Two of Amsterdam's major art museums – the Stedelijk Museum of Contemporary Art and the Rijksmuseum – are currently undergoing major renovation. However, they still remain open to the public in some form or another and are due to reopen fully in mid-2010 and 2012/13, respectively. Tip: The Van Gogh Museum opens every Friday until 10pm (with DJs, cocktails etc), the Rijksmuseum opens every Friday until 8.30pm (with Dutch-language lectures) and contemporary photography space Foam opens every Thursday and Friday night until 9pm.
This museum opened in 2004 and serves as a satellite museum to Russia's prestigous Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. It's housed in the huge 17th-century landmark Amstelhof and is the largest art museum in Amsterdam...
RIJKSMUSEUM | Jan Luijkenstraat 1 | (020) 674 7000 | www.rijksmuseum.nl
Whilst the Rijksmuseum is predominantly closed for renovations, a selection from its collection of Dutch masters from the affluent Golden Age are on display in its Philips Wing. Amongst the 400 works by painters such as Jan Steen, Johannes Vermeer and the sublime Jan van der Heyden, it's also the place to head to see Rembrandt's magnum opus, The Nightwatch. Note that Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring is hanging in the Mauritshuis in The Hague – not here!
STEDELIJK MUSEUM | Post CS Building | Oosterdokskade 5 | (020) 573 2911 | www.stedelijk.nl
Amsterdam's contemporary art museum left its temporary home at the Post CS building on 30 September 2008. Now it's taking to the streets... so watch out for 'Stedelijk in the City' (see website for details).
VAN GOGH MUSEUM | Paulus Potterstraat 7 | (020) 570 5200 | www.vangoghmuseum.nl
This is the only one of the 'big three' on the Museumplein (i.e. this, the Stedelijk Museum and Rijksmuseum), where it's business as usual. The Rietveld-designed building holds around 200 paintings and 500 drawings by the tortured artist, along with a selection of his Japanese prints and works by Van Gogh's contemporaries. The new wing, designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, is where the superb temporary exhibitions are held.