Museums are open again in the Netherlands! You may have been looking for something cultural to do other than watch movies at home or take virtual tours of museums. Now you can go in person, once again, to the many magnificent museums in the Netherlands.
Museums, like other public establishments, are adapting well to the 1,5-metre society. Many have been open since June 1 with updated rules that are worth taking note of before visiting. The general new rules across Dutch museums are:
You may have made your decision to have a Dutch staycation this summer. Why not make a museum visit part of it? Take a glimpse of what’s on in the Dutch museum scene!
The Rijksmuseum in the heart of Amsterdam has been open since June 1. All visitors now need to book a start time of their visit - even Museum Cardholders - to make sure it never gets overcrowded, since it is one of the most popular museums in the whole country! Tickets are selling at a one-euro discount at the moment, and three main routes have been mapped out, to give you “the best of the Rijksmuseum”.
You can reserve your spot for the special Caravaggio-Bernini Baroque in Rome exhibition at no additional cost to the regular admission price. There has been huge interest in this special exhibition since the museum re-opened, so the admission timetables are devised to reduce queueing time and congestion, so that 1,5-metre distances can be maintained.
Now that the Van Gogh Museum is open again, tickets are available exclusively online. Visits are regulated in such a way that social distancing can be easily maintained. The museum website even states “in a practically empty museum you will, therefore, get closer to Vincent than ever.” This is great news for art-lovers that dislike being nudged out of the way. If you’ve booked a ticket but suddenly feel unwell, you can re-book free of charge.
The In the Picture exhibition has been extended, due to the corona-related closure. The exhibition, consisting of 75 portrait paintings, has been critically acclaimed in the Dutch media and beyond, telling stories about identity and backstories. It opened in late February, but, sadly, had to close in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but now it goes on until August 30.
Mauritshuis, near the picturesque 13th-century government buildings in The Hague is welcoming visitors again! If you’d like to make use of the audio tour, then you’ll need to bring your own headphones, because the usual devices are not currently being distributed. The lockers are also out of use, so visitors are urged not to bring big bags, rucksacks or jackets that they won’t be wearing.
As well as treasures like Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer, visitors can check out the current exhibition, George Stubbs - The man, the horse, the obsession, chronicling the works of England’s most famous horse painter, which lasts until August 30.
The 15.000 square metres of exhibition space at the Kunstmuseum will be as sparse as ever due to social distancing measures, so now’s your chance to enjoy art without all the crowds! Kunstmuseum in The Hague is now open from Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm.
Reserve your time slot and enjoy art in a more spacious manner than ever! There are now two routes within the museum – the Berlage route and the Mondrian route, both of which are strictly one-way, to minimise congestion and to show the most superb highlights of the museum in a curated journey.
You can book your tickets up to two weeks in advance, so get planning and enjoy a day at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. If you’d like to stop by the museum café to refuel, you’ll also have to book your seat in advance.
At the moment, the exhibition Black Album / White Cube - A journey into art and music is up and running, continuing until January 2021. It combines visual art and pop music, featuring 35 renowned stars, like Lady Gaga, Joy Division, Britney Spears, Madonna, The Beatles and more. Over 200 contemporary artworks have been brought together, from photography to video installations to paintings.
The Centraal Museum in Utrecht is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11am-5pm and every first Thursday of the month, it stays open until 9pm. A limited number of visitors in possession of tickets are admitted every 10 minutes.
There’s currently an exhibition titled De Tranen van Eros, featuring works of the Utrecht-born surrealist Johannes Moesman, extended until August. This erotic art is, in some ways, reminiscent of Salvador Dali.
The Groninger Museum in Groningen is finally open again! Rolling Stones fans will have to wait until November to see The Rolling Stones Unzipped exhibition, showing 400 objects from the band’s private collection! But, for now, there's plenty to see there with extra elbow-room, from its permanent collection and beyond!
The Groninger Museum has four temporary exhibitions open at the moment: an exhibition celebrating 75 years of liberation as well as What will the neighbours say?, Mondo Mendini and Willem Kolvoort - Posters for Vera. The exhibitions were either delayed or curtailed due to the coronavirus crisis, so now’s the time to see all four simultaneously!
Here's our selection of museums that are open and welcoming visitors this summer:
Here are some other Museums in Amsterdam that are open and welcoming visitors:
The recently re-opened Museums in Rotterdam include:
You can also visit the following Museums in The Hague:
Here are some Museums in Utrecht that are open again:
Museums in Eindhoven that are open and welcoming visitors include:
Freshly re-opened Museums in Delft include:
Here are some Museums in Haarlem that are open once again:
During the school holidays, a day out at a museum with kids or friends is a welcome change after months of being cooped up and confined to streamed videos and virtual tours online. Now you can find your favourite museum and book your online tickets!
What's your favourite museum? Is there a particular museum you missed during the corona quarantine? Let us know in the comments below.