Museums in Utrecht

Catharijneconvent Museum is a museum of sacred art in Utrecht. It exhibits the past and present of Christian heritage in the Netherlands and offers insights into the art and cultural history of the Netherlands deriving from Christianity and its influence on Dutch society. It has a collection of objects dating from the early Middle Ages to the present, such as richly illustrated manuscripts, paintings, altarpieces, garments and gold and silver artefacts.

The Centraal Museum is one of the oldest municipal museums in the Netherlands. Museum highlights include the 1.000-year-old "Utrecht Ship" and paintings by Utrecht-born 17th-century artists and Northern mannerists. The Centraal Museum also runs the Rietveld Schröder House Museum and the Miffy Museum, a museum dedicated to the work of Utrecht-born illustrator and children's book author Dick Bruna.

Discover the secrets of Sonnenborgh: go behind the thick walls of the 16th century bastion to search for cannon emplacements. Climb the steps up to the 19th century telescope domes and gaze at the stars. Sonnenborgh Observatory is an astronomical museum which was the first-ever home of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute.

National Railway Museum (Spoorwegmuseum) is not just a museum: it is a fascinating environment in which you discover how the railway changed the world. It was opened in 1927 and shows the development of the Dutch railway, from the first-ever Dutch steam engine, through to the present day. It is one of the most charming museums in Utrecht and focuses on the social context of train travel, as well as the technical aspects of trains.

Museum Speelklok in Utrecht collects, preserves, presents and restores an extensive and internationally renowned collection of self-playing mechanical musical instruments such as barrel organs, clockwork music players, pianolas, player pianos and street organs.

Utrecht Botanic Gardens are part of Utrecht University and are open to the public each year from March 1 until December 1. Covering nine hectares, this extraordinary oasis of natural beauty features a rock garden, an evolution garden, greenhouses, a bamboo walkway and more.