Online time-slot ticket reservations are essential to see top sights in Amsterdam such as the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, and Rijksmuseum — tickets are no longer sold on-site.
An increasing number of top sights and museums in Amsterdam no longer sell tickets onsite making it essential to buy time-slot reservation tickets online in advance. The Anne Frank Huis, Van Gogh Museum, and Rijksmuseum are among the top sites in Amsterdam that no longer have ticket windows at all. Buy all tickets online only and even free admissions or city passes require online time-slot admission reservations too. Sights such as Keukenhof and MOCO Banksy Exhibition still sell tickets at the venue but only if there are still time slots available. Buying in advance online is not only a time-saving tip but also ensures actual admission on busy days — some top sights are sold out weeks in advance in the high season. On days when all tickets are sold out, guided tours often remain an option to get visitors into the most popular sights in Amsterdam.
Online Ticket Reservations for the Anne Frank House Amsterdam
Tickets for the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam are only sold online and only on the museum’s own website. It is not possible to queue up or buy tickets at the museum itself or to buy through any resellers or guided tour companies.
Currently, tickets are released for sale around six weeks in advance with new dates added every Tuesday at 10:00 Amsterdam time.
Bearers of the Dutch Museum Card (Museumkaart) and any visitor with free admission, e.g. children under 10 (including babies), must also make online timeslot reservations to enter the museum.
Many tours in Amsterdam show Anne Frank sights but none include admission to the Anne Frank House itself.
→ See Visiting the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam for more information.
Online-Only Ticket Reservations for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
Tickets for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam must be bought in advance and online, as tickets are no longer sold at the museum itself. All tickets to the Van Gogh Museum are per specific timeslot and thus in effect skip-the-line admissions — there is no need to queue up earlier than the stated time.
Tickets for the Van Gogh Museum are cheapest on the museum website – visitors with free admission, e.g. children under 18 and bearers of the Museumkaart must still make free time-slot reservations.
The Van Gogh Museum is also included in many tours and combination ticket deals through resellers such as Tiqets and GetYourGuide, which often have better cancelation conditions.
→ See Visiting the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for more tips and information.
Tickets for the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
The Rijksmuseum followed the Van Gogh Museum by closing its ticket window and selling all tickets only online. All Rijksmuseum tickets are now for a specific time slot and basically skip-the-no-longer-existing lines — any queueing outside the museum is when passing through security is slow, or when the museum is too full and visitors have to wait until others exit the museum.
As before, the best times to visit the Rijksmuseum are early morning (exit by 11:00) or late afternoon (enter after 15:00).
Many group tours are available while combination ticket deals often give small discounts e.g. Rijksmuseum and a canal cruise or entry to MOCO with its popular Banksy exhibition.
→ See also Tips on Visiting the Rijksmuseum and Frans Hals in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2024 exhibition.
Buy Online Skip-the-Line Tickets for Keukenhof
Keukenhof flower gardens are open only two months in spring each year but attract 1.4 million visitors in this short period – around 20 March to mid-May. Time-slot reservation tickets are compulsory to visit Keukenhof. Although tickets are still sold on-site, some days in recent years sold out completely and tickets are only sold at the park if time slots were not booked out online.
If admission tickets are sold out, it is often still possible to enter with combination tickets or tours. Keukenhof tickets with transportation from Amsterdam, full guided tours, and tours from Amsterdam with further sights added such as the windmills of Zaanse Schans, the Aalsmeer flower market, or a visit to a bulb farm are popular.
Public transportation to Keukenhof is easily arranged from Amsterdam or Schiphol Airport while a cycling tour of the bulb region is a pleasant add-on to a visit to Keukenhof.
→ For more information see also Keukenhof Tulip and Flower Gardens and Cycling at Keukenhof and the Flower Bulb Fields in Holland.
Advance online ticket reservations are increasingly necessary to see top sights in Europe, including the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and The Last Supper in Milan. This is generally good news for travelers who plan ahead, as less time is wasted queuing outside popular museums, and tourist sights and crowds inside are better managed.
