Rijksmuseum Tickets

The best time to visit the Rijksmuseum is in April and May.  These months provide your best chance to avoid large crowds of tourists, which are common during the summer.  You’ll also experience Amsterdam’s best weather of the year.  September through November, the footfall at Rijksmuseum begins to dwindle, but fall weather in Amsterdam can be quite unpredictable.  You’re just as likely to experience a gorgeous, clear day as you are a gloomy, rainy one.  Winter is rather cold.  However, should you find yourself on an Amsterdam trip during the winter, you can take advantage of less expensive airfare and lodging.  At any point in the year, the best time of the day to visit the Rijksmuseum is right when it opens because the lines are shorter and the galleries less crowded.  If you’re a late riser, try entering the Rijksmuseum around 3:00 p.m. or later.  Most visitors on a Rijksmuseum tour have already left by then. 

Getting to the Rijksmuseum is simple.  If you plan on using Amsterdam’s popular tram to get around the city, just take Tram 2 or Tram 12 to the Rijksmuseum stop.  Otherwise, you can also take the Metro by hopping on No. 52 and alighting at the Vijzelgracht stop.  Another option is riding a bicycle to the Rijksmuseum.  It represents the least expensive option and you can do your Amsterdam sightseeing by getting around town like a local.  Otherwise, if you’d prefer to drive around Amsterdam, then you should know that there is no parking near the entrance of the Rijksmuseum.  Try parking in the paid Q-Park parking structure underneath Museumplein on Van Baerlestraat.  Lastly, the smartest way of getting to the Rijkmuseums is with the iAmsterdam City Card.  It offers unlimited use of the Amsterdam’s whole public transportation system during the card’s validity, as well as free entry to Rijksmuseum, itself.

Short on cash?  That’s O.K.!  Try purchasing an iAmsterdam City Card, which offers free entry to the Rijksmuseum and a bunch of other top Amsterdam attractions!

Fun Facts – Impress your tour group with this Rijksmuseum trivia!

• The massive wall paintings that you see in the Rijksmuseum were once painted over in white by a misguided Art Director who thought they were a distraction.Luckily, they were restored nearly 40 years later.
• If you come across a suit of armor that’s missing a thigh guard, that’s because it belonged to Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck, who lost his leg to a Spanish cannonball and was killed.
• In 1715, Rembrandt’s The Night Watch was trimmed on all four side to fit its new home, which removed two characters on the left side, as well as the top of the arch.

• Rijksmuseum is the only museum on Earth that has a road going right through the middle of it!But, to protect the building and the priceless art, a law was passed in the 1930’s to prohibit motor vehicles from using it.