Van Gogh Museum Tickets
Tickets cost €25, sell out days ahead in summer, and are only available online. Here's how to book, which slot to pick, and what the audio guide is actually worth.
The Van Gogh Museum sells out. Not sometimes, not in peak season — most days. It holds the world's largest collection of his work: over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 750 letters, arranged chronologically across four floors. You walk through his life from the dark Dutch period to the frenzy of Arles. Every ticket is timed and sold online only. Book the wrong slot and you'll share the Sunflowers room with two school groups and forty selfie sticks.
In 3 minutes, you'll know:
- What tickets cost and how far ahead to book
- Which time slot gives you the quietest visit
- Whether the multimedia guide is worth €6
- How to combine the Van Gogh Museum with the Rijksmuseum in one morning
How much do Van Gogh Museum tickets cost in 2026?
Adult tickets cost €25. Under 18 enters free but still needs a timed ticket. Museumkaart holders and I Amsterdam City Card holders enter free — both still require a time slot reservation.
The multimedia guide is €6 extra, available at the entrance in 11 languages. A separate family audio guide costs €3.75 for adults and €2 for kids 13–17 (free under 13). It covers around 40 works and adds real context from Van Gogh's letters. Most visitors who use it rate it highly; most who skip it say they regret it.
Get the Van Gogh Museum room-by-room guide
- Exact route through all 4 floors with timing
- Which paintings to stop at and what to notice
- The works most visitors walk past
- Designed for your phone — open it inside the museum
Where to book
Our take: Both sell €25 timed entry — the GetYourGuide premium buys the fast-blue-lane (saves 30+ min in summer) and the 24h cancellation window. One thing nobody mentions: the €6 audio guide is essential here. Without it, half the rooms are wall labels you can't fully read. Budget for it whichever ticket you pick.
Want a guided tour? The Van Gogh Museum Guided Tour (entry included, ~€80) puts an art historian next to you for the highlights. Worth it to understand what made Van Gogh's technique revolutionary, not just recognise the famous paintings.
When is the best time to visit the Van Gogh Museum?
The museum opens daily at 9 AM and closes at 6 PM (Fridays until 9 PM). Last entry is 90 minutes before closing.
The 9 AM slot is the quietest. By 11 AM the museum fills up and stays busy until 3 PM. Friday evenings (6-9 PM) are a well-kept alternative — far fewer visitors, and the building has a different energy after dark.
Weekdays beat weekends, especially Tuesday to Thursday. Weekend mornings attract the heaviest crowds, school groups book Monday and Friday slots.
Seasonal tip: In summer, tickets sell out 7-10 days ahead. Book 2-3 weeks in advance if you're visiting between April and September. Winter (November to February) is noticeably calmer.
What should you see first at the Van Gogh Museum?
The collection is chronological. Floor 0 covers Van Gogh's early Dutch period: dark, heavy peasant scenes. Floor 1 moves to Paris and the explosion of colour. Floor 2 is Arles, Saint-Rémy, and Auvers-sur-Oise: Sunflowers, The Bedroom, Almond Blossom, Irises. Floor 3 hosts temporary exhibitions, included with your standard ticket. From 16 October 2026 to 10 January 2027 the museum hosts a James McNeill Whistler retrospective, the first devoted to this artist in the Netherlands.
The self-portraits tell a story across the floors. Track them from the stiff early attempts to the Arles portraits where the brushstrokes themselves carry emotion. It's the most powerful sequence in the museum and most visitors miss it because they see them out of order.
What do most visitors wish they knew about the Van Gogh Museum?
The bag policy is strict. Only small bags (max A4 size) are allowed. Free lockers exist but they're small. Leave backpacks at your hotel.
Two entrances exist. Individual visitors enter through the oval-shaped building on Museumplein. The group entrance is on Paulus Potterstraat — don't queue there by mistake.
The letter display changes everything. Van Gogh wrote over 800 letters, mostly to his brother Theo. The museum displays originals alongside the paintings they describe. Reading even a few changes how you look at the work. Give them five minutes.
Combine with the Rijksmuseum. They're a 5-minute walk apart. Book the Van Gogh at 9 AM (1.5-2 hours), then the Rijksmuseum at 11 AM. You'll see both before lunch. The Stedelijk Museum for modern art is right between them if you still have energy.
- Tickets
- €25 adults | Under 18 free | Online only, timed entry
- Hours
- Daily 9 AM – 6 PM | Fridays until 9 PM
- Audio guide
- €6 multimedia guide at entrance (11 languages) · Family guide €3.75
- Time needed
- 1.5 – 2 hours (permanent) + 30 min (temporary)
- Best time
- 9 AM weekdays or Friday evenings (6-9 PM)
- Book at
- GetYourGuide (free cancellation) · official site
- Getting there
- Museumplein, tram 2, 5 or 12 to Van Baerlestraat
What to do if Van Gogh Museum tickets are sold out
In high season Van Gogh timed slots disappear 7-10 days ahead, faster around long weekends and the August stretch. When the official site shows your date as full, three real options before you give up.
Check the Museumkaart slot pool on the official site. The museum holds a separate allocation for Museumkaart and I Amsterdam City Card holders, and that slot pool clears at a different pace from the €25 paid tickets. If you already own the card, log into the official ticketing page and try your date. A free timed slot can be available even when the standard slots are gone. If you don't own it, the card costs €69.95 a year and breaks even after roughly three big-ticket museums in Amsterdam. Worth it for a longer trip, not for a single-museum visit.
Try GetYourGuide, Tiqets, or Viator. Resellers hold separate inventory from the official Van Gogh site and frequently show availability after the official date goes red. The GetYourGuide guided tour with entry included (~€80, 1h45 with an art historian) is the most common fallback. Pricier than the €25 entry, but you walk in at a confirmed time with someone explaining what you're looking at. Free cancellation 24h before. Worth a 30-second check across all three resellers before you change your plans.
Take a day to the Kröller-Müller Museum. The contrarian option, and the one most return visitors prefer. The Kröller-Müller in De Hoge Veluwe National Park owns 88 paintings and around 180 drawings, the world's second-largest Van Gogh collection after Amsterdam, and rarely sold out. Adult day ticket is €27.75 (museum + park combined; the park is a separate foundation but you need both). From Amsterdam Centraal: intercity train to Ede-Wageningen (about 1 hour), bus 108 toward Apeldoorn to Otterlo Rotonde, then the small bus 106 into the park (runs hourly, 8-person minivan). Door-to-door budget 1h40 each way, plus four hours inside between the Van Gogh galleries and the sculpture park outside. Trade-off: fewer crowds, more paintings per square metre, the sculpture garden as bonus; loses the Sunflowers and the central self-portrait sequence, which live only on Museumplein.
Frequently asked questions
How much are Van Gogh Museum tickets in 2026?
Adult tickets cost €25, purchased online only with a timed entry slot. Under 18 is free but still needs a ticket. Museumkaart and I Amsterdam City Card holders enter free but must reserve a time slot.
Do Van Gogh Museum tickets sell out?
Yes, regularly. In high season (March to October), tickets sell out 7-10 days in advance. Book at least 2-3 weeks ahead for summer visits. Winter is easier but still requires advance booking.
Is the Van Gogh Museum audio guide worth it?
Yes. The multimedia guide costs €6 and covers the highlights in 11 languages. It adds context you won't get from the wall labels alone, especially about Van Gogh's letters and mental state during specific paintings. Most visitors who skip it say they wish they hadn't.
How long do you need at the Van Gogh Museum?
1.5 to 2 hours for the permanent collection with the audio guide. Add 30-45 minutes for temporary exhibitions. Art lovers who read everything should budget 3 hours.
Can you visit the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum in one day?
Yes, they're a 5-minute walk apart on Museumplein. Start at the Van Gogh Museum at 9 AM (smaller, 1.5-2 hours), then walk to the Rijksmuseum for an 11 AM slot. You'll finish by 1 PM with energy left for the Stedelijk or lunch.
What can I do if Van Gogh Museum tickets are sold out?
Three honest options. (1) Check the Museumkaart timed slots on the official site — the museum holds a separate allocation for cardholders that often shows availability after the €25 standard slots are gone. (2) Book through GetYourGuide, Tiqets, or Viator: resellers hold separate inventory and frequently release slots after the official Van Gogh site shows full. (3) For Van Gogh completists, the Kröller-Müller Museum in De Hoge Veluwe National Park holds 88 paintings and around 180 drawings — the world's second-largest Van Gogh collection — and rarely sells out. €27.75 adult day ticket; 1h40 each way from Amsterdam by train and bus.
The Van Gogh Museum is one of those places where booking the right time slot matters more than anything you'll read in a guide. Get the 9 AM on a weekday, start on Floor 2, and give the letters room five minutes. Get Van Gogh Museum tickets on GetYourGuide — same price as the official site, free cancellation.
Last verified: May 2026
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