Rijksmuseum? 19 dollars. Anne Frank? 10 dollars. Van Gogh? 18,50 dollars. When visiting Amsterdam’s museums admission can add up real quick. If you love museums, and you plan on visiting three or more, the national museumcard might be something for you. Skipping lines is one of the upsides. So read on.
Best value for money
The card costs 59 euros (64 dollars) and is available at the counters of adjoined museums. For children, it’s a bit over half that money. For one year after the date of purchase, the card is valid in many museums. 400 in the Netherlands, 35 of them in Amsterdam. Van Gogh, Maritime, Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk, the list is endless. I’ve put all the museums at the bottom of this blog for you to take a look at. Most museums cost around 15 dollars, so the museumcard becomes a good investment quickly.
How does it work?
You get the card at the museum. That’s where they are sold. If you live in The Netherlands, you get a personalised one, but at the counter, you don’t have to. On this card, you can fill in your name, et voila, it’s yours. You will be advised to register it, so that when you lose the card, you can get a 
replacement for cheap. But as you can imagine, this is hardly worth the trouble. And you’re not obliged to. Some people don’t fill in their name on the card to pass it on to a friend. See how I mentioned that completelly neutral?
Why get it?
Money ofcourse, is a thing. It’s just smart to get that card if you’re going to be spending more than 60 euros on museums. But, there is more. A lot of museums offer a seperate line for museumcard holders. At the Rijksmuseum for instance, you can just flash your card at the entrance and walk right through. At the Nemo and Hermitage, you can print your admission ticket by scanning your card. It saves you a lot of time and it gives you the opportunity of visiting a museum more than once, or just briefly without feeling like you did not make the most of it. And if it starts raining, you check your smartphone for a museum closeby and just pop in.
You can buy (and use) the museumcard at these museums:
Allard Pierson Museum
Amsterdam Museum
Bijbelsmuseum (Bible Museum)
Hermitage Amsterdam
Joods Historisch Museum (JHM) (Jewish Historical Museum)
Museum Van Loon
Museum Willet-Holthuysen
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)
Het Rembrandthuis (Rembrandt House)
Rijksmuseum
Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam (Maritime Museum)
Stedelijk Museum
Tassenmuseum Hendrikje (Bags and Purses Museum)
Tropenmuseum
Van Gogh Museum
Verzetsmuseum (Dutch Resistance Museum)
These are museums you can also visit with the card:
De Appel Arts Centre
Anne Frankhuis (Anne Frank House)
Diamant Museum (Diamond Museum)
EYE Film Instituut (EYE Film Institute)
FOAM Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam (FOAM Photography Museum)
Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis
Hollandsce Schouwburg
Huis Marseille (Photography Museum)
Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam (Royal Palace on Dam Square)
Max Euwe Centrum (Chess Museum)
Museum Het Schip (“The Ship” building of Amsterdam School style)
Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (“Our Lord in the Attic” Museum)
Museum Tot Zover (Dutch Funeral Museum)
NEMO Science Center
Oude Kerk
Pijpenkabinet (Amsterdam Pipe Musuem)
Persmuseum (Dutch Press Museum)
Portugese Synagoge (Portuguese Synagogue)
Stadsarchief Amsterdam (City Archives)
So enjoy your time at the museums of Amsterdam, or all over The Netherlands for that matter.
