Hermitage Amsterdam

Getty Images/iStockphoto


Formerly a branch of St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum, H'Art Museum cut ties with Russia and now operates as an independent museum. Blockbuster temporary exhibitions show works from H'art's vast treasure trove; the Outsider Gallery also has temporary shows. I Amsterdam and Museum cards allow free entrance or a discount, depending on the exhibition.

Admission includes a free audioguide; come before 11am to avoid the lengthiest queues. There's a pleasant cafe/restaurant inside the museum, as well as Dignita Hoftein in the garden. Flash photography isn't permitted.

The building was formerly a retirement home (for 'elderly' women aged over 50!).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Gijsbert Dommer Huis

0.08 MILES

This handsome greystone house is known dramatically as the 'House with the Blood Stains'. Six-time mayor and diplomat Coenraad van Beuningen lost his…

2. Blauwbrug

0.1 MILES

Built in 1884, this highly decorated stone bridge replaced an old, blue (hence the name) wooden crossing that had connected these shores of the Amstel…

3. Magere Brug

0.12 MILES

Dating from the 1670s, the nine-arched 'Skinny Bridge' has had several incarnations, first in timber and later in concrete. It has a hand-operated central…

4. Joods Historisch Museum

0.15 MILES

In this beautifully restored complex of four Ashkenazic synagogues from the 17th and 18th centuries, displays show the history of Jews in the Netherlands,…

5. Museum Willet-Holthuysen

0.15 MILES

This exquisite canal house was built in 1687 for Amsterdam mayor Jacob Hop, then remodelled in 1739. It's named after Louisa Willet-Holthuysen, who…

6. Dockworker Statue

0.17 MILES

Mari Andriessen's Dockworker statue (1952), a monumental, aghast-looking figure, was commissioned to commemorate the general strike that began among…

7. Stopera

0.18 MILES

This curved waterside building is called Stopera because it houses both the stadhuis (city hall) and the opera and ballet hall, aka Muziektheater. It…

8. NAP Visitors Centre

0.2 MILES

This fascinating display was closed for repairs at the time of research, but shows the ins and outs of Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP; Normal Amsterdam…