Main museums in Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum is the iconic museum of the Netherlands. After ten years of rebuilding, refurbishing and renovating, the Rijksmuseum once again opened its doors to the public in full splendour on 13 April 2013. The renovation was led by architectural firm Cruz y Ortiz (the same architects who renovated our Restaurant in the summer of 2015). Both the building and the presentation of the collection underwent a total transformation. This revamping resulted in surprising furnishings, beautiful exhibitions, dazzling events and numerous facilities for young and old.

The Rijksmuseum’s world-famous collection is being presented in an entirely new way. Visitors go on a journey through the ages and experience a sense of beauty and of time. In 80 galleries, 8,000 objects tell the story of 800 years of Dutch art and history, from the Middle Ages to Mondrian.

A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings in the world. Van Gogh was one of the most prolific artists of the nineteenth century and produced extraordinary paintings that are world famous today. The Van Gogh Museum offers a vivid insight into the artist’s work and life.

The Stedelijk Museum is an innovative and high profile museum for modern and contemporary art and design in Amsterdam, beloved among art connoisseurs from all over the world. At the Stedelijk, works from the Cobra Movement and by Malevich, Mondriaan, Matisse and other great artists can be admired. The totally renewed Stedelijk Museum re-opened its doors in September 2012 after a long period of renovations.

Everybody who is interested in the history of Amsterdam simply must visit the Amsterdam Museum, which is only a 3-minute walk from the Ambassade Hotel. The rich collection of works of art, objects and archaeological finds brings to life the fortunes of Amsterdammers of days gone by and today. Photos and film material show the happy times as well as the drama of the city’s inhabitants.

Having a large collection of Cobra works ourselves, of course we warmly recommend the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen. Cobra caused a revolution in the Netherlands; a breakthrough in modern art that continues to influence art theory and artistic expression to the present day. The Cobra Museum of Modern Art Amstelveen ensures that the legacy of the international Cobra Movement remains in the public eye, and that the intellectual heritage of the Movement’s artists is kept alive.

It goes without saying that the Anne Frank House, located close to the Ambassade Hotel, doesn’t need much further introduction. Go and visit the canal house where Anne Frank wrote her world-famous diary while in hiding in occupied Holland during World War II. Each year millions of tourists from around the world visit the ‘Achterhuis’, where Anne and her family went into hiding.

The H’ART Museum (formerly the Hermitage) has been a huge success since its opening in 2009. This beautiful museum, located on the banks of the Amstel river, has an agreement with the Russian government to produce exhibitions together with the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

Staying in a canal house yourself, you might be interested in visiting one of the canal house museums close by. A visit to Het Grachtenhuis which takes less than an hour, gives you another angle on Amsterdam history. A wonderful miniature model of the canal house, very much in the tradition of the Dutch Golden Age dolls house but enriched with multimedia wonders, and the big urban model of the canal belt area, are the highlights of the show.

In the heart of Amsterdam on the Keizersgracht the house of the Amsterdam regent family Van Loon can still be seen. In 1602 Willem van Loon co-founded the Dutch East-India Company. Seven days a week the family opens their home and collection to the public. Get a glimpse of the life of the Amsterdam Van Loon family in one of the finest canal houses of the city.

Since 1999 Huis Marseille has been situated on Keizersgracht 401 as Amsterdam’s first photography museum. The museum offers a rich and varied exhibition programme with changeovers about four times a year.