Van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum? How to Choose (2026)

Van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum is the choice that stalls half the trips to Amsterdam: limited time, two great museums a five-minute walk apart, and tickets that sell out. Pick wrong and you spend the afternoon in the wrong queue, wishing you were somewhere else. I have visited both many times, so here is the honest, been-there guide to help you choose.

The quick answer

If you love one artist’s story told up close, go for the Van Gogh Museum. If you want the sweep of Dutch history and the Golden Age in one building, go for the Rijksmuseum.

First-timers with a single slot often lean towards Van Gogh for its uniqueness, while families and history fans usually prefer the Rijksmuseum. If your day allows it, do both. They sit a five-minute walk apart on the same square, so it is a very doable pairing.

At a glance: van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum

Both prices and hours drift a little each year, so treat the numbers above as a guide and confirm the current figures on each official site before you go.

The Rijksmuseum in short

The Rijksmuseum is the Netherlands’ national museum of art and history, and it is the one most people mean when they say “the big museum in Amsterdam”. It covers roughly 800 years of Dutch art, from the 13th to the 20th century. Founded in 1800 in The Hague, it moved to Amsterdam in 1808 and now holds around a million objects, with about 8,000 on display across some 80 galleries.

The building itself is part of the pleasure. Architect Pierre Cuypers designed it in a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles, and it opened in 1885. Walking into the Gallery of Honour on the second floor still stops me every time.

That gallery is where the headline works live. Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is the centrepiece, and the whole collection is arranged around it. Nearby you will find Vermeer’s The Milkmaid and The Little Street, plus Frans Hals, Jan Steen and Ruisdael.

There is even a single Van Gogh self-portrait from 1887, which is a quiet surprise for many visitors.

It is not all famous paintings, either. The dollhouses, the Delftware, the ship models, the Asian Pavilion and the Cuypers Library all reward a wander. If you want the highlights and a bit of Rembrandt context, our Rembrandt and Night Watch guide and the fuller Rijksmuseum guide are good next reads.

Honest feel: plan on roughly 2-3 hours for the highlights, and know that enthusiasts can happily lose half a day here (Lonely Planet even suggests 4-5 hours to do it properly). The one downside is scale. It is easy to feel footsore, and on busy days the room around The Night Watch gets shoulder-to-shoulder.

The Van Gogh Museum in short

The Van Gogh Museum holds the largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s work anywhere: more than 200 paintings, roughly 500 drawings, and somewhere north of 700 letters. It is a focused, single-artist museum, noticeably smaller than the Rijksmuseum, spread over four floors. Rather than a greatest-hits wall, it walks you through his life and how his painting changed.

The works people come for include Sunflowers, The Bedroom, Almond Blossom and Wheatfield with Crows, along with several self-portraits. Seeing them in the order of his life, with his letters alongside, hits harder than any single picture on its own.

One myth to clear up before you arrive: The Starry Night is not here. That painting lives at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and it has since 1941. Amsterdam still has hundreds of remarkable works, just not that particular one.

The honest catch is booking. Tickets are timed and online only, with a 30-minute entry window, and there are no tickets sold at the door. Popular dates sell out days ahead, so this is not a museum you can decide on over breakfast.

Once you are inside, though, you can stay as long as you like. Our Van Gogh Museum tickets guide walks through the booking step by step.

How to choose

Deciding between the Van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum comes down to what kind of visit you actually want. Here is how I steer friends, by traveller type.

The first-time visitor

If this is your first trip and you only have one museum in you, it is genuinely a coin toss with a nudge. Many first-timers pick the Van Gogh Museum because it is unique, personal and quicker. That said, if you want to feel the whole Dutch story in one go, the Rijksmuseum is the more complete “I saw Amsterdam” experience.

The art lover

If you love art history and the Dutch Golden Age, the Rijksmuseum is your museum. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals under one roof is hard to beat. If you love one artist deeply and want the emotional arc of his life, the Van Gogh Museum will move you more.

Visiting with kids

Families tend to do better at the Rijksmuseum. The variety helps: dollhouses, ship models, armour and interactive corners give restless kids something to find between the paintings. The Van Gogh Museum is calmer and more contemplative, which can be a tougher sell for younger children.

Short on time

If your clock is tight, the Van Gogh Museum is the faster win at roughly 1.5-2 hours, versus 2-3 hours or more for the Rijksmuseum. You can be in and out of Van Gogh in a morning and still have your afternoon free for the canals.

Can you do both in one day?

Yes, and it is one of my favourite ways to spend a day in Amsterdam. The two buildings sit about a five-minute walk apart on Museumplein, so the logistics are kind. The trick is to book timed entry slots for both in advance and to pace yourself.

Here is the plan I use. Start at the Van Gogh Museum around 9:00, because it is smaller, fills up fastest and rewards a fresh, unhurried head (roughly 1.5-2 hours). Then stroll across the square, grab a coffee, and give the Rijksmuseum the roughly 2-3 hours it deserves.

All in, budget around 4-5 hours plus the short walk and a break. It is a full but not brutal day, and it leaves the evening free. If you would rather spread the sights out, our one-day Amsterdam itinerary and two-day itinerary show how the museums fit around the rest of the city.

Tickets, prices and saving money

For the Rijksmuseum, an adult ticket runs to around EUR 25 in 2026, though a few guides quote closer to EUR 23.50, and under-18s go free. Book a timed slot online, especially for weekends and school holidays when it sells out. Confirm the current price on the official site before you pay.

For the Van Gogh Museum, expect roughly EUR 24-25 for an adult, again booked online for a timed 30-minute window. There are no door sales, so a spontaneous visit is off the table. Prices shift year to year, so treat these as a guide and check the official figure.

Check Rijksmuseum tickets & prices →
Check Van Gogh Museum tickets →

The honest point about passes

The I amsterdam City Card includes free entry to the Rijksmuseum and covers 50-plus museums and attractions. What catches people out is that it does not include the Van Gogh Museum, which is the one big museum the card leaves out. Our I amsterdam City Card guide spells out what is and is not covered.

If you want both museums on a single pass, the Dutch Museumkaart is the one to look at. It costs around EUR 75 a year (confirm the current rate on the official site), covers 500-plus museums nationwide, and includes both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. One catch matters: even with any pass, you still have to reserve a free timed slot online for the Van Gogh Museum, or you will be turned away at the door.

Practical tips for both

Both museums sit on or beside Museumplein, the wide green square that also holds the Stedelijk and the famous I amsterdam letters’ old spot. The Rijksmuseum’s address is Museumstraat 1, and the Van Gogh Museum is a short walk across the grass.

• Go early or late. The first hour after opening (around 9:00) and the last couple of hours before closing are the quietest. Fridays at the Van Gogh Museum stay open later, which spreads the crowds.
• Book ahead, always. Timed slots are the norm now. The Van Gogh Museum in particular can be sold out days in advance in high season.
• Do Van Gogh first if you do both. It is smaller and fills fastest, so a 9:00 start there pays off.
• Wear comfortable shoes. The Rijksmuseum is enormous, and you will walk more than you expect.
• Leave the big bag at the hotel. Cloakroom rules and queues are easier to skip if you travel light.

Planning the rest of your trip around these two? Our things to do in Amsterdam hub and this list of top Amsterdam sights pair well with a museum day, and if you are coming in winter, our Amsterdam in December guide covers the shorter, cosier season.

Veelgestelde vragen

What is better, Van Gogh Museum or Rijksmuseum?

Neither is objectively better; it depends on what you want. The Rijksmuseum gives you 800 years of Dutch art and the national story, from Rembrandt’s Night Watch to Vermeer, needs roughly 2-3 hours, and suits history lovers and families. The Van Gogh Museum is a focused, emotional deep dive into one artist in about 1.5-2 hours, and it offers something you cannot see anywhere else.

If you can only pick one, first-timers often choose Van Gogh for uniqueness while Dutch-art fans choose the Rijksmuseum, and ideally you do both.

Which is the best museum to visit in Amsterdam?

The three most acclaimed are the Rijksmuseum (the flagship national museum and home of The Night Watch), the Van Gogh Museum (the largest Van Gogh collection), and the Anne Frank House (for history). There is no single best. The Rijksmuseum is the top pick for overall art and Dutch history, while the Van Gogh Museum wins for a single-artist experience.

Is the Van Gogh Museum worth it in Amsterdam?

For most visitors, yes. It holds the largest Van Gogh collection in the world, with 200-plus paintings including Sunflowers, The Bedroom and Almond Blossom, and it tells his life story exceptionally well in about 1.5-2 hours. The main caveat is booking, because tickets are timed and online only and often sell out days ahead, so reserve early.

Can you do Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum in one day?

Yes. They sit about a five-minute walk apart on Museumplein, so both fit comfortably in one day if you book timed entry slots. A common plan is the Van Gogh Museum first around 9:00, since it is smaller and fills fastest (roughly 1.5-2 hours), then the Rijksmuseum later (roughly 2-3 hours), for about 4-5 hours total with the walk and a break.

Why is Starry Night not at the Van Gogh Museum?

Because it lives at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it has been since 1941. Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum is built largely on the family collection kept by his brother Theo and sister-in-law Jo van Gogh-Bonger, and works that were sold, like The Starry Night, ended up elsewhere. Amsterdam still has hundreds of remarkable works, just not that one.

What should you not miss in Amsterdam?

The headline sights are the Rijksmuseum (with The Night Watch), the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House, plus a canal cruise on the UNESCO canal ring, the Jordaan neighbourhood and Vondelpark. Treat that as a suggested starting list rather than a ranked fact, since the best mix depends on your interests.

What are the best things to see at the Rijksmuseum?

Top highlights include Rembrandt’s The Night Watch (the centrepiece), Vermeer’s The Milkmaid and The Little Street, and the cathedral-like Gallery of Honour lined with Golden Age painters such as Hals, Steen and Ruisdael. Do not skip the single Van Gogh self-portrait from 1887, the famous dollhouses and Delftware, the Asian Pavilion, or the Cuypers Library and the building itself.

What disability did Vincent van Gogh have?

There is no confirmed diagnosis, and experts have never reached consensus; a 2016 Van Gogh Museum symposium of 35 specialists did not agree. The most-discussed theories are bipolar disorder and temporal-lobe epilepsy, with others proposed over the years including psychotic episodes and the effects of absinthe or lead. Any label is retrospective speculation, so it is best treated carefully and non-diagnostically.

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Written and fact-checked by the Tours in Amsterdam editorial team, local specialists who have visited both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum many times (last updated: September 2026). Prices, hours and booking rules change through the year, so please confirm the current details on the official Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum websites before you travel. For where to base yourself near Museumplein, see our Amsterdam hotel tips.