The Rijksmuseum is the big daddy of Amsterdam museums. It began as a small core of paintings from the Dutch royal family.
Now, it’s morphed into one of the worlds’ most comprehensive museums. It’s all housed in a stunning Neo-Gothic castle designed by Pierre Cuyper.
Inside, you’ll find an unbeatable collection of Dutch Golden Age masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen. The crown jewels of the collection are proudly displayed in the Hall of Honor.
You enter the Rijksmuseum through a bright, spacious atrium. Natural light pours in from the glass roof, illuminating the pale Portuguese stone floors. This striking entryway is part of the museum’s major 10 year renovation.
The Rijksmuseum is no small undertaking. For all its grandeur and world-famous masterpieces, it can feel overwhelming — and often uncomfortably crowded.
Photography is allowed, and tickets aren’t meaningfully limited aside from assigned entry times. So, expect major bottlenecks, especially in front of the Rembrandt and Vermeer paintings.
In this guide to the Rijksmuseum, I’ll give you an easy overview of the museum layout, point you to the must see masterpieces, and share practical tips for making your visit smooth and efficient.
Quick Tips & Layout
Floor Plan
The museum has over one million objects. It’s laid out in a chronological sequence:
- Ground Floor: Medieval, Early Renaissance & Asian Pavilion
- 1st Floor: Golden Age masterpieces & Hall of Honour
- 2nd Floor: 18th & 19th century art & a few Van Goghs
- 3rd Floor: 20th century + changing exhibitions
You’ll enter on the ground floor. I advise going up to the 1st Floor to check out the Dutch masterpieces first before museum fatigue sets in, which it inevitably will.
My proposed itinerary would be to:
▶️ Go straight to the Gallery of Honor (Golden Age stuff) first.
▶️ Then wander a bit into the nearby side galleries on that floor.
▶️ If you have energy, head up one more level to the 2nd floor.
▶️ Skip the ground floor unless you’re specifically Renaissance curious. It’s the least essential for a one time visit, and I found it a bit boring to be honest.
The Gallery of Honor is the museum’s centerpiece. At one end is the massive The Night Watch, displayed in a special alcove.
At the opposite end, you’ll see the Great Hall. It’s a big, open, cathedral-like space filled with stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, and decorative paintings.
The art depicts heroes from Dutch history. Be sure to check out the image of Rembrandt!
The Hall of Honor was part of Pierre Cuypers’ original 19th century design. It was meant to feel like a church with side chapels, giving the museum a quasi-religious, reverent feel.
The floor mosaics represent virtues and disciplines. It’s not random decorative patterning.
Tips for Visiting
Here are some things to know before you go:
- The museum is huge. Prioritize what you want to see.
- Plan to spend about three hours (if you can last that long).
- Check your bag or backpack in the cloakroom or free lockers.
- Lockers often fill up by midday, so plan accordingly.
- You can pick up an audio guide or simply read the informational panels.
- There’s also a museum app you can download for extra insights.
- Expect large, uncomfortable crowds, especially around major works.
- You won’t be able to visit without pre-booking a timed entry ticket or guided tour.
Guide To The Rijksmuseum: What To See
Rembrandt, The Night Watch
The Night Watch is the Rijksmuseum’s prize possession — and it’s absolutely enormous.
After being vandalized, the painting was given its own alcove and is now protected behind glass. It’s also undergoing a major restoration, a process expected to last until at least 2026 (though my guide mentioned it could take another five years).
During your visit, you might find the painting partially covered by scaffolding. Or, if you’re lucky, you may catch the restorers at work!
The Nigh Watch is all about civic pride. It depicts a company of Amsterdam guardsmen preparing for a march.
It’s a lively composition. Rembrandt captures them in dynamic, almost theatrical action, rather than turning out a traditional, stiff group portrait. Everyone is in motion but no one is ready to fire.
Another rather daring flourish (for the time) is that Rembrandt put himself and his wife in the painting.
Rembrandt is on the left, peeping over a shoulder. The young girl, immersed in light, has the face of his wife Saskia.
But not all the painting is there! In 1715, the canvas was trimmed on all sides to squeeze it into a new location. About 20% of the painting was lost, most noticeably parts of the left side (including two full figures!).
In 2021, however, the museum created a digital reconstruction of how The Night Watch originally looked before it was cut down. It’s in an adjacent room, which gives you a chance to look at it up close.
Vermeer, The Milkmaid
The Milkmaid is one of Vermeer’s best known paintings. At just 18 inches high, it’s a quiet work showing a single figure in a domestic interior.
In this piece, Vermeer captures a scene of everyday life. The maid is still, almost statue-like, with an inscrutable disposition. She pours milk in concentrated fashion, as if it’s a critical task.
Vermeer’s composition is exquisitely designed. The kitchen itself is convincing, thanks to Vermeer’s subtle use of perspective and light.
During Vermeer’s time, milkmaids were regarded as amorous floozies. But Vermeer paints her as virtuous and steady working girl.
Cupid is shown in the tiles at the bottom. But she has no time for love.
Jan Asselijn, The Threatened Swan
This dramatic painting in the Hall of Honour was the first painting the Rijksmuseum acquired. It’s also one of the most famous animal paintings from the Dutch Golden Age.
In it, the swan defends its nest from an approaching dog. The swan is pure white, fierce, and almost majestic. It’s caught in a powerful moment of action and symbolizes nobility, protection, and courage.
Though it seems like a simple animal painting, a century later, it was reinterpreted as a political symbol.
The swan came to symbolize a Dutch patriot defending the country. Specifically, it was linked to Johan de Witt, a major Dutch statesman who was murdered during political upheaval.
Frans Hals, Married Couple in a Garden
This Rijksmuseum masterpiece shows a young, stylish couple relaxing in a lush garden of love. They’re holding hands, smiling at each other, with easy, joyful body language.
The woman is seated elegantly while the man leans toward her casually. It feels so natural, like a candid snapshot compared to the stiff portraits that were the norm at the time.
Hals’ signature loose brushwork is everywhere: sparkling textures in the lace, shimmering green foliage, and bright lively faces.
The woman is smiling and looks a bit naughty, an unusual thing for the time. And doesn’t she remind you of Judy Garland just a bit?
Jan Steen, The Merry Family
Rather than painting grand historical scenes for wealthy patrons, Jan Steen focused on the everyday lives of common people. His paintings often come with a generous dose of wit, bawdy humor, and sly social commentary.
The Merry Family is classic Steen. The painting is an inventive, colorful composition packed with energy. It captures a lively, chaotic scene of domestic life, full of hidden moral lessons and psychological insight.
Everyone in the scene is engaged in some form of bad behavior, openly mocking the strict Calvinist values of the time. Parents drink, children misbehave, and even the toddler is being offered wine.
Beneath the humor, Steen hints at the consequences of excess and the breakdown of family virtue. All while making the viewer laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride
This was my favorite painting in the Rijksmuseum. It’s not just me. Van Gogh adored it as well.
It’s an emotionally powerful portrait of the biblical couple Isaac and Rebecca. Rembrandt painted it 20 years after The Night Watch.
It was a late career painting, at a time when Rembrandt was struggling and bankrupt. Though his career was declining, his painting wasn’t.
You can see a style change in this piece. The artist shifted to brighter colors and used a thick impasto technique that looks almost sculptural. It’s all splashy strokes, chunky surfaces, and tonal contrasts.
The shimmering gold brocade, red dress, and pearls at her neck and wrist are simply gorgeous.
The man has his hand on the woman’s heart, indicating heartfelt loyalty. The bride looks a bit tentative, but then people weren’t allowed to be laughing in a painting. (Plus, they were probably hiding their teeth!)
Rembrandt, Self-Portait at 18
Rembrandt was the master of selfies, with 80 self-portraits to his name. And, in a room of early Rembrandts, you’ll find his first one, done at age 18.
His face isn’t battered and jowly yet. But his eyes are hidden in shadow beneath a mop of hair.
Even as an inexperienced young artist, Rembrandt did not shy away from experimenting. The light glances along his right cheek, while the rest of his face is veiled in shadow.
It takes a while to realize that the artist is gazing intently out at us. Using the butt end of his brush, Rembrandt made scratches in the still wet paint to accentuate the curls of his tousled hair.
Vermeer, Love Letter
Vermeer’s The Love Letter draws you into a private moment through an unusual “through view.’ From a dim foreground, you glimpse a sunlit domestic scene beyond.
An elegantly dressed woman looks up expectantly at her maid, who has just handed her a letter. Quiet symbols scattered throughout the room reveal its meaning: it’s a love letter, full of longing and hidden emotion.
A lute suggests sensual love, while the casually discarded slippers hint at secrecy or an illicit affair. A broom resting in the hallway nods to domestic life outside marriage, love existing beyond the bounds of convention.
The paintings on the back wall deepen the sense of distance. One shows a ship at sea, symbolizing an absent lover. Another shows a solitary figure walking away down a sandy path.
Through these layered clues, Vermeer weaves a quiet story of love that feels present yet unreachable.
Vermeer, View of Houses in Delft (The Little Street)
This painting is unusual in Vermeer’s body of work. He rarely ventured outside domestic interiors. It’s remarkable for its time as a portrait of ordinary houses and everyday life.
The composition feels both dynamic and perfectly balanced. Vermeer captures the old brick walls, flaking whitewash, and deep cracks with such precision that the surfaces seem almost tangible.
It has his usual attention to detail. Just look at those soft white clouds.
An art historian tracked down the actual address of the scene. It depicts Vlamingstraat 40–42 in Delft. This is where Vermeer’s aunt, Ariaentgen Claes, lived with her children from around 1645 until her death in 1670.
Vermeer, Woman Reading a Letter
This is another quiet, peaceful Vermeer that invites you to slow down and take a close look. It was the first Vermeer the Rijksmuseum acquired.
It depicts a private, contemplative moment. A young woman is absorbed in a letter.
Behind her, soft light and a map suggest distant love or longing. The colors are all secondary to the unbelievably radiant lapis lazuli of her dress.
The painting is also filled with subtle storytelling. It’s a personal letter, probably a love letter from a missing beau.
She wears simple clothing and no jewelry, suggesting sincerity and personal longing rather than material concerns. A crumpled cloth on the table adds to the feeling of a moment interrupted.
Goya, Portrait of Don Ramon Satue
The Spanish master, Goya, was a virtuoso portrait painter. He captured not only his subjects’ likenesses, but their personal expressiveness and individuality.
This painting shows Don Ramón Satué, a Spanish judge and high-ranking official during a very turbulent period in Spanish history.
Goya painted it around 1823. At that time, Spain was experiencing political chaos, swinging between liberal constitutional government and reactionary absolutism under King Ferdinand VII.
Goya was already an old man (77 years old) and was deeply disillusioned by Spain’s political and social upheaval. His late portraits (including this one) feel less formal and more psychologically rich than his earlier court paintings.
Van Gogh, Self-Portrait
There is an early Van Gogh self-portrait. It’s from 1887, when Van Gogh had moved to Paris.
He was entranced with the new French style of Impressionism. And he began experimenting with lighter colors and looser brushstrokes.
In this self-portrait, he portrays himself as a fashionably dressed Parisian.
It’s less intense than the later, more famous Van Gogh self-portraits. This one shows him still searching for a style.
Rijksmuseum Library
And you don’t want to miss the library! It’s the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.
The space itself is gorgeous. it looks like a temple built with modern materials.
It’s a soaring, multi-level room filled with cast iron railings, spiral staircases, wooden desks, and tall shelves packed with art books and old catalogs. Green velvet protects the books from dust.
It really feels like stepping into an old European university or Harry Potter movie.
The library is used mainly by art historians, researchers, and students. But it’s open for public browsing too (with some rules).
Tips For The Rijskmuseum
Address: Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam
Hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.
How To Get There:
You can easily walk to the Museum Quarter from central Amsterdam in 15-20 minutes. If you’re taking public transport, the closest tram stops are Rijksmuseum (lines 2, 5, 12, and 19) and Museumplein.
When To Go
I advise going first thing in the morning. Line up early so you can make a beeline for the Hall of Honor before others arrive. Or else, aim for mid afternoon.
Mid morning is the most crowded. It’s really too bad the museum isn’t open later.
Tickets
You can buy timed entry tickets on the museum website or on Get Your Guide.
If you book a guided tour, I would expect it to last 1.5 to 2 hours. Most of that time will be spent in the Hall of Honor, leaving you to explore the rest of the museum yourself. You can also take the museum’s one hour highlights tour.
Photo Policy
A little rant: I really think the Rijksmuseum should ban photography, just like the Prado in Madrid. I loved seeing the many masterpieces in the Hall of Honour.
But the crowds and constant jockeying for photo ops made it a much less enjoyable experience.
The paintings are all in the public domain. You can download high quality images online if you want a memory.
And, yikes, some of the key works like The Jewish Bride and The Milkmaid aren’t even protected by glass!
Is the Rijksmuseum Worth Visiting?
The Rijksmuseum is absolutely a place where you go to worship art. It has some of the world’s most iconic paintings.
If you love Dutch Golden Age painting and beautiful museum spaces, it’s a dream. The Rembrandts and Vermeers alone are worth the trip.
But if that era isn’t your thing, the Rijksmuseum might not resonate as much. And there’s no getting around the biggest downside: the crowds, especially in the Hall of Honor.
Honestly, I found it a bit overwhelming. Instead of feeling exhilarated after my visit, I left feeling a tad exhausted. Better crowd control would make the experience so much more enjoyable.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to the Rijksmusuem. Pin it for later.
