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H'ART Museum Amsterdam

Museums

H'ART Museum Amsterdam

Big international exhibitions on the Amstel

H'ART Museum is the successor to the Hermitage Amsterdam, and it occupies the same handsome building on the River Amstel, at Amstel 51, a short walk from the Magere Brug and Waterlooplein. The ticket page describes it as a cultural hub with an impressive collection from antiquity to the present, housed in a historic landmark. The building is the Amstelhof, a large seventeenth-century complex that was built as a home for elderly women and later converted into a museum, and its generous courtyard spaces and long galleries are well suited to big, ambitious exhibitions. The museum does not rely on a single permanent collection in the way the Rijksmuseum does; instead it stages major temporary exhibitions that draw on the collections of important museums elsewhere. That is an excellent reason to visit this winter, because it brings a large group of works by Henri Matisse and artists around him to Amsterdam. Beyond the galleries, the museum has an indoor garden and a Grand Café that hosts concerts, lectures, movie nights and art education programmes, so it works as a place to spend a relaxed afternoon, not only as a gallery visit. The page lists daily opening from 10:00 to 17:00. The museum shares its building with the Amsterdam Museum and the Museum of the Mind.

Is it worth it

For visitors who love art and have already ticked the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, H'ART is the sort of place that rewards a return visit. The major exhibitions are well organised, the building is atmospheric, and the crowds are usually smaller than on Museumplein.

If you only have a short stay and have not yet seen the big three, prioritise those first; if you are staying longer or travelling in winter, the Matisse exhibition is a strong draw. As exhibitions change, check what is on when you plan your trip.

Practical advice

The ticket page lists a single entry ticket, with combination offers at a small discount; one example pairs H'ART with the Rembrandt House Museum, which is a natural pairing because the two are a short walk apart. The page does not give a separate price for the Matisse exhibition, so check the museum's exhibition page if that is the reason you are going.

Buy a timed ticket in advance if you are visiting at the weekend, and allow around two hours for the exhibition plus time for the garden and café. The Amstel location means the walk from the Waterlooplein metro is only a few minutes.

Around the Amstel

This is a lovely part of the city for a stroll. The Magere Brug is a short walk upstream, the Waterlooplein flea market is close, and the Rembrandt House and the Jewish Cultural Quarter are within ten minutes on foot. A riverside walk to the Carré theatre and a drink at one of the cafés on the Amstel is a good way to end the visit.

Because the building also hosts the Amsterdam Museum while its home is renovated, ask at the desk which museum the ticket covers so you do not buy the wrong one.

What to expect

The experience

Large international temporary exhibitions in a historic riverside building, plus an indoor garden and a Grand Café.

Best time

Weekday mornings or afternoons; the ticket page lists daily opening from 10:00 to 17:00.

How long

Around two to three hours including the garden and café.

Tips

Combine with the Rembrandt House Museum.

Quick picks

Best for
Art lovers who want a big exhibition and a calmer atmosphere than Museumplein.
Families
Best for older children who enjoy art; younger children may prefer the other Plantage and Amstel attractions nearby.
Couples
An elegant afternoon on the Amstel, finishing with coffee in the Grand Café or a riverside walk.
Pair with
The Rembrandt House Museum, the Magere Brug and the Waterlooplein market.
Time needed
Two to three hours.

Good questions

Is H'ART the same as the Hermitage Amsterdam?+

The ticket listing carries both names, H'ART Museum Hermitage Amsterdam, and the museum is at the Amstel 51 address long associated with the Hermitage and its large international exhibitions.

What is on at the moment?+

Exhibitions change, so check before you book.

What are the opening hours?+

The ticket page lists daily opening from 10:00 to 17:00. Confirm the hours for your date.

Where is it?+

At Amstel 51, on the River Amstel near Waterlooplein and the Magere Brug. The building is also home to the Amsterdam Museum and the Museum of the Mind.

Can I combine it with another museum?+

Yes. A combination with the Rembrandt House Museum is listed at a small discount, and the two are a short walk apart.

HART Museum

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Pairs well with

Rembrandt House Museum$$

Rembrandt House Museum

The tall canal-side house where Rembrandt lived and worked at the height of his fame, furnished room by room from the inventory drawn up when he went bankrupt — his studio, his cabinet of curiosities, his kitchen and box bed, plus live etching and paint-making demonstrations.

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam$$

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Amsterdam's museum of modern and contemporary art and design, in a nineteenth-century building joined to a gleaming white extension locals call the bathtub — Malevich, Mondrian, Rietveld chairs, CoBrA, Pop Art and Matisse's huge paper cut-out, a few steps from the Van Gogh Museum.

Magere Brug and the AmstelFree

Magere Brug and the Amstel

The Skinny Bridge, Amsterdam's most famous white wooden drawbridge, lit up with hundreds of bulbs after dark — and the river walk around it, past the Carré theatre, the H'ART Museum and the grand Amstel Hotel, on the river that gave the city its name.

More in Amsterdam

All things to do
Rijksmuseum$$

Rijksmuseum

The national museum of the Netherlands and the home of the Dutch Golden Age — Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's Milkmaid, dolls' houses, ship models and Delftware in a cathedral-like 1885 building you can cycle straight through. Book a timed slot online and go early.

Van Gogh Museum$$

Van Gogh Museum

The largest collection of Vincent van Gogh's work in the world — Sunflowers, The Potato Eaters, the Yellow House and the bedroom, plus hundreds of drawings and his letters — told as the story of a ten-year career. Timed tickets only, sold online; they sell out.

Anne Frank House$

Anne Frank House

The canal house on the Prinsengracht where Anne Frank hid for two years and wrote her diary — the bookcase, the empty Secret Annex and the original diary itself. Tickets are sold only on the museum's own website, released weeks ahead, and they go fast.

Amsterdam Canal Cruise$

Amsterdam Canal Cruise

An hour gliding along the seventeenth-century Canal Ring on a quiet electric boat — gabled merchant houses, the Skinny Bridge, houseboats and the wide harbour of the IJ — the easiest and most beautiful introduction to the city. Evening and candlelight cruises add romance.