Discover the Top 10 Rijksmuseum Tips for Visiting!

The Rijksmuseum is the Netherlands’ biggest museum, spanning four floors and around 80 galleries, which attracts over 2 million visitors yearly!

First-time visitors looking to have the best artistic and historical experience at the Netherland’s National Museum must know some helpful tips to ensure they plan the best experience.

In this article, we’ll discover the top 10 tips for visiting Rijksmuseum, discover the best timings, how to save money, and how to locate the less-crowded rooms of the Museum!

1. Book a Rijksmuseum Guided Tour. 

The Rijksmuseum is massive, spanning around 1.5 km, and has over 8,000 artworks on display.

It can be challenging for visitors, especially those exploring for the first time, to know how to navigate the huge space.

The best way to ensure you enjoy the most comfortable experience with your friends and family members is to book a Rijksmuseum Guided Tour!

History and art lovers can also learn more about the famous highlights and the Museum’s history as you will explore with a professional tour guide for 2 hours. 

You can also enjoy skip-the-line entry access to the Rijksmuseum with this tour. 

This experience is also excellent for visitors who want to have the most comprehensive and memorable tour on a time crunch!

2. Explore the Gallery of Honours first.

 The Gallery of Honours is the most crowded Gallery of the Rijksmuseum, followed by the Great Hall and The Night Watch Gallery, which are on the same line. 

If you arrive at 9 am when the Museum opens, you must explore these Galleries on the second floor.

Famous paintings by Rembrandt, like The Jewish Bride and The Night Watch, Vermeer’s Milkmaid, and Little Street, are in these galleries!

If you explore the Gallery at 2 pm, we recommend planning a visit to the Gallery of Honours after 3.30 pm, as this is when the Museum crowd reduces. 

The Gallery will also be less crowded at 4.30 pm, thirty minutes before the Museum closes.

However, expect to find larger crowds from May to August during the peak tourist season! 

3. Plan a visit between 9 am to 11 am or after 3 pm on Weekdays. 

The best time to visit the Rijksmuseum is from 9 am to 11 am, as soon as the Museum opens, when it is the least crowded.

You can also explore after 3.30 pm, as most tourists finish exploring the Museum by this time.

However, the crowding levels also depend on the month of visit, as you will find the rooms to be slightly more crowded from May to August.

You will find more crowds on weekends throughout the year, so we recommend planning your visit on weekdays for the best experience. 

Visitors who cannot visit in the morning will also find fewer crowds at 4 pm, but you will only be allowed to explore for an hour, till 5 pm when the Museum closes. 

4. Choose to visit the Rooms Highlighted Green on the Map during peak hours.

If you are inside the Museum during peak hours, the best way to avoid the crowded rooms is by checking the Rijksmuseum Map.

The rooms in the map pdf marked with green color are the least crowded throughout the day, allowing for a calmer visit even during the peak hours.

The third floor and Asian Pavillion of the Rijksmuseum are always less crowded, so you can begin your visit from there. 

Visitors looking for a calm visit at all times of the day should explore the Left Wing of the Museum, marked completely by green on the map.

The crowded rooms are marked with a red color. The rooms with no markings have a medium level of crowding. 

The crowded rooms include the Great Hall, The Night Watch Gallery, and the Gallery of Honours. 

5. Take advantage of the Discounts offered when buying tickets.

The Rijksmuseum has many discount offers for kids and visitors with City Cards and other memberships.

Kids 18 years and younger can explore the Museum for free!

Entry is also free for visitors with an Amsterdam City Card, ICOM, KOG, VVAK,  VriendenLoterij VIP-KAART, and Vereniging Rembrandt Cards.

Visitors who are members of the CYP (Cultural Youth Passport) and EYCA (European Youth Card Association) can get 50% off on their experience!

If you’re a Friends of the Rijksmuseum member, you can explore for free without a time slot and additional access to exclusive Museum tours.  

However, all these visitors must also book a time slot in advance from the official website, or they cannot enter the Museum. 

You can also use the Cloakroom and Wi-fi facilities inside the Museum for free!

6. Save Money by using the free Audio Guide from the Rijksmuseum App!

Did you know that the paid Audio Guide available in the Museum is the same as the free one on the Rijksmuseum App?

If you plan to purchase the Audio Guide, you can save money and listen to the audio for free from the app!

The Rijksmuseum also has free Wi-fi facilities available in all parts of the building, making it easy to access the App from anywhere. 

7. Plan an Itinerary.

The best way to ensure you get the most out of your visit is to plan a fixed path to follow in the Museum by making a proper Itinerary!

Since the Museum spans around 80 Galleries, it can be extremely challenging to explore without any guidance.

If you don’t have time to plan, you can also find itineraries other visitors have used in the past on the Rijksmuseum App!

Don’t try to explore all the Museums in a day, as this is an impossible aim to achieve.

It will take a week to explore each of the 8,000 artworks inside the Museum!

8. Use the Rijksstudio feature of the official website to research before arrival.

How will you schedule your itinerary if you don’t know what artworks are in each of the Museum’s collections?

The best way to find out what is in each collection of the Museum is to do your research in advance.

The Rijksstudio part of the Rijksmuseum official website provides an in-depth overview of what items are on display in which rooms and in what collection. 

You can also learn more about the artist, techniques used in the collection, the history, and more about the Museum!

9. Pack light & wear comfortable footwear to visit the Museum.

We recommend packing light to explore the Rijksmuseum, as heavy bags can slow you down and get you stuck in the crowds.

You can leave your suitcases behind for free in the Museum’s Cloakroom if you arrive directly from the Airport. 

Visitors carrying large bags, photography equipment, lighting, and other selfie stickers must leave these behind at the Cloakroom. 

Remember that visitors cannot store items like firearms, valuable items, jewelry, and weapons inside the Museum’s Cloakroom. 

Wearing comfortable shoes, like sneakers and sandals, ensures you can cover more area of the Rijksmuseum without taking too many breaks! 

10. Choose the washrooms on the Ground Floor for the least crowded experience. 

The first and second floors of the Gallery are much more crowded than the Ground floor, so you can find cleaner washroom facilities on the ground floor. 

We recommend avoiding the washrooms on the second floor since most visitors on a time crunch plan only to explore this floor. 

Most major artworks like The Night Watch Painting, The Threatened Swan, and others are on display on the Gallery’s second floor.