MORNING: A world-renowned Golden Age gallery
Kick off your day at the palatial Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands. Aim to get there right at 9 a.m. when it opens to head off the crowds. (You may want to pre-book a timed ticket online, especially in the summer.) The Gallery of Honour gets downright mobbed, so go here first to admire the famed 17th-century Golden Age paintings from the likes of Vermeer and Rembrandt; don’t miss Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch,” which has its own gallery. Once you’ve taken care of the highlights, keep exploring—even after three hours, there’s no end in sight.
Travelers say: “Outside, the sheer majesty of the building is impressive. Inside, be prepared to be blown away by gallery after gallery, floor after floor of art, culture, and history. Jaw dropping.” —@String W
RIJKSMUSEUM TOUR OPTIONS
Pre-download the free Rijksmuseum app to your phone. It’s an excellent tool with a bunch of free audio tours, including one of the museum’s highlights and another for the Gallery of Honour specifically. BYOH (headphones, that is)—but if you forget, you can buy a cheap pair near the entrance.
Does looking at paintings make you go huh? This two-hour guided tour of the Rijks makes masterpieces accessible, giving the backstory to the museum’s peak pieces.
If a day of museums overwhelms you, the 5.5-hour Rijksmuseum & Van Gogh Museum Guided Tour takes care of everything, including entry into both museums and a guided tour of their most important works.
AFTERNOON: Van Gogh’s masterpieces
Grab lunch at one of the food trucks on Museumplein or, if you want to rest your feet a little longer, The Burger Room, an emerald-accented, Wizard of Oz-themed restaurant around the corner. (This eatery even has its own mini-museum downstairs complete with ruby-slipper replicas.)
Refueled and ready for more, cross the street to the van Gogh Museum, which holds the largest collection of the famed artist’s work. The museum is well laid out, walking you chronologically through van Gogh’s life and art. (Spring the few extra euros for an audio guide.) Special exhibits downstairs are also worth a look. Tickets sell out for this one, so be sure to book your timed entry in advance.
EVENING: A walk in the park and an acoustic experience
Once you’ve been thoroughly impressed by Post-Impressionism, take the five-minute jaunt to Vondelpark, the city’s largest park. Walk (or bike) the tree-lined lanes, passing waterways, outdoor cafes, playgrounds, sunbathers, and an open-air theater.
Cut out of the park for dinner at De Wijnkaart, which serves classy yet hearty meals paired with Eastern European wines. Bonus: it’s just a five-minute to walk your next stop, The Royal Concertgebouw, said to have some of the best acoustics in the world. (Maybe that’s why Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky have graced its grand Main Hall.) Orchestral performances, cello concertos and other events are going on here pretty much every night of the week, generally at 8:15 p.m. Book tickets ahead.