Skip the Line: Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum Small Group Amsterdam Tour

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Join our most popular group tour of Amsterdam’s best museums. Perfect for an introduction to Van Gogh and the artists of the Dutch Golden Age. This intimate tour with a maximum of 8 people in each group will take you on an artistic and historical journey through the 18th and 19th centuries. The 5 to 5.5 hour walking tour includes entry to both museums so you can skip the line and learn about the museums’ collections with one of our engaging expert guides.

Start your tour at the Rijksmuseum to see the work of some of Holland’s most famous artists, while learning about the country’s cultural history. Your guide will share stories about the museum’s best and quirkiest pieces as you explore a selection of paintings and artifacts from the 8,000 objects on display. Learn more about the work of Rembrandt, 17th-century Dutch dollhouses, and Vermeer’s portrait of domesticity, The Milkmaid. The museum is also home to a vast 19th-century library, the largest public art history research library in the Netherlands.

After a break for lunch (opt to pack your own if you don't want to eat at the museum cafe), enter the Van Gogh Museum to learn more about the man behind the famous sunflowers and self-portraits that are featured in galleries around the world. See The Potato Eaters and The Bedroom as well as objects from his studio. Walk through the world’s largest collection of Van Gogh’s works while learning about his life, from his days in Holland to his dramatic ending in France. Your guide will discuss that whole ear incident, too. 

Depending on whether the artwork is on loan or being restored, your tour may include Van Gogh's large collection of self portraits, early and obscure works, objects from his studio, Sunflowers, Yellow House, and Wheatfield with Crows.

After five hours, your tour will conclude at the Van Gogh Museum.

USD $189.00

Review by:   George M,    August 2018
We met Angelo in front of the Rijksmuseum along with the six other guests for our tour. He was very knowledgeable about the paintings, painters and the related biographies and history. Angelo was very attentive to us and was able to answer all of our many questions. He maintained a high level of enthusiasm throughout the five hours we spent with him.

Review by:   MJK K,    July 2018
Professionally dressed Guide who worked for Babylon Tours arrived well before we did for 10 am tour Thursday, July 12, 2018 Easy to find location listed from aviator. She was prompt, personable and very knowledgeable. Bring your own lunch and water to drink @ lunch break. Key rental Lockers on ground floor near toilets very handy. _br/_ Interesting time well spent. Definitely recommend for first timers for the small group.

Review by:   Elizabeth S,    July 2018
The tour was excellent. The tour guide was Anita, an art historian. Although she chose the paintings to talk about she was thorough with the art history and brought fresh perspectives to the paintings.

Review by:   Amy G,    July 2018
Victoria was our guide, and she definitely knows the subjects well. The tour for started a little late, but once we were going it was great. I didn’t realize we would stop for lunch, and I was very grateful that we did because it would be too much to do all in a row. Victoria was great to get us to move close into the paintings, and the. We would look from a distance to see how the art changed. She helped us see clues that we would have otherwise missed and set the scene for the culture at the time that changes how you view the art. She did a masterful job of telling the story of Van Gogh’a work and life. She also didn’t make us feel badly when we were ready to go at the end of the tour instead now of going to see the special exhibit. We were exhausted and had been traveling for a while at this point and our feet needed a rest! Great tour. If I had time, I might do the tours on different days but this was also an efficient way to get through it. Thanks Victoria!

Review by:   Lisa J,    April 2018
Best tour .I would do it again,the guide was very knowledgeable.

Review by:   Sharon F,    March 2018
Our guide Pina was a delight and extremely well versed in all topics pertaining to the tour. Although we had been to Amsterdam on several previous trips, her personalization of this art experience was unmatched.

Review by:   Michael O,    December 2017
Our guide was very knowledgeable and really helped us understand the Dutch Golden Age. It was a wonderful tour and excellent source of information for both the Rijksmuseum and VanGogh. They are soooooo crowded, I cannot think of a better way to actually learn something from your visit

Review by:   dan85395,    November 2017
Great tour.....was supposed to be 4 hours but we went 5.5. Loved Victoria, despite her having a bad cold.

Review by:   Christopher R,    November 2017
Our tour guide was wonderful and made spending several hours in the two museums much more amazing. She was very informative and catered to our group very well. I definitely recommend seeing any famous museum with a knowledgeable guide rather than listening to a recording.

Review by:   Julia D,    November 2017
I really enjoyed this tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and provided background information to help my understanding of the art. Loved this tour, thank you!!

Review by:   28caenm13,    November 2017
This was expensive, but worth the money to hear details from our guide. The small group was great only 4 people. Our guide shared wonderful information and details about what we were seeing. Very enjoyable! _br/_ Would not recommend going on Sunday's because it was quite crowded. Other than that, both museums are nice.

Review by:   Joe B,    November 2017
Fantastic tour. The tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable. I would recommend this to anyone!

Review by:   gwen g,    October 2017
Victoria was great and knew so much about art and van gogh. She really brought him and his work to life for us.

Review by:   Cathy G,    October 2017
Audrey Sykes was a terrific guide. Very sensitive and informative. After the tour was over, as we chatted she recommended another attraction she thought I would enjoy, The Lord in the Attic. It was a gem and made the next day of sightseeing a winning one.

Review by:   Amy F,    October 2017
We had an amazing tour. Our guide was an expat from US who has lived in Amsterdam for the last 20 years, so it was wonderful to hear and learn from her passion and expertise about art, but we also learned about the culture and people of the Netherlands. She was additionally very effective at shooing away all the tourists with their selfie sticks so we could actually get in and have a look at the art that she was telling us about.

Review by:   JOSEPH V,    October 2017
We thoroughly enjoyed our tours of the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Our guide, Tea, was an art historian who had deep knowledge of all the artists and their works. This, combined with her pleasant and engaging personality, made the day both educational and enjoyable.

Review by:   Matthew B,    September 2017
The museums and art were amazing and our tour guide fully enhanced the whole experience with her depth of knowledge. Our guide was friendly, flexible and aggressive to always get us in front of the art.

Review by:   Tim W,    September 2017
Our guide, Tea, was super enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I learned more than I can remember but was in awe the whole time.

Review by:   Geoffrey F,    September 2017
Amazing guide that gave a great insight into the history and wonderful exhibits and paintings on display. Well worth the extra cost of a skip the line experience.

Review by:   Karen C,    August 2017
My wife and I were on this tour along with my sister and BIL We are definitely not art people and knew we needed help to appreciate Rembrandt and Van Gogh. we specifically asked for Victoria and she did not disappoint. We really learned a lot and actually retained a lot of it. I would definitely ask for her. Two words to the wise. First, there is a lot of standing. Have to to appreciate each work. But the floors are stone and it can be tough on the feet. Second is Victoria. We would go with her again and again. She was great. However she is conservative with some of her opinions so if you are very liberal, you may not want to request her but you will lose out by not going with her.

Review by:   Dennis D,    August 2017
Fantastic tour with great guide. Her knowledge and description of art works was very good.

Review by:   RC,    August 2017
Amazing tour! Audrey was a terrific guide and did a terrific job explaining the beautiful artwork in both museums in such detail to truly help me appreciate it.

Review by:   Anne C,    August 2017
AMAZING tour and well worth the money!!

Review by:   NORMAN D,    August 2017
The Tour Guide was terrific, knowledgeable and made us understand the essence of the paintings...especially Van Gogh. Loved that it was a small group so asking questions and receiving answers was easy to understand.

Review by:   Crystal C,    July 2017
My tour guide was kind, patient, and passionate! I learned so much and my mother actually teared up at the end! Also, maybe because of the time of year, it ended up being a private tour! So awesome!

Review by:   Don W,    July 2017
This was a highlight of our time in Amsterdam! Our tour guide took us through both museums and we loved it! _br/_ I learned so much! But wait,there's more! I have two children ages 10 and 11 and she made it especially interesting for them! Would highly recommend this tour and this company! Don't miss it! The whole family wished we could go to every museum with our guide.

Review by:   Don W,    July 2017
This was a highlight of our time in Amsterdam! Our tour guide took us through both museums and we loved it! _br/_ I learned so much! But wait,there's more! I have two children ages 10 and 11 and she made it especially interesting for them! Would highly recommend this tour and this company! Don't miss it! The whole family wished we could go to every museum with our guide.

Review by:   Max Eric K,    July 2017
I sing the praises of Babylon tours. Prior to the tour they sent me a text reminding me of details and confirming the arrangement. Afterwards, they sent an email thanking me for the business and asking for a review.

Review by:   Charles D,    June 2017
Great tour. Victoria was a great guide. very knowledgeable and organized. Highly recommend the tour

Review by:   Alexander K,    May 2017
Our tour guide, Tea, was absolutely wonderful! She had extensive knowledge about the museums and was truly brilliant in how she shared the information with the group. All questions were answered thoroughly and with a smile, and nobody was made to feel like a neophyte even though we all were. I walked out of both museums feeling like I had gotten much more than my money's worth. I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone interested in seeing these beautiful museums and the amazing pieces of art they contain. Note: Be sure to bring .50 Euro coins with you. You'll need them to store bags in the lockers prior to entering the Rijksmuseum.

Review by:   Paul H,    May 2017
I cannot rate this tour highly enough. Both museums are required visits on a trip to Amsterdam to anyone with even a passing interest in art. The Van Gogh Museum in particular is very hard to get into and a skip the line tour is a very wise pre-purchase.

Review by:   Doverpv,    April 2017
A great way to enjoy the museum tour and truly understand and appreciate the story behind these Legendary artist! Out private tour guide - Victoria , painted' an easy way to understand the essence and background of some of the key art works during that age and time!

Review by:   bknight967,    April 2017
Excellent tour. Hope you get Victoria as your guide. Her knowledge and passion for the art was evident. She picked just the perfect combination of paintings to tell the stories of Rembrandt and Van Gogh. This tour will surely make you be an art lover.

Review by:   Pamela b,    April 2017
This was a great tour and great guide

Review by:   Patrick R,    April 2017
I personally preferred the Van Gogh museum. I consider it a must see. It felt less crowded and was much quieter than the Rijksmuseum. Also, pictures aren't in the Van Gogh museum which make it a better experience in my opinion. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about art. She was able to share stories about artists and specific pieces which helped understand and appreciate the art much more.

Review by:   Deborah S,    December 2016
Excellent Tour led by Victoria. She was extremely knowledgeable. I now have a different thought process on viewing and appreciating art.

Review by:   Beth V,    December 2016
The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and managed time well. Even though we had seen these works before we felt we had a new understanding of them. There was enough time to enjoy the highlights and to take in the lowlights as well since the tour ended mid-afternoon. We had time to continue looking at the other exhibits.

Review by:   LK in viator,    November 2016
Very knowledgeable guide. Lots of information._br/_ The down side was only 20 minutes for lunch/coffee.

Review by:   Rachael M,    September 2016
Absolutely loved this tour. Victoria was the best guide and she made the tour interesting and informative. We were able to get up very close to the paintings. Having lunch with her was even amazing.

Review by:   Casey A,    August 2016
One of the best tours I've ever been on. Our guide, Victoria, was incredible. She had so much knowledge and a passion for the art of Van Gogh and the works in the Rijksmuseum, that it set our tour way ahead of what we could've possibly appreciated on our own. Highly recommended!

Review by:   Ashli B,    August 2016
Museums are both great. It's a bit of a long day, with a 40-minute break for lunch. Recommend either bringing lunch with you or asking for a bit more time in-between as the museum in the Rijksmusem is quite expensive and crowded during lunch time. Van Gogh museum was fantastic. Our tour guide was very kind, a bit hard to understand at times over the noise of the museums during the busy period. Overall, highly recommend visiting both of the museums either with a guide or taking the self-guided tour, but picking a tour that skips the long entry line.

Review by:   Bonnie B,    July 2016
Our tour guide was fantastic. She is an art historian and provided us with much background information about the artists and each work we visited. She was enthusiastic and very interesting.

Review by:   Roger M,    July 2016
We were met punctually at the designated location by our guide Paola Pirovano. She provided very interesting background information about each artist and the art forms we viewed. She was very fluent and well prepared and made the tour fun with her warm and humorous personality. We rate our experience 5 stars.

Review by:   Jeffrey B,    July 2016
Our tour was great. Our guide, an art student, was very knowledgeable and very helpful. We were very pleased. In one day we saw the highlights of both museums. The Rijksmuseum was much too large to see everything, so we were very pleased to have someone to direct us to the major attractions.

Review by:   sylviagreene,    July 2016
This small group, skip the line tour of both museums is the only way to go for a well informed, pleasurable experience. The guide was superb in giving even the least knowledgeable among us insights into the artists and their works.

Review by:   tjtroad,    July 2016
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   Marlene H,    July 2016
Our tour guide, Victoria, was terrific. We were with her for over 5 hours and learned so much. She was very informative and was a pleasure to be with. I would recommend this tour to everyone who visits Amsterdam.

Review by:   JCOXES,    July 2016
Unbelievably great! Victoria was fantastic. Five hours just flew by. We learned so much My teenage daughters loved it!. So much to learn, see and experience. Victoria, our tour guide, was so knowledgeable. She loved talking about these wonderful museums and answered all our questions. Highly recommend this tour. Probably the best we've ever been on.

Review by:   Navneet,    May 2016
Good walk ! Informative and Knowledgeable guide ! Great Communication skills and a good sense of humour. Kept it fun ! :

Review by:   REBECCA G,    May 2016
we had a wonderful guide she was there to greet us right on time and gave us lots of insights we would not have otherwise known about. Fascinating!