By Molly Hayward, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam can be a very expensive city so any ways to save money are always welcome. I decided at the beginning of the year to buy the MuseumKaart for 64.90 Euros. In this post I will outline some of the galleries it covers in Amsterdam and how much money was saved.
Foam Gallery
This gallery is lovely, we went multiple times in the year. It is a three storey photography gallery, with often political and mixed media exhibitions on. Because of how frequently they change up the exhibitions here it is well worth having the MuseumKaart even just for this gallery – I went at least five times in the year. There is also a lovely café in the basement area. Students are usually 12 Euros.
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is more of a classical art gallery, with largely paintings displayed in chronological order. There are some great old master paintings in here, and it is good for getting a grasp of Dutch art history. That being said, it is quite extensive. As such its nice to be able to dip in and out of the collection instead of having to buy one ticket and attempting to finish it all in one day. Adult tickets are 22.50 Euros.
Stedelijk Museum
The Stedelijk museum is the cities largest modern art gallery. Again, this gallery switches up its exhibitions all the time. The basement area is especially exciting as it often has installations and interactive art. There is also a permenant collection on the ground floor. Tickets are usually 10 Euros.
Rembrandt museum and art gallery
This is a really sweet, small art gallery space that is connected to Rembrandts old house. They’ve done the space really well, you can experience his home as it was, as well as various prints and artworks. They also have a modern space adjacent with rotating exhibitions. Tickets are usually 10 Euros.
Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is a must when in Amsterdam. It is a massive collection of his works, some that are recognisable and some that are less well known. It’s a lovely timeline of his efforts, again, quite an extensive museum so nice to go more than once. Its also one that people visiting often want to go to, so it’s nice not to have to pay again. Tickets are 20 Euros.
Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank house is another cultural necessity to see when in Amsterdam. The space is set up as a one-way tour through the Frank’s home, with an audio tour that explains their story. tickets are usually 16 Euros, with a MuseumKaart they are 1 Euro.
Overall, I was really happy to have the MuseumKaart all year. It made it way less stressful and there was always something free to do, especially over winter.