The Best Rainy Day Museums in Amsterdam
The Best Rainy Day Museums in Amsterdam
If you’re looking for ways to wait out an Amsterdam cloudburst, the city's glut of fine museums and galleries should be your first port of call. There are around 75 of the things across the city, a fine testament to Amsterdam’s cultural and historical impact, especially when you consider its relatively diminutive size as European capitals go. Here are some you definitely shouldn’t miss…
The Rijksmuseum
A Dutch icon and no mistake, the Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands, and also its largest, housing an epic collection that focuses strongly on (no surprises here) Dutch art, and particularly the Dutch Golden Age (1588–1672). The quality of the collection is astounding, covering nearly 800 years and starring instantly recognizable pieces including The Milkmaid by Vermeer, Self-Portrait by van Gogh and – the museum’s crowning glory – Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night Watch. Major European artists like Rubens, El Greco and Tintoretto are also represented, as well as international sculpture, furniture, textiles and pottery.
The Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum
If Post-Impressionism is your thang (and specifically Post-Impression of the sunflowers, self portrait, wheatfields and starry skies variety), then the Van Gogh Museum is for you. Containing some 1,300 of the maestro’s paintings, drawings and letters, this is the largest van Gogh collection anywhere on the planet. Highlights include Sunflowers, The Potato Eaters, Almond Blossom, and Self-Portrait as a Painter.
The Anne Frank House
Museums don’t come much more moving than the house where the Frank family hid out during World War II. Visitors can enter the secret annex described in Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl. This unassuming extension of the canalfront warehouse on Prinsengracht now houses an exhibition exploring the Nazi persecution of Jews and the Holocaust, viewed through the lens of Anne’s harrowing diaries. Booking – especially on rainy days – is recommended.
The Rembrandt House Museum
Rembrandt van Rijn was just a moderately successful jobbing painter and etcher when he lived on Jodenbreestraat in the mid-17th-century. Now, nearly 400 years later you, dear reader, can wander the very rooms in which the man who became the icon of the Dutch Golden Age once ate, worked and slept. Interiors have been painstakingly recreated to period standards, with carefully curated 17th-century furnishings to match. You can also ogle a near-complete collection of Rembrandt etchings here, as well as relics including his funeral medallion and pots he used to mix clay and quartz when preparing canvases. Paintings by Dutch contemporaries including Ferdinand Bol and Pieter Lastman also adorn the walls.
Rainy Day Shopping (and Eating) in Amsterdam
Rainy Day Shopping (and Eating) in Amsterdam
The heavens have opened, the canals have turned an unappealing brown, and the streets are awash with torrents of rainwater. What better way to boost your spirits than with a bit of traditional Dutch therapy? We’re talking shopping, café culture and delectable Dutch pancakes…
Negen Straatjes (or Nine Streets to non-native speakers) is a compact canal-straddling city center neighborhood that’s chock-full of upscale shopping and dining opportunities. Grab your pocket poncho, umbrella and credit cards and immerse yourself in a rainy-day paradise of perfumeries, chic boutiques, old-fashioned chocolatiers and jewelry stores. Choose from more than 400 cheeses (including dozens of Dutch varieties) at Kaaskamer, get your caffeine fix at Screaming Beans, and satisfy even the sweetest tooth at the Wonka-esque Chocolaterie Pompadour. Hay is where it's at for funky home accessories while Rain Couture’s contribution to staying stylish in bad weather can not be understated.
Mmmm... Pancakes!
Mmmm... Pancakes!
All that (wet) pavement-pounding deserves a substantial lunch and, while there are plenty of super-smart fine-dining joints to choose from in Negen Straatjes, we favor a cozier environment and comfort food as befits the gloomy weather. Try the self-explanatory Pancakes Amsterdam on Berenstraat for a taste of the good stuff, or strike out for the city’s popular bruin cafés (brown cafés), so called for their traditional wood-paneling and frequently smoke-stained ceilings. Some of the best brown cafés date back decades, if not centuries, and provide great spots to shelter with coffee and a slice of appeltaart. Try stalwarts like Café 't Smalle, Café Slijterij Oosterling and Café de Wetering for the win.
More Things to do in Amsterdam when in Rains
More Things to do in Amsterdam when in Rains
There are dozens more Amsterdam attractions to help keep you occupied on rainy days. Beer lovers will be in clover at the world-famous Heineken Brewery, where tours include an introduction to the brewing process and – crucially – a refreshing taste of the amber nectar. Or you could catch a movie at the delightful Tuschinski Theater, a stunning Art Deco and Art Nouveau edifice that’s beloved of locals for both its extraordinary architecture and its ultra-plush cinema seats.
Dodge the downpours in some of Amsterdam’s more quirky museums. The Nxt Museum, a vast industrial space that immerses visitors in thrilling audio-visual projections, has to be experienced to be believed. Then there’s the bafflingly surreal Kattenkabinet, which commemorates a cat named John Pierpont Morgan by way of dozens of kitty-related paintings, prints and other weird ephemera including – you guessed it – bad cat taxidermy. Peruse the private pipe collection of someone who clearly really really likes smoking at the Amsterdam Pipe Museum, get your fix of floral fragrances at the Amsterdam Tulip Museum, and experience the wonderful world of Amsterdam’s canal system – but indoors – at the fascinating Museum of the Canals.
Want More Amsterdam Rainy Day Ideas?
Want More Amsterdam Rainy Day Ideas?
Don’t let a little rain dampen your sightseeing spirits! The Amsterdam pass from Go City includes entry to several of the indoor attractions mentioned in this article (plus a few outdoor activities too!) and could save you up to 50% on standard entry prices. Among the dozens of attractions, tours and activities included on the Amsterdam pass are the Rijksmuseum, the Heineken Experience, Madame Tussauds, a canal sightseeing cruise, and the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. Find out more and choose your perfect pass by clicking on the buttons below…
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