Rijksmuseum for Amsterdam Residents: Tickets, Quiet Hours and Highlights

This guide is for internationals who live in Amsterdam and want the Rijksmuseum to be a regular part of city life rather than a one-off tourist stop. You will learn how tickets and the Museumkaart work, when the galleries are calmest and which rooms deserve a return visit, with or without children.

• Tickets, prices and the Museumkaart
• Booking a start time and changing plans
• Quiet hours and the best days to go
• Highlights for repeat visits
• Visiting with children
• FAQ

Tickets, prices and the Museumkaart

The museum’s admissions and opening hours page says the Rijksmuseum is open every day of the year from 9am to 5pm, including public holidays. An adult ticket costs €25. Entry is free for anyone aged 18 and under.

If you plan to go more than once, a card is the obvious choice. The museum’s ticket and visit FAQ lists free entry for holders of the Museumkaart, the I Amsterdam City Card, ICOM and the Amsterdamse Stadspas. Members of Vereniging Rembrandt, KOG and VVAK also get in free, and so do holders of the VriendenLoterij VIP-KAART. If you already have a Museumkaart for museums elsewhere in the country, the Rijksmuseum costs you nothing extra.

Friends of the Rijksmuseum also get in free, and they have one extra benefit, covered below. CJP and EYCA members get 50% off. The two official pages give slightly different euro amounts for this discount, so check the museum’s own site for the current price before you pay.

The whole museum is cashless, including the shop and the café. You pay by pin, credit card or another digital method.

Booking a start time and changing plans

This rule often catches out new residents. Everyone has to book a start time, including Museumkaart holders. Your card gets you in for free, but you cannot just walk in. The exceptions are Friends of the Rijksmuseum and holders of an ICOM or ICOMOS pass, who can come without booking. Bring your pass with you, because staff check it at the entrance.

Official tickets are sold online. The entrance also has a limited number while stocks last, but if you want a particular time, book ahead. Tickets are not tied to a name, so one person can book for the whole group.

Your start time is only when you go in. Once inside, you can stay as long as you like until closing. You cannot step outside and come back later, although the museum says exceptions apply.

Paid tickets are non-refundable, but free tickets can be cancelled. To reschedule, contact the museum through the form on its FAQ page, ideally two to five working days before your visit. If your preferred date has an open time slot, they can rebook your tickets.

Quiet hours and the best days to go

Living here gives you something most visitors lack: you can choose when to go. The museum says there are usually fewer people before 11am and after 3:30pm. Tuesday and Wednesday are relatively quiet days.

A late-afternoon slot on a Tuesday or Wednesday works well. You get about an hour and a half in calmer rooms before the museum closes at 5pm. The shop and The Café stay open until 6pm, and between 5pm and 6pm you can go in without a museum ticket. That is handy if you only want a coffee or a book.

The gardens around the building are free to visit. The practical info page says they open only in summer, from 9am to 6pm. For a proper meal, RIJKS restaurant serves lunch from Wednesday to Sunday and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday.

The free, supervised cloakroom takes bags, umbrellas and daypacks. It cannot take large bags, luggage, folding bikes or skateboards, but there is a Lockerpoint on Museumplein for those.

Highlights for repeat visits

The museum’s visit page describes more than 8,000 works covering 800 years of Dutch art and history. Nobody can take that in properly in one visit, so a free card and a short trip from home make a lot of sense. Try covering one part of the museum each time.

Start with the Gallery of Honour, which holds masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals. This is where you will find The Night Watch and The Milkmaid. On a quiet weekday morning, you can stand in front of them for a while.

On another visit, look for the four Van Gogh paintings, including his famous self-portrait. The paintings by Jan Steen are worth a slow look too.

Download the free Rijksmuseum app before you go. It has hundreds of audio stories, extra tours and smart routes, so you can follow a different theme each time. If you prefer a person to explain things, you can book the museum’s guided tour of the highlights.

Temporary exhibitions are in the Philips Wing. With an exhibition ticket, your booked time slot is when you enter the exhibition, and you can see the permanent collection afterwards. You can add an exhibition audio tour for €6.50 per person when you book.

Visiting with children

For families, this is one of the easier big museums to fit into an ordinary month. Visitors aged 18 and under get in free, and free tickets can be cancelled, so a sick day or a change of plan costs nothing. Parents and children can visit temporary exhibitions together.

Two house rules work well for younger visitors. You can take photos as long as you do not use flash, and you can draw and sketch if you use only pencil and paper. A sketchbook and one painting to copy can keep a child interested for longer than a long walk through the galleries. The museum also says you can see the highlights in about an hour, which suits small children.

The shop sells posters, books and toys. In summer, the gardens are a calm place to rest before you head home.

FAQ

Do I need to book if I have a Museumkaart?

Yes. Every visitor, including Museumkaart holders, must book a start time. The card gets you in for free, but you still need to reserve a time slot. Only Friends of the Rijksmuseum and ICOM or ICOMOS pass holders can come without booking.

When is the Rijksmuseum least crowded?

The museum says it is usually quieter before 11am and after 3:30pm, and that Tuesday and Wednesday are relatively quiet days. It is open from 9am to 5pm every day, including public holidays.

Is the Rijksmuseum free for children?

Yes. Visitors aged 18 and under get in free, but they still need a ticket with a booked start time. Free tickets can be cancelled if your plans change. Paid adult tickets are non-refundable.

Can I leave the museum for lunch and come back?

Generally no. Once you leave, you cannot come back in, although the museum says exceptions apply. You can stay as long as you like until closing, and The Café inside is open from 9am to 6pm.

Official sources: rijksmuseum.nl · rijksmuseum.nl · rijksmuseum.nl

Last checked: 7 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Prices, opening hours and programmes change; the venue’s own site always has the current details.