e were in two minds whether to visit this museum, as neither of us are big art lovers, but we decided to give it a go based on the pictures at the stall outside. It's 10 euros for adults. Be warned that they don't take cards, so book online or pay by cash. It's open from 10am to 6pm most days with extended hours on a Friday. There are three floors housing a mixture of permanent and other collections. The good thing about it is that not everything in the museum is by Van Gogh. Whilst this may seem a little strange, there are a number of works by people from the same period who were friends with Van Gogh and influenced his work in some way. I liked the section with cartoon strips the best. It may not be art in the way that sunflowers are, but it was what appealed to me. This area can be very busy but there is normally enough space to move around. We spent about an hour and a half here and both enjoyed it far more than we expected. The story of Van Gogh that proceeds through the museum is enough to interest those who don't favour the art, although there are some amazing pieces. There is a shop downstairs with a good collection of prints, etc., and there is also a stall outside selling prints. It’s definitely worth a visit.

 

The Van Gogh Museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. The paintings date back to the 19th century. Paintings by Van Gogh include: Impresionism, Post-Impressionism, and others. There are two buildings to this museum. The main structure and the Exhibition Wing. The museum officially opened in 1973. Every year the amount of visitors grow. The museum is accessible for the disabled. There are lifts all around the museum. Wheelchairs and buggies are free. Traveling by public transport: From Central Station in Amsterdam, take tram 2 (towards Nieuw Sloten) or 5 (towards Amstelveen Binnenhof) to the Van Baerlestraat stop. From Station Amsterdam Zuid/WTC, take tram 5 (towards Central Station) to the Van Baerlestraat stop. You can also take tram 3 or 12 to the Van Baerlestraat stop or bus 145, 170 or 172 to the Museumplein stop. For information about travelling by train, you can visit www.ns.nl. Bus and tram schedules are available at www.gvb.nl. Traveling by car: From the A10 motorway, take exit S108, and then turn right onto Amstelveenweg. At Stadionplein, bear right, and turn left at the traffic lights. At the roundabout next to Haarlemmermeerstation, take the second right, into Cornelis Krusemanstraat. Continue down this street, which becomes the Lairessestraat, until you reach Museumplein, where the Van Gogh Museum is located. You can also plan your trip using www.routenet.nl. See also www.bereikbaar.amsterdam.nl for an overview of road works, traffic diversions and car parks in Amsterdam. Opening times: Museum: daily 10am-6pm Friday 10am-10pm Ticket office: daily 10am-5:30pm Friday 10am-9:30 Shop: daily 10am-5:$5pm Friday 10am-9:45pm Restaurant: daily 10am-5:30pm Friday 10am-9:30pm kitchen open until 9:15pm Library Museumplein 4: Monday to Friday 10am-12:30pm and 1:30-5pm Closed 1 January Admission fees: Adults: €10 13-17 years: €2.50 0-12 years: free admission Museum card holders: free admission* Members of ICOM: free admission* I Amsterdam card holders: free admission Special rates Rabobank Europas: €5 Stadspas card holders: €5** ANWB members: €8.50 (a valid ANWB membership card is required)** There is no special rate for groups or students. * ICOM-members and Museum card holders gain immediate entrance to the museum and do not need to wait in ticket lines. ** Unfortunateley these tickets cannot be ordered online. This is a great experience if you are a fan of Van Gogh or even art!

Stranger with just a few days in a city as Amsterdam you will for sure try to do as much as possible in as little time possible. Visit to The Van Gogh Museum is nearly obligatory as this famous painter is truly a legend of Dutch nation. So why don’t plan your visit here on Friday, when museum's restaurant serves nice dinners. Even if there are other than Van Gogh's paintings the museum dedicated to one author only can be quite tiring. Little dinner break can be rather nice and prices here are not bad (the weekly special plus a beverage for €13.50).

The museum opens daily  from 10am to 6pm and Friday  from 10am to 22.00. (Restaurant: daily 10.00 to 17.30, Friday to 21.30, kitchen to 21.15).

So what actually can you see here? Van Gogh made over 800 paintings and over 200 can be found here. On the ground floor you may want to pick up a leaflet that will guide you through all Van Goghs life stages. Each time he moved, from time to time, Van Goghs painting stayle changed so today we can easily distigush different epochas of his life. We know a lot about Van Goghs life and he wrote many letters to his brother Theo and he kept them. To Theo we owe the thanks for conserving such a large collection of Van Goghs paintings as it was him who belived in Van Gogh's talent and was supporting him throuout an entire lifetime.

The information is also on the walls where the painting from that era are exhibited. If you read them all carefully you will learn how was it with that famous cut off ear. You may want to follow the audio guide, which is available in 9 language for € 4. Entrance tickets cost €10 (for 13-17 years only €2.50 and free if you are 12 under). The museum has several floors but there is a lift you can use to move between them. On the ground floor you can find also a museum shop with beautiful, high quality reproductions, stationery and other souvenirs.

The Van Gogh Museum holds the world's largest collection of his paintings, sketches, notebooks, and letters and gives a fascinating and very intimate insight into this wonderful, tortured artist.

The permanent collection of paintings are arranged chronologically from his early work including the atmospheric "The Potato Eaters" through the influence of Impressionism gained during his stay in Paris to his later intensely moving pictures such as "Wheatfields under Thunderclouds", completed after he had left the asylum at St. Remy and shortly before his suicide. Included in the exhibition are descriptions of the aims and ideas Van Gogh wanted to explore in his art, many being direct quotes taken from the prodigious number of letters he wrote. Also described are the circumstances under which some of the paintings came to be created. For instance the series of "Sunflower" pictures -possibly one of the most recognisable art images there is- were painted to decorate the room in which Paul Gauguin was to stay.

As a counterpoint to the Van Gogh collection, the museum also contains an impressive collection of paintings by some who knew, were influenced by or who were contemporary to Van Gogh. These exhibits include works by Gauguin, Monet, Seurat, and Toulouse-Lautrec.

I find Van Gogh's paintings very affecting, partly because of their artistic value but also because he has injected so much feeling -highs and abject lows- into his work. His brushstrokes bristle with energy and emotion, the colours are vibrant and used to such wonderful affect in order to create atmosphere as well as representation. Also one gets an interesting overview of his life and his relationships -particularly the closeness to his brother Theo- and again how they informed his work.

Poignant, vigorous, striking the experience of standing in front of Van Gogh's work stays with you long after you’ve left the museum.

Van Gogh Museum
Open daily 10am to 6pm (Fridays until 10pm)
Ten euros (no student price)

If you plan on hitting lots of museums in the Netherlands, buy the museumjaarkaart. It usually pays for itself after only two or three museums.

The Van Gogh collection is one of Amsterdam's highlights, in my opinion--it is the largest collection of Van Goghs in the world. The museum is laid out so well--it's easy to go through and see everything without having to backtrack or worry that you missed something. The paintings are in chronological order, and you can get a very good feel for how he progressed as an artist. Of special interest are The Potato Eaters and Sunflowers.

The museum also includes his letters, as well as the works of other artists so that you can compare him to his influences.

The second floor is home to a fantastic study room complete with books and computers so you can find out more about Van Gogh and art in general.

The bad news: it's summertime, folks. I went on a Saturday and this place was terribly crowded. It was hard to get close to the paintings, hard to read the captions, and you couldn't help but feel rushed along as you tried to make room for other visitors. If you're visiting in the summer, you've got no choice--tough it out. But if you have a choice of when to travel--go in the spring, fall, or winter, and skip the crowds.