Van Gogh Museum
The World'S Largest Collection Of Vincent Van Gogh'S Paintings And Letters, Opened 1973 · Amsterdam, North Holland
The Van Gogh Museum on Museumplein holds the world's largest collection of work by Vincent van Gogh - around 200 paintings, some 500 drawings and more than 700 of his letters, most of it left to the family and loaned to the Dutch state. Opened in 1973 in a building designed by Gerrit Rietveld's office, with an oval exhibition wing by Kisho Kurokawa and a glass entrance hall added in 2015, it follows his short career from the dark peasant pictures of Nuenen through Paris, Arles, Saint-Remy and Auvers: The Potato Eaters, The Bedroom, one of the Sunflowers, Almond Blossom, Wheatfield with Crows and many self-portraits, alongside works by the friends and rivals who shaped him. It is one of the most visited museums in the Netherlands and people come as pilgrims. The honest caveat: tickets are sold online with a time slot, not at the door, so without booking you may not get in, the galleries are crowded at midday, photography inside is largely restricted, and several famous Van Goghs are in the Kroller-Muller Museum instead.
Museumplein 6, Amsterdam, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Open every day, usually from about 09:00 to 18:00, with later opening on some Friday evenings and shorter or longer hours in some seasons - confirm current hours. Tickets are sold online only, for a date and a time slot; the museum says there is no ticket sale at the door, so book before you go. Museumkaart holders and under-18s also need a free timed ticket. Get there by tram 2 or 12 to Van Baerlestraat or the Rijksmuseum stop (lines change - check 9292 or GVB), or walk about 30 minutes from Centraal.