Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum holds the largest collection of Vincent van Gogh's work in the world — hundreds of paintings, drawings and letters that trace his short, intense career. For many visitors it's the most personal museum in Amsterdam.

What to see

The permanent collection runs chronologically through the Rietveld building, from his dark early Dutch work like The Potato Eaters to the blazing colour of his years in the south — Sunflowers and The Bedroom among them — and on to his final paintings.

Letters in his own hand, shown alongside the work, make the story feel strikingly close. Budget two to three hours.

Good to know

Tickets are sold online only, with timed entry, and routinely sell out — book several weeks ahead. Entry is included with the Museumkaart (you still need to book a time slot), but not with the I amsterdam City Card.

Friday evenings are usually quieter. It's on Museumplein, a few minutes from the Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk.

The museum’s story owes much to Jo van Gogh-Bonger, the widow of Vincent’s brother Theo. After their deaths, she cared for the collection and worked to bring Vincent’s art to a wider public through exhibitions and the publication of his letters. Her son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, later helped establish the foundation that secured the family collection’s future. That family commitment is an important part of how an artist who struggled for recognition became a household name.

For another way into the art, look at Van Gogh’s interest in Japanese prints. Their bold outlines, cropped compositions and areas of flat colour helped shape his experiments with painting; he collected them as well as drawing inspiration from them. After the galleries, head beyond Museumplein into the surrounding Oud-Zuid streets for cafés and residential architecture, or continue towards Vondelpark. A walk outdoors makes a welcome change of pace after the close looking that his paintings invite.