To have a seamless experience looking at Van Gogh’s art, read my 7 best Van Gogh museum tips.
Want helpful Van Gogh museum tips such as whether or not you can leave a bag or how long it takes to get through the museum? Then you’ve found the right post as I share my personal experience of going to the Van Gogh Museum on my own and tips I found to be helpful for future visitors.
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Is Van Gogh Museum worth it?
Overall, I was surprised with how much I loved this museum because to be honest, I’m not the biggest museum person.
As I went from floor to floor and learned more about Van Gogh’s story from what was going on in his life as he painted these masterpieces to the techniques he used, I became more vested in each work of art and interested in the museum as a whole (besides the whole almost constantly bumping into everyone thing– I need to get to museums earlier).
I enjoyed how they showed other painters’ work either in the same time period or from the same region to show context outside of Van Gogh’s life as an artist and how Van Gogh influenced artists up until present day. The museum was set up very well!
You may have similar thoughts as me in this museum, but at the very least, you will be prepared with these Van Gogh museum tips.
1. Buy Your Ticket Ahead of Time
There are two separate lines for the museum: a ticket line and the line to get in. Sometimes the line to buy tickets can be really long so I encourage you to buy your tickets online.
By buying your tickets online first, you can skip the line to buy tickets and head right to the line where they check your tickets to get in.
Buy your Van Gogh tickets online here.
To save money, if you plan on going to a lot of museums and using public transportation, I would get the iAmsterdam City Card.
The iAmsterdam City Card is a card that lasts for 24, 36, 72, or 96 hours, depending on the duration you choose.
It includes access to over 40 museums and tours, discounts to more museums and tours, and lastly, unlimited use of the city’s public transportation.
Considering the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is 17 euros itself, it’s worth getting the card if you’re going to a lot of museums and tours. See the whole list of museums and tours here.
2. Find the Best Time to Visit Van Gogh Museum
If you’re like me and don’t like crowds at museums, then you can do a simple Google search for “Van Gogh Museum”. You’ll see useful information pop up on the right side from hours of operations to the website link.
If you keep scrolling down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see exactly which days and what times are the busiest for the museum. You can also check it the day of or right before you go to see a live marker of how busy it is at the moment.
Of course the best time to visit the Van Gogh Museum if you’re not a fan of crowds is always in the morning when it first opens. But again, check Google to see when it best works for you.
3. Don’t Take Photos
Unfortunately, you can’t take photos in most areas of the Van Gogh Museum, but on the plus side, it means that everyone is walking around fully being present in the museum’s artwork and information.
4. Leave Your Suitcases and Big Bags in Lockers
In case you want to go to the Van Gogh before you check-in to your hotel or after you check-out from your hotel, you’ll have to leave your bags either at lockers at the station or at your hotel.
This is because the hotel does not allow big bags in the museum.
5. Check In Your Backpacks, Coats, and Umbrellas
There is a free coat check and a mandatory backpack and umbrella check-in policy. Jackets and purses are allowed to be worn and taken around, but anything bigger than a handbag will have to be checked in.
6. How long does the Van Gogh museum take?
The Van Gogh museum takes about an hour and a half to properly view the Van Gogh Museum so plan ample time for that.
There is a cafe in the museum to eat and drink if you want to hang out here longer.
7. Bonus Tip: Go to the Albert Heijn Nearby
So this tip isn’t really related to the museum, but there’s an Albert Heijn grocery store right near the museum that’s huge! They have really great cold-pressed juices for less than 3 euros, pre-made fresh salads for less than 5, and other food that’s good for on-the-go while traveling.
Even if you’re cooking at your Airbnb, they have pre-cut up vegetables that don’t cost that much more than the whole vegetable itself. I often see people getting the fresh baked bread and sliced meats there for sandwiches. Overall, it’s a good place to shop at!
Helpful Amsterdam Travel Tips
Want more information for visiting Amsterdam? Then you might like these posts:
- Instagrammable Places in Amsterdam
- 10 Basic Travel Tips for Amsterdam from a tourist turned local– that’s me!
- Where to Eat in Amsterdam including Dutch and international cuisine
- General Guide to Amsterdam – This was made originally from Amsterdam Dance Event but you’ll still find a lot of good info there as a tourist.
- Where to Stay in Amsterdam
What I Always Have On Me in Amsterdam
The weather in Amsterdam is fickle so it’s a good idea to always have a raincoat or wind-proof umbrella on you. They say you can experience four seasons in one day, which is quite true with the changes between the rain, wind, and sun.
Despite how much it rains, surprisingly locals don’t wear rain boots like we wore as kids. I think everyone just must have good shoes or… get their feet wet.
This goes for any city I’m in or wherever I live, but I always bring this portable charger around with me, which I use for both my Sony A6000 and iPhone. It’s great because it’s almost the size of a lipstick, which means it’s ultra portable, but it’s powerful enough for 1.5x the charge for an iPhone. I’ve been using this portable charger since 2015 for 3-4x a week at home when I’m being lazy to plug it into the wall, or when I’m out and about.
Lastly, I’ve had this multiple USB European port since 2015, and it’s been a charm for traveling to Europe. It’s great at airports if there’s only one outlet to charge your phone. You become everyone’s charging buddy.
It’s also great at the hotel room when you need to charge a bunch of stuff at once. Even if you only go to Europe or wherever this plug applies to in the world once or twice a year, it’s worth having this multiple USB European port.
Thanks for making it all the way down to the end of the post. I’d love to connect. Come say hi to me my Instagram @sarchetrit, especially if you found any part of this post to be helpful.
Till then, thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!
xo,
Sarah
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Best Van Gogh Museum Tips
Feature image is by Jan-Kees Steenman and obtained from the Van Gogh Website.
Brian Joseph
Monday 4th of December 2017
Thanks for giving such a wonderful information. It is very helpful.