Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum: Which to Visit First (2026 Hours)

For a first visit to Amsterdam I'd book the Rijksmuseum; choose the Van Gogh Museum only if Van Gogh is the reason you came. The Rijksmuseum gives you Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer and four centuries of Dutch history in one building. The Van Gogh Museum tells one artist's story in order, which is moving if you care about him and a long walk past paintings if you don't.

If you have two mornings, do both: the Rijksmuseum at 9am one day, and the Van Gogh Museum on a Friday evening, when it stays open until 9pm until December 18, except November 27. Both use timed tickets, and both are free for anyone under 18, who still needs a ticket.

The Rijksmuseum includes Rembrandt, Vermeer, decorative arts, ship models and objects that tell a wider Dutch story. It rewards choosing several galleries rather than trying to complete every floor.

The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm and requires online timed booking, including for many pass holders. Use the official Rijksmuseum ticket shop.

The Van Gogh Museum follows the artist’s development through paintings, drawings, letters and context. Its power comes from sequence rather than a checklist of famous images.

Official tickets are valid for a selected date and time and are nonrefundable. Visitors under 18 currently enter free but still need a ticket.

Allow two to three hours for a focused Rijksmuseum visit and about two hours for Van Gogh. Add time for the museum shop, lunch and Museumplein rather than using the exit as the start of another timed attraction.

If attention or mobility is limited, Van Gogh is easier to understand as a single route. The Rijksmuseum offers more places to pause and more variety, but the building is much larger.

You can, but the second museum often becomes endurance. If both matter, reserve one for opening and the other on a different morning. If there is only one available day, take a long lunch between them and keep the evening empty.

Do not add the Anne Frank House on the same day. That creates three emotionally and cognitively demanding visits.

Both museums open every day of the holidays, so neither has to move around Christmas. The Rijksmuseum keeps 9am to 5pm, public holidays included. The Van Gogh Museum changes its hours almost week by week, and drops its Friday late night from December 19:

Over Christmas week, I would take the first Van Gogh slot of the day: the late Friday evening is gone, and the afternoons are when holiday crowds arrive.

Place your choice inside the three-day route and use the booking guide for ticket order.

Doing both? The Amsterdam museum booking calendar spreads them across the trip. Staying near Museumplein: Jordaan or De Pijp.