amsterdam City Pass
- Holland Pass
- Museumkaart
For more information, read our post about Amsterdam tourist passes.
In addition to these services, there are several combo tickets available which include one or more popular activities in Amsterdam.
- Van Gogh Museum + Canal Cruise
- €30 per person
- Van Gogh Museum + Hop-on-Hop-off Bus Tour
- €40 per person
- Van Gogh Museum + Rijksmuseum + Cruise + Tour
- €109 per person
- Van Gogh Museum + Rijksmuseum + Museum Tour
- €139 per person
- Van Gogh Museum + Rijksmuseum + Red Light District Tour
- €139 per person
Don’t forget that this museum is actually free for everyone under the age of 18. If you’re planning to take your kids, you won’t have to pay for their admission.
This is a great savings potential for families who want to spend a day at the museum.
Unfortunately, there is no discount for seniors, students or teachers.
If you’re going with a group of 6 or more people, you may be eligible for a special rate. Book a group visit for this discount.
Sadly, there are no free days available at the Van Gogh Museum, as of March 2020.
It’s also worth noting that neither Groupon or Living Social provides discounts on tickets.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
In this section, we will provide information about the best times to visit, hours of operation, where you’ll find the museum and what you can expect upon arrival.
Make sure to check our ticket section for more details about when and how to purchase admission.
Hours of the Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is open daily throughout the year, but their hours depend upon what time of year you choose to visit.
Use the following guide to find out when you can visit during your trip to Amsterdam:
January 7th – February 28th
- 9 am - 5 pm | Sat - Thur
- 9 am - 9 pm | Friday
March 2nd – June 20th
- 9 am - 6 pm | Sat - Thur
- 9 am - 9 pm | Friday
June 21st – September 1st
- 9 am - 7 pm | Sun - Thur
- 9 am - 9 pm | Fri & Sat
September 2nd – October 27th
- 9 am - 6 pm | Sat - Thur
- 9 am - 9 pm | Friday
October 28th – December 22nd
- 9 am - 5 pm | Sat - Thur
- 9 am - 9 pm | Friday
December 23rd – December 31st
- 9 am - 7 pm | Sun - Thur
- 9 am - 9 pm | Fri & Sat
Holidays
- 9 am - 5 pm | Christmas & New Years Eve
- 11 am - 7 pm | New Year’s Day
Throughout most of the year, this museum will be open until 17:00 (5 pm) on weekdays and until 21:00 (9 pm) on weekends.
While most people will want to visit earlier in the day, it’s worth noting that this is a location you can visit after dark.
Where is the Van Gogh Museum?
This site is located right in the center of Museumplein, a complex in Amsterdam which includes a handful of different museums. You’ll find the Van Gogh Museum South of the city centre in the Museumkwartier district.
For more details on how to reach this location, please use this Google map for directions from anywhere in Amsterdam.
There are several bus and light rail stations nearby, so it should be pretty easy to get here from anywhere in the city.
There are also hop-on-hop-off bus and boat tour stops in the area, so you can use these services to reach the museum as well.
Some of the Amsterdam tourist passes that offer free admission to the Van Gogh Museum also include either free public transportation or a hop-on-hop-off service.
If you’re already planning to use one of these discount cards, keep this in mind and consider using one of their included transportation options to save money.
Best Time to Visit
There’s never really a bad time to visit the Van Gogh Museum, but there are some hours that are less crowded than others.
As with most attractions, one of the best times to come is early in the morning when they first open.
If you get into the museum before the crowds start to pile up, you can avoid long lines at the ticket booth and enjoy all of their exhibits without having to weave in and out of large groups.
At this location, we recommend arriving between 9:00 am - 11:00 am.
On the other side of the spectrum, people tend to start leaving the museum as it gets later in the day.
If you plan your trip for the later opening hours, you will probably avoid the biggest crowds of the day.
To take advantage of these quieter hours, consider coming from 15:00 (3 pm) - 17:00 (5 pm).
.It’s important to note that the Van Gogh Museum gets even busier than usual during the weekends. If you want to avoid large crowds, shoot for a trip in the middle of the week.
Security Details
There aren’t too many important factors to note when it comes to security at the Van Gogh Museum, but we’ll cover the most significant details to help you figure out what you can bring and what you should leave behind.
Luggage Storage
Although this museum does have a cloakroom, they cannot accommodate large bags, suitcases or rucksacks. We have some tips on where to store your luggage.
That said, the following items can be stored on site:
- Jackets
- Umbrellas
- Small bags
- Small rucksacks
Permitted Items
While they don’t allow visitors to enter the building with certain objects, the following items are permitted inside the Van Gogh Museum:
- Prams
- Buggies
- Wheelchairs
- Walking frames
- Other mobility devices
- Cellphones/Smartphones
Although you can bring your smartphone inside (and in fact, they offer free wi-fi), this museum requests that visitors limit the use of their phone whenever and wherever possible.
Other Rules
While flash photography is prohibited, you are allowed to take pictures at designated areas in the museum like the Entrance Hall.
Photos of the artwork are not permitted and any pictures, videos or film that is taken in the museum can only be used for non-commercial purposes.
You are not allowed to bring food or drink into the museum, but they have a café on site where you can purchase refreshments.
Smoking is prohibited in the Van Gogh Museum.
VAN GOGH MUSEUM EXHIBITS
As you might expect, this museum includes several notable pieces of art from throughout the career of Vincent van Gogh.
However, you might be surprised to find that this building also houses artwork that Vincent owned himself, works that were inspired by him, and even some created by his friends.
There is a lot of great artwork in the Van Gogh Museum, and we will provide a few details about their most notable exhibits in this section.
Vincent van Gogh’s Works
There are over 1400 paintings and drawings created by Vincent van Gogh in this museum.
In addition to a lot of his less notable work, you’ll also find popular paintings like his Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, The Potato Eaters, The Bedroom, Irises and many more.
If you’re a fan of his unique style of artwork, this is a wonderful opportunity to see not only how he got his start, but also how he developed into one of the most famous artists in the world.
Friends of Vincent
This collection includes several pieces that were created by friends of Vincent van Gogh. Several of these artists actually did portraits of Vincent which are on display in this museum.
You can expect to see notable paintings from friends such as Georges Seurat, Paul Gaugin, Henri de Tolouse-Lautrec, Émile Bernard, John Peter Russell, Charles Laval and more.
Japanese Prints
Vincent was a big fan of Japanese artwork, and he had a pretty sizable collection of prints from Japan. The Van Gogh Museum has several of these prints on display for visitors to enjoy.
This Japanese art was a notable inspiration to Van Gogh’s work, and if you look closely enough, you may even find a few areas where he borrowed some ideas for his own creations.
Van Gogh Inspirations
As you can probably imagine, Vincent Van Gogh’s work became so popular and notable that it has inspired a number of different artists in the more than 125 years after his death.
The Van Gogh Museum houses several works which were inspired by Vincent, including pieces by Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, John Chamberlain, Zeng Fanzhi and more.
VAN GOGH MUSEUM TOURS
There are two different private tours available at the Van Gogh Museum. Each tour is exactly the same price, and it might be a little bit too expensive for most budgets.
That said, if you’re interested in learning more about the artists, these privately guided tours are a wonderful opportunity.
If you’re looking for something cheaper, there is also a tour you can take with a professional local tour guide who doesn’t work with the museum.
There are also similar tours available with some of the combo tickets listed in our discount section.
Private Tour
An expert guide will show you some of Vincent’s earliest Dutch works and explain their significance to his style of art.
Then, you will find out how his approach to painting changed in Paris after meeting fellow artists in the area and how his style further developed in France.
- Tickets: €95 per person
- Group size: 60 people max
- Availability: Daily | Every half hour
- Duration: 50 minutes
- Languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian
- Purchase tickets or learn more
Family Tour
This option is aimed more at a family audience, with the goal of teaching visitors about some of the most popular artwork that Vincent van Gogh was responsible for creating.
If you’re looking for something of a beginner’s course, this is definitely the best option provided by the museum.
- Tickets: €95 per person
- Group size: 60 people max
- Availability: Daily | Every half hour
- Duration: 50 minutes
- Languages: English and Dutch
- Purchase tickets or learn more
Skip-the-Line Tour
While the Van Gogh Museum offers its own professionally lead tours, this service is provided by an unaffiliated tour guide in Amsterdam.
Not only is their tour more affordable, but it also lasts much longer than either of the options offered by the museum.
This outing includes a skip-the-line ticket and a guided tour which covers a lot of ground.
- Tickets: €79 per person
- Group size: 8 people max
- Availability: Daily
- Duration: 2 hours
- Language: English
- Purchase tickets or learn more
