Our Favorite Museums in Amsterdam

Best Museums in Amsterdam: 4 We Visited + More on Our List

Once we started researching our trip to Amsterdam, museums were naturally part of the plan. We always try to find at least a few worth visiting wherever we travel, but Amsterdam quickly gave us a different problem: there were too many to choose from. And we don’t just mean the big names. Amsterdam seems to have a museum for almost everything. Art, history, beer, cheese, houseboats, microbes, cats… the deeper we looked, the stranger the list became. We obviously couldn’t visit them all, so we picked a mix that sounded interesting. Here are the Amsterdam museums we visited, what we thought, and a few still waiting for our next waddle through the city.

Amsterdam Takes Museums Seriously

Amsterdam doesn’t just have museums. It seems to have a museum for almost everything. Everyone knows the big names. The Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank House appear on almost every Amsterdam itinerary. But look beyond them, and things get much more interesting. Museums dedicated to cats, microbes, funerals, houseboats, canals, and even self-playing pianos exist. If someone in Amsterdam has ever collected it, studied it, brewed it, painted it, or lived inside it, there is a decent chance someone has turned it into a museum.

How Many Museums Are There in Amsterdam

For a relatively compact city, Amsterdam has many museums. The exact figure depends on what is counted as a museum. Still, you’ll commonly see estimates of around 100 museums across the city, ranging from major national institutions to small private collections and niche museums tucked inside historic buildings.

The most obvious place to start is Museumplein, Amsterdam’s museum district, where you’ll find three of the city’s biggest names within a short walk of each other: the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum. You could easily spend an entire day here and still not see everything.

But what surprised us most was how far Amsterdam’s museum scene stretches beyond Museumplein. Some museums occupy old canal houses, others have taken over former factories and industrial buildings, and some are so small that you could easily walk past without realizing there is a museum inside.

With around 100 to choose from, the real challenge in Amsterdam isn’t finding a museum. It’s deciding which ones deserve a spot on your itinerary.

What Kind of Museums Does Amsterdam Have

With around 100 museums to choose from, Amsterdam’s museum scene covers far more than paintings hanging on white walls. You can spend one morning looking at a Rembrandt, the afternoon waddling through an immersive digital exhibition, and somehow end the day learning about microbes, beer, or life aboard a houseboat.

Depending on your interests, Amsterdam’s museums roughly fall into a few groups.

• Art Museums. Art is a major part of Amsterdam’s museum scene. The Rijksmuseum covers centuries of Dutch art and history, the Van Gogh Museum focuses on Vincent van Gogh’s life and work, and the Stedelijk Museum focuses on modern and contemporary art.
• History Museums. Some of Amsterdam’s strongest museums tell the stories of the city and the people who lived here. The Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, National Holocaust Museum, and Rembrandt House Museum all approach history from very different perspectives.
• Immersive & Interactive Museums. Not every Amsterdam museum asks you to walk from display case to display case quietly. Fabrique des Lumières surrounds visitors with large-scale projections, light and music, while places such as Nxt Museum explore digital and new-media art.
• Food & Drink Museums. Amsterdam even turns eating and drinking into museum experiences. There’s the Heineken Experience, where you can explore the history of the Dutch beer brand, and the tiny Amsterdam Cheese Museum, which combines cheese history with plenty of opportunities to taste it.
• Science & Nature Museums. NEMO Science Museum takes a hands-on approach to science, while ARTIS-Micropia takes visitors into a world we normally cannot see at all: microbes.
• Unusual & Niche Museums. This is where Amsterdam really starts having fun. KattenKabinet is devoted to cats in art and culture. Museum Tot Zover, the Dutch Funeral Museum, explores death, funerals, and remembrance and is appropriately located inside a cemetery. The Houseboat Museum lets you step aboard a former cargo ship to see what living on Amsterdam’s canals is actually like. And Our Lord in the Attic looks like another 17th-century canal house from outside, but hides a Catholic church across its upper floors.

Amsterdam Has a Museum for That

Cats? There’s a museum for that. Microbes? Museum. Funerals? Museum. Beer? Of course. Cheese? Amsterdam has you covered there too.

We didn’t make it to all of these this time, but they give you an idea of just how far Amsterdam’s museum obsession goes. And with only five days in the city, we had to choose. So, out of roughly 100 possibilities, which Amsterdam museums did we actually visit?

Our Favorite Museums in Amsterdam We Visited

Our four choices couldn’t have been more different. One took us into one of Amsterdam’s most important stories, another surrounded us with moving art, one taught us about beer, and the smallest involved a lot of cheese tasting.

Here’s how our favorite Amsterdam museums we visited compare:

Museum	Best For	Time Needed	Our Verdict
Anne Frank House	History & WWII	1.5–2 hours	Must visit
Fabrique des Lumières	Immersive art	1–1.5 hours	Most visually impressive
Heineken Experience	Beer & interactive experience	1.5–2 hours	Fun, but commercial
Amsterdam Cheese Museum	Food & a quick stop	20–30 minutes	Small, but worth popping in

Anne Frank House: The Museum We Knew We Had to Visit

Of all the museums in Amsterdam, the Anne Frank House was on our list from the beginning. I had read The Diary of a Young Girl before our trip, so visiting the actual place where Anne and seven others spent more than two years in hiding was something I didn’t want to miss.

We booked the 30-minute introductory program before entering the museum, followed by the audio-guided visit through the building. Eventually, you pass through the famous bookcase and enter the Secret Annex itself. For us, this was the part that changed the story from something we had read about into something much more tangible. You see the rooms, the steep stairs, and just how limited the space really was.

Is the Anne Frank House Worth Visiting

Absolutely. If you’re interested in history and can visit only a few museums in Amsterdam, we would put this high on the list. Book your timed ticket well in advance, allow around 1.5–2 hours, and keep in mind that photography isn’t permitted inside. Our full guide covers the experience, tickets, introductory program, and what it actually feels like to walk through the Secret Annex: Beyond the Diary: Visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Fabrique des Lumières: When the Museum Becomes the Artwork

Fabrique des Lumières isn’t really a museum where you stand in front of a painting and study it. Here, the artwork takes over the walls, floors, and entire space around you. Located inside the former Westergasfabriek, Fabrique des Lumières uses huge digital projections, light, and music to transform the industrial building into an immersive art experience. During our visit, we found a spot, sat down, and watched as the space changed around us. You can walk between the projections, move around the hall, or stay in one place and let the exhibition come to you.

Is Fabrique des Lumières Worth Visiting?

Yes, especially if you want something different from Amsterdam’s traditional art museums. Allow around 1–1.5 hours, and don’t feel like you need to keep moving. Part of the experience is finding a good spot and watching the artwork unfold around you. For more on what we saw, how the experience works, tickets, and whether immersive art is worth the price, read our full post: Fabrique des Lumières: When Art Takes Over the Walls in Amsterdam.

Heineken Experience: Museum, Brewery or Marketing Machine?

A rainy day in Amsterdam changed our plans and sent us indoors. That’s how we ended up at the Heineken Experience, inside the former Heineken brewery where the company brewed beer for more than a century. The first part was our favorite. We learned about the brewing process, ingredients, and Heineken’s history, with the old copper brewing tanks as a highlight. But as you move through the building, history gradually gives way to something much more interactive. Immersive rooms, photo opportunities, personalized bottles, games, and, of course, beer tastings and a bar at the end.

Is the Heineken Experience Worth Visiting?

Yes, but know what you’re booking. This isn’t a traditional beer museum. It’s part brewery history, part interactive attraction, and a very large dose of Heineken marketing. We enjoyed it, but it definitely felt more commercial than the other museums we visited. Allow around 1.5–2 hours, particularly if you want to try the interactive sections and stay for a beer at the end. For our full experience, what happens inside and whether we think the ticket is worth the price, read: Inside the Heineken Experience Amsterdam: The Story Behind the Famous Green Bottle.

Amsterdam’s Cheese Museum: Possibly the Tastiest Museum in Amsterdam

Calling the Amsterdam Cheese Museum a museum might be slightly generous, but when there is free cheese involved, we’re willing to let that slide. Upstairs is primarily a cheese shop, with more than 20 varieties available to taste. Naturally, we tried quite a few. Downstairs, a small cellar houses the museum, with displays on Dutch cheese-making, old tools, and a little history behind one of the Netherlands’ most famous foods. It doesn’t take long to explore, but that’s also part of its appeal. We tasted our way around the shop, discovered that Old Amsterdam was our favorite, and left with some Beer Cheese packed and ready to travel.

Is the Amsterdam Cheese Museum Worth Visiting?

Yes, if you’re already exploring central Amsterdam. It’s free, fun, and takes only about 20–30 minutes. We wouldn’t plan an entire afternoon around it, but for cheese lovers, it’s an easy stop to add between Amsterdam’s bigger attractions. For more cheese tasting, what you’ll actually find downstairs, and what we thought of this tiny “museum,” read our full post: Say Cheese! Inside Amsterdam’s Cheesiest Little Museum.

Which Amsterdam Museum Was Our Favorite

Picking one favorite from these four isn’t exactly fair. The Anne Frank House, Fabrique des Lumières, Heineken Experience, and Amsterdam Cheese Museum couldn’t be more different, and that’s precisely what we liked about our museum choices in Amsterdam.

If we had to hand out a few Lifeguin awards, this is how we’d do it:

• Best Overall: Anne Frank House. The museum that stayed with us the longest and the one we would prioritize if visiting Amsterdam for the first time.
• Most Unique: Fabrique des Lumières. Art surrounds you rather than hanging quietly on a wall. It was easily the most visually memorable museum we visited.
• Most Fun: Heineken Experience. Interactive, social, and very commercial, but also completely different from a traditional museum visit.
• Best Free Stop: Amsterdam Cheese Museum. Tiny, free, and full of cheese samples. Sometimes a museum doesn’t need to be complicated.

So, which was our favorite? The Anne Frank House had the biggest impact on us, but we wouldn’t want every museum experience to feel the same. What made our Amsterdam museum itinerary work was the mix: history one day, immersive art the next, followed by beer and a little cheese. And with around 100 museums across Amsterdam, we still barely scratched the surface.

Famous Amsterdam Museums We Didn’t Visit (This Time)

Four museums in five days might sound like a decent effort, but in Amsterdam, it barely scratches the surface. And yes, we know: we went to Amsterdam and didn’t visit the Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum. Sometimes you have to choose. That doesn’t mean we’ve crossed them off the list. These are some of the Amsterdam museums we didn’t manage to visit this time but would consider on our next trip.

Rijksmuseum

Probably the biggest omission from our Amsterdam itinerary. The Rijksmuseum is the Netherlands’ national museum and home to works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other Dutch masters, including Rembrandt’s famous The Night Watch. If you want one museum covering Dutch art and history on a large scale, this is the obvious choice. It’s definitely still on our list.

STRAAT Museum

We made it all the way to NDSM, wandered around the former shipyard, and saw plenty of street art, but we didn’t visit STRAAT. The museum occupies a huge former industrial building and focuses on street art and graffiti, featuring large-scale works by artists from around the world. Considering how much we enjoyed wandering around NDSM, this is one we probably should have squeezed in.

Van Gogh Museum

Another Amsterdam heavyweight we somehow left for next time. The Van Gogh Museum holds the world’s largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s work, tracing his development as an artist through paintings, drawings, and letters. For Van Gogh fans, this could easily be the first museum to book.

Stedelijk Museum

If Dutch masters aren’t your thing, the Stedelijk Museum takes Amsterdam’s art scene in a completely different direction. Its collection focuses on modern and contemporary art and design, making it a good alternative to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum if you prefer something more recent.

Rembrandt House Museum

This is one we’d particularly like to see because you’re not just visiting a museum about Rembrandt. You’re stepping inside the house where Rembrandt lived and worked for almost 20 years. The restored rooms offer a glimpse into his daily life, studio, and working methods, which sounds much more personal than simply seeing his paintings hanging in a gallery.

ARTIS-Micropia

This one was even closer. We were already at ARTIS Amsterdam Royal Zoo, but skipped Micropia during our visit. Instead of animals you can easily see, Micropia focuses on the microscopic world of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microbes living around and inside us. It’s certainly one of Amsterdam’s more unusual museum concepts and one we’d be curious to experience next time.

Our Lord in the Attic

From the street, Our Lord in the Attic looks like another historic Amsterdam canal house. Inside, however, there’s a surprise: a Catholic church hidden across the upper floors, dating back to the 17th century when Catholics could not worship publicly in Amsterdam. This is exactly the kind of museum we love finding while traveling: a historic building with a story you could easily walk past without knowing what is hidden inside. One for our next Amsterdam waddle.

How to Choose Which Amsterdam Museums to Visit

With so many museums in Amsterdam, trying to visit all the famous ones can quickly turn your trip into a checklist. Instead, choose museums based on what you actually enjoy and mix one or two bigger names with something a little different.

• For history: Anne Frank House or Rijksmuseum. Choose the Anne Frank House for a more personal World War II story, or the Rijksmuseum for a much broader journey through Dutch history.
• For art: Van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum. Van Gogh fans have an obvious choice, while the Rijksmuseum offers a much wider collection of Dutch art and famous masters.
• For immersive art: Fabrique des Lumières. Skip the traditional gallery format and watch art take over the walls and floors around you through projections, light, and music.
• For something fun: Heineken Experience. Part brewery history, part interactive attraction, and part marketing machine. It’s a good choice when you want something more social and less traditional.
• For food lovers: Amsterdam Cheese Museum. Small, free, and filled with cheese samples. You can easily squeeze this one between other stops in the center.
• For street art: STRAAT Museum. Head across the IJ to NDSM for large-scale graffiti and street art inside a former industrial building.
• For something weird: ARTIS-Micropia or KattenKabinet. Spend an hour learning about microbes you can’t see or browse a collection dedicated to cats in art. Amsterdam really does have a museum for almost everything.
• For a hidden gem: Our Lord in the Attic. Step inside a historic canal house and discover a 17th-century Catholic church hidden across its upper floors.

Our approach would be to mix rather than match. Pick one major museum you’re genuinely excited about, add something interactive or unusual, and leave enough time to actually enjoy Amsterdam outside its museums too.

Amsterdam Museum Tips We Wish We Knew

With so many museums packed into Amsterdam, it’s easy to look at the map and think you can squeeze five of them into one day. Technically, maybe. Would we recommend it? Definitely not. These are a few things worth knowing when planning your Amsterdam museum itinerary:

• Book the big museums in advance. Don’t assume you can show up, especially at popular museums such as the Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum. Tickets and popular time slots can sell out.
• Check whether you need a timed entry. Many Amsterdam museums use specific entry times, so check the ticket conditions before building the rest of your day around them.
• Don’t plan four major museums in one day. Two substantial museums would already be plenty for us. Museum fatigue is real, and by the fourth collection, even a Rembrandt might struggle to get your attention.
• Use Museumplein to your advantage. The Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum are clustered around Museumplein. If several are on your list, grouping them geographically can save a lot of travel time.
• Public transport makes museum hopping easy. Amsterdam’s trams and metro can get you close to many major museums, while central museums are often within walking distance of one another.
• Check what your City Card actually includes. The I amsterdam City Card can make sense if you’re planning several paid attractions and using public transport, but don’t buy it automatically. Check whether the specific museums you want to visit are included and compare the total cost first.
• Arrive a little early. Even with a timed ticket, you may need time for security, ticket checks, lockers, or finding the correct entrance.
• Leave space for smaller museums. Not every museum needs half a day. Places such as the Amsterdam Cheese Museum can easily fit between other activities without taking over your itinerary.
• Don’t turn Amsterdam into one long museum queue. Some of our favorite moments in the city happened outside museums entirely. Leave time for canals, neighborhoods, food stops, and simply waddling around without a reservation to rush toward.

Our biggest tip is simple: choose fewer museums and actually enjoy them. Amsterdam has enough museums for several trips, so you don’t need to see everything the first time.

Are Amsterdam Museums Expensive

Amsterdam museums can get expensive, especially if you plan to visit several of the major attractions. Prices range from completely free stops such as the Amsterdam Cheese Museum to bigger museums and interactive experiences costing €20 or more per person. If museums are a major part of your itinerary, the I amsterdam City Card may save you money, as it includes dozens of museums, public transport, and other attractions. However, not every major museum is included, so add up the individual ticket prices for the places you actually want to visit before buying the card.

Buy Us a Ko-fi

Amsterdam might be famous for the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House, but our own museum trail turned out a little differently. In five days, we went from a wartime hiding place to floor-to-ceiling digital art, through Heineken’s history, and finally into a cellar full of cheese. Not exactly a traditional museum itinerary, but very much our kind. And somehow, despite visiting four completely different museums, we left Amsterdam with a longer museum list than the one we arrived with. There was always another gallery, historic house, or slightly strange collection we didn’t have time to squeeze in. That’s probably our biggest takeaway: you don’t need to visit every famous museum for an Amsterdam trip to feel complete. Pick the ones that actually interest you, leave room for something weird, and save a few for your next waddle through Amsterdam.

Travel Bold. Eat Well. Waddle Wild.

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