Museum watch

From the Centraal train station, a 5 minute walk away at the Eastern docklands neighborhood is the NEMO museum. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the unique shape of a large green boat is perfectly placed in the docklands.

The museum is for kids, so well recommend if you have children. I decided not to pay to look around inside and so I had a quick browse on what was on offer at the museum shop at the reception area.

The Stedelijk Museum was originally designed by A.W. Weissman in 1895. In 2012 a new extension by Benthem Crouwel Architekten was unveiled which amusingly resembles a giant bathtub from the outside. Collections of contemporary art was on display here, but it was still shut this early in the morning so will try to visit later.

Nearby was the Van Gogh museum with a visible extention still being built. The line for tickets were already building up but I had set my mind to visit the Rijksmuseum first, so I headed there which was a five-minute walk.

The sun had come out and so had the crowds. I was one of the first few in the line for tickets. The Rijksmuseum is the national museum in the Netherlands. Led by Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz, a massive ten-year restoration and extension programme was ready to open in 2013.

With over 8,000 works of art, the museum is bright and spacious. The main entrance, named the Atrium, showcases this aspect well with a glass roof and modern chandeliers.

There are so many artworks on display as one would expect in a museum. You can easily spend a full day in here, but I was short on time so I visited some of the well-known paintings in the museum.

Among the many collections on display is Rembrandt’s largest canvas - Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq - also known as the ‘Night Watch’. The famous self portraits of Vincent Van Gogh and Rembrandt were also on display (they were very small I might add).

I did not plan my time correctly to visit the museums of Van Gogh, Stedelijk and Rijksmuseum. I foolish thought I could visit all three in a day. The Rijksmuseum can take up most of the day itself, maybe two days if you love art.

You also have to factor in queuing times to get in. I missed out on visiting the Van Gogh Museum because of the long line to queue. I recommend you plan at least a day each to see the museums.