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National Maritime Museum: the ships that made Amsterdam

Amsterdam grew rich on the sea, and this is where the navy kept its stores. The building is as handsome as the ships it served, and one of those ships, rebuilt, is moored at its door.

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Tickets
From €20
Open
Daily, 10:00 to 17:00
Closed
1 Jan, 27 Apr, 25 Dec
Allow
2 to 3 hours

Amsterdam this week

    What to see at the Maritime Museum

    1. The Amsterdam

      A replica of an East India Company ship that sank on its first voyage in 1749, built between 1985 and 1990 and moored outside. You can go below decks.

    2. The ship models

      Models made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the Admiralty and the shipyards, rigged to the last rope.

    3. Maps and atlases

      The charts and atlases of Willem Blaeu and his son Joan, the great Amsterdam mapmakers, and the instruments sailors steered by.

    4. Sea paintings

      Battles, storms and harbours, with portraits of the admirals, Michiel de Ruyter among them.

    5. The courtyard

      The square at the heart of the building, under its glass roof, the best place to start and to rest.

    Tickets and tours for the Maritime Museum

    • Sold by GetYourGuide

      Amsterdam: National Maritime Museum Skip-the-Line Ticket

      Entry to the National Maritime Museum, its paintings, ship models, instruments and sea charts, without queueing for a ticket.

      Included

      • Entry to the National Maritime Museum
      • Without queueing for a ticket

      From

      €20

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    Visiting the Maritime Museum: hours and admission

    Opening hours

    Monday to Sunday
    10:00 to 17:00
    • Closed on New Year's Day, King's Day (27 April) and Christmas Day.
    • The museum takes cards only: no cash at the desk, the shop or the restaurant.

    Who gets in free

    • Children aged 4 and under, and holders of the Dutch Museumkaart, the I amsterdam City Card or the ICOM card.
    • In the autumn of 2026, children from 5 to 17 also enter free with a ticket booked online.

    Getting there

    Tram and metro
    Centraal (metro lines 51, 52, 53 and 54) is fifteen minutes on foot. The Artis tram stop is seven minutes away.
    On foot
    Fifteen minutes east of Central Station along the water, past NEMO.
    By car
    Driving in the centre of Amsterdam is slow and parking is scarce and dear. Leave the car at a park-and-ride (P+R) on the edge of the city and come in by tram or metro.

    Address

    Het Scheepvaartmuseum
    Kattenburgerplein 1
    1018 KK Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Entrances

    The entrance is on the Kattenburgerplein. The replica ship Amsterdam is moored beside the museum.

    On the map

    Before you go

    • The free audio tour is worth taking.
    • Leave time for the ship. The Amsterdam is moored beside the building, by the water.
    • The museum takes cards only: no cash at the desk, the shop or the restaurant.
    • NEMO, the science museum in the green building like a ship's bow, is across the water.

    The Admiralty's storehouse

    The museum is in 's Lands Zeemagazijn, the storehouse of the Amsterdam Admiralty, built in 1656 to the design of Daniël Stalpaert on piles in the water of the Oosterdok. From here the war fleet was fitted out with sails, ropes, guns and food.

    The museum moved in in 1973. After four years of renovation it reopened in October 2011, with a glass roof over its square courtyard, patterned like the lines on an old sea chart.

    The collection covers the whole of Dutch seafaring: the Golden Age, when the East India Company sent its fleets to Asia, the wars with England, whaling, the navy and the ports. It is shown room by room round the courtyard, and a lot of it is made for children.

    National Maritime Museum: common questions

    What are the opening hours of the Maritime Museum?
    Monday to Sunday: 10:00 to 17:00. Closed on New Year's Day, King's Day (27 April) and Christmas Day. The museum takes cards only: no cash at the desk, the shop or the restaurant.
    Is the Maritime Museum ever free?
    Children aged 4 and under, and holders of the Dutch Museumkaart, the I amsterdam City Card or the ICOM card. In the autumn of 2026, children from 5 to 17 also enter free with a ticket booked online.
    What does the ticket include?
    Entry to the National Maritime Museum. Without queueing for a ticket. It is sold by GetYourGuide.
    Can you go on the ship at the Maritime Museum?
    Yes. The replica of the East Indiaman Amsterdam, moored by the museum, can be boarded, below decks as well as on deck.
    Is the Maritime Museum good for children?
    Yes. The ship and several of the rooms are made with them in mind, and young children enter free.
    How long does a visit to the Maritime Museum take?
    Two to three hours for the collection and the ship.

    What visitors say about the Maritime Museum

    Rating from Google

    4.5

    13,627 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 19 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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