museum
Museum Van Loon
A grand patrician canal house preserved with its period interiors and garden.
Photo: Museum Van Loon / Google
On the Keizersgracht, Museum Van Loon lets you step inside one of Amsterdam's grandest Golden Age canal houses — the former home of the Van Loon family, kept much as it was and filled with their portraits, furniture, silver and porcelain.
The mansion was built in 1672 by architect Adriaen Dortsman, and its very first resident was the painter Ferdinand Bol, a pupil of Rembrandt. The Van Loon family acquired it in 1884 and opened it to the public as a museum in 1973.
What you'll see
Inside are richly decorated period rooms hung with family portraits spanning centuries, the oldest dating to the early 1600s. Behind the house lies a rare survivor: a formal 17th-century-style garden, closed at the back by the classical façade of the original coach house — a complete canal house, garden and coach house ensemble you won't find anywhere else. The coach house now hosts temporary exhibitions and a small café.
Good to know
It's a quieter, more intimate museum than the big institutions, with an old-money, lived-in feel. It's open daily and easy to combine with Foam, which sits just across the canal.
Tips from locals
Don't miss the garden and coach house at the back — that complete ensemble is unique in Amsterdam.
It's far quieter than the big museums; come for an intimate, unhurried look at Golden Age life.
Foam photography museum is right across the canal, so the two pair up neatly.
Pick up the room-by-room guide booklet at the desk to get the most from the period rooms.
Allow about an hour; it's small but rich in detail.
Did you know?
The house's very first resident was Ferdinand Bol, a famous pupil of Rembrandt.
It was designed in 1672 by Adriaen Dortsman, who also built the Round Lutheran Church on the Singel.
Family ancestor Willem van Loon was a co-founder of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602.
The house came to the Van Loon family in 1884 as a wedding gift.
It preserves a rare complete ensemble of canal house, formal garden and coach house, found nowhere else in the city.
FAQ
- What is Museum Van Loon?
- A preserved Golden Age canal house on the Keizersgracht, the former home of the Van Loon family.
- Where is it?
- At Keizersgracht 672, across the canal from the Foam photography museum.
- What's special about it?
- Its rare, complete ensemble of canal house, 17th-century-style garden and original coach house.
- Who lived here?
- First the painter Ferdinand Bol, and from 1884 the Van Loon family, co-founders of the VOC.
- How long should I plan?
- About an hour for the house, garden and coach house.
Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam
Keizersgracht 672, 1017 ET, Amsterdam