Amsterdam Museum Night 2015

When in Amsterdam...every year the Museums open until 2am. In 2015 Amsterdam's Museum Night is on November 7. Here we answer all of your questions and provide you tips on how to have an awesome experience.

What is Museum Night?

A cultural festival that aims to attract young people to the cultural institutions of Amsterdam. Special events are organised and run by young people to create a unique annual event. Think music, food and fantastic one off events all run by the youth of the Netherlands.

How do we get a ticket?

Tickets for Amsterdam Museum Night are available through their website MuseumNachtAmsterdam. Tickets can also be purchased over the paylogic phone system. There will be a charge of .45c/minute. Phone Number is 0900 900 500

Please note that the participating Museums do not sell the tickets.


How much is a ticket and what does this include?

There are two tickets available 

18.50 euro

This ticket that provides you:

• entry to the 53 participating venues from 7pm until 2am
• Discount on a 24 hour GVB Transportation card that provides you transportation on Amsterdam Trams and Metro system. This can be purchased only at AKO store at Amsterdam Centraal Train Station
• Free use of the shuttle bus that run between Museumplein/Heersterveld/Vrolik Museum and Museumplein. This bus runs from 7pm until 2:30am
• 15% discount on the use of Amsterdam Electric Taxis
• Discount Entry to various Amsterdam clubs for the night.
• One free entrance to participating museums before the end of 2015.

33.50 euro

This ticket includes all of the above benefits and entrance into the official after parties at:

• Westerliefde
• Transformatorhuis

Both of these after parties are located in Amsterdam's Westerpark. The parties run until 7am.

Photo by N8

Tips

1. Purchase tickets early as this event is often sold out. 32, 000 people attended last year. Yes, you read that right 32,000 people!
2. Go via bicycle to help you cover areas quickly.
3. Less is more. Don't try and do too many museums.
4. Visit the smaller museums where there are fewer people.
5. Have a general plan. 
6. Visit the Portuguese Synagogue. A perennial favorite with the 17th Century temple is lite with 1000 natural candles.

Every year we have our group meet at our apartment for a home cooked dinner and a few drinks. We review the different events and each person says which place we would like to visit. A route is then created. We avoid the big museum on the Museumplein because of the long lines and large crowds. We jump on our bicycles and head off into the night.

Here is an example of what we did on previous year's Museum Night Party.

This is one of our favourite festivals of the year. If you are in Amsterdam on the evening of the 7th of November Museum Night is a must do.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy! 

Amsterdam Museum Cannonballrun: 4. Portugese Synagogue

When in Amsterdam....the Portugese Synagogue is a cultural and architectural masterpiece. The building was opened in 1675 and survived Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during the Second World War.

The main building still does not have any electricity and is lit witth hundreds of candles. Part of the out buildings house the world's oldest Jewish library, Ets Haim.

Amsterdam Portugese Synagogue

Museum Overview/Layout

- the main building of the complex is the Synagogue.

- outbuildings surrounding  the Synagogue house the library and treasure chamber. The later is open to viewing.

Amsterdam Porgtugese Synagogue

Tips
- Your ticket to the Jewish Historic Museum includes entrance to the Portugese Synagogue
- take the free audio tour
- visit the downstairs chamber of treasures
- Remember it is a working Synagogue and is closed early on Friday and all day Saturday.
- Men must wear a Kipa/Jarmulka hat (these are provided at entrance)

Museumnacht tips
- Each year the Synagogue is filled with live jazz music. Combined with the candle light of the main room of the Synagogue this is a must visit if you are in the area.
- Yummy falafel and kosher wine is also served in the courtyard for a price. Get there early as they always sell out.
- Check out our museumnacht blog from two years ago which included the Protugese Synagogue.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!

Amsterdam Museum Cannonball Run: 2. Amsterdam Museum

When in Amsterdam...the best museum about the city is of course the Amsterdam Museum. Housed on the location of the former monestry and city Orphanage the location dates back to 1581.




Amsterdam Museum entrance Kalverstraat

Museum Layout/Overview

5 main areas of the museum

- 1. Cafe and courtyard

- 2. DNA Amsterdam exhibition. An overview of the cities history using new and interactive multi-media exhibiting techniques. Perfect for someone with not a lot of time or not that into museum.

- 3. Amsterdam by centuries: is a more detailed looked through the city's history. Great if you wan to delve deeper into the ages.

- 4. Temporary exhibitions and childrens area.

- 5. Civic Guards Gallery: free gallery to walk though


Temporary exhibitions

Piet Modriaan in Amsterdam 1892 - 1912 (Modrian) was born just outside Amsterdam. He spent most of his youth in Amsterdam living in at least 10 addresses across the city. One such address is the Kalverstraat where this exhibition is on show. Mordian's work spans the late 19th century and early 20th century. His most famous works internationally are those after 1920.

This exhibition consists of 62 works from his early days to pre-1920s. It is interesting to see the artist develop through his work. This exhibition will be on display until February 2014. 

Tips
- See the Rembrandt painting "The Anotomy Lesson of Dr. Jan Deijman" (1956). Part of the permanent collection.
- Another Rembrandt is on loan until August 2015 from the American's National Gallery of Art. "Saskia van Uylenburgh". In the DNA exhibition.
- There is a good short movie of what Ajax Football Club means to Amsterdam.
- Modern art lovers will relish the Modrian exhibition in combination with Van Gogh museum and Stedelijk Museum.

Museumnacht Tips
- There is always a good party in the cafe and coutyard. This year the theme is New York jazz, Boogie Woogie, Eddie the Eagle and Modrian. Get there around midnight.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!

Amsterdam Museums: Museumnacht Cannonball Run 2013

When in Amsterdam...Autumn and Winter mean museums, expositions and concerts. As the seasons change Museum Night (Museumnacht Amsterdam) is an event to which to look forward. Many Amsterdam museums open for a one night extravaganza from 7pm to 2am. The buildings filled with special events, exhibitions and music.

So with 23 days to go to Museumnacht Amsterdam we thought a run around of Amsterdam museums would be a good idea. Armed with our Museum card (Museumkaart) we want to:

- Visit as many Museums participating in Amsterdam Museumnacht 2013 as possible;
- Blog about new exhibitions in our musums for Autumn and Winter in Amsterdam,
- Recount the permenant collections of our museums.
- Provide an overview of the museums,
- Tips and anything you should see before Museumnacht.

The most important aim is to provide English reading residents of Amsterdam and our visitors encouragement to get out and see our wonderful varied Amsterdam museums. There is so much more than the Big 3: Anne Frank, Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum.

You can paritipate too!

- Read our blog,
- Comment on our posts,
- Buy a museumkaart and send us your thoughts on a  museum you visited lately,
- Buy a ticket to Museumnacht, check out the Museumnacht website and read our blog in anticipation.
- Join the Cannonball, get your Museumkaart and come. Facebook postings are best...stay tuned....

Museum Card (Museumkaart)

Your best value cultural card to Museums in the Netherlands. For 50 euro you can visit over 400 listed museums in the Netherlands for one year from the time of purchase. That's right, 1 year from time of purchase.

You can sign up on the website and pay online for your Museumkaart. They will send it to you for an additional postage fee. The website is in Dutch which maybe difficult for new English reading Amsterdammers and guests.

Do you want a Museumkaart now? Buy a card at major Amsterdam museums. Tip: try the Amsterdam Museum as it is central and not overcome by visitors.

Note: the Museumkaart does NOT provide entrance to Museumnacht Amsterdam 2013.

If you wish to see what we did and tips from last year have a read of these blog entries:
- Diary Amsterdam Museum Night 2011
- Amsterdam Museum Night 2012
- Amsterdam Museum Night 2012 Diary

Let the Amsterdam Museum Cannonball Run begin.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!

Amsterdam Museum Night 2012: diary

When in Amsterdam....Museum Night is when 50 museums are open to 2am. After a good home cooked dinner with friends we mounted our bikes and headed off to experience Amsterdam museums by night. Here is is our diary of the night.

Museumnacht Amsterdam 2012 Day After Movie from Stichting n8 on Vimeo.


Het Grachtenhuis (The Canal House): Message in a bottle.

The Canal house is a private funded museum located in the heart of Amsterdam's world heritage listed canals. The museum has a small exhibition on how the grand canals of Amsterdam were built. This year it was also the location to sign up for the Museumnacht canal cruise.

We skipped the long line and decided to write a message to the Mayor in a bottle. Our suggestion was that Amsterdam city bring back the large free concerts on the Dam Square.

Message in a bottle to the Mayor of Amsterdam

Arti et Amicitiae is an closed Amsterdam art-society founded in 1839.

The society created an art in the dark exhibition. Visitors were given a simple bike light to view art. Dancing robots, photography and installations were brought alive with small lights. The large black ball in a small room was a highlight. Visitors could push the ball around like a reverse jumping castle. Fun. In the wonderful bar of the 19th century building we listened to poetry readings and enjoyed a beer.

Black fun ball in a black room. Art in the Dark at Arti et Amicitiae

Oudekerk (Amsterdam's Old Church) presents Rocket Cinema

The Gothic style church hosted old black and white Gothic movies from the late 1920s and 30s. The church, located in the middle of the Red Light District was filled with a Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack composed by a local artist. The organ concert was chilling. A wonderful little mobile cinema was also parked inside. The piccolo cinema had room enough for two.

Oudekerk Museumnacht 2012

Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Amsterdam's Our Lord in the Attic)

Amsterdam's oldest museum is a hidden Catholic church in a 17 century canal house.There was no special exhibition but to spend time in the hidden church while the rain came and went outside was a religious experience.

Hidden Catholic church Museumnacht 2012

De Apple Arts Centre

The Apple is a internationally orientated arts centre. Since 1975 it has been a place to research, explore and present contemporary art.

Museum night was the end of the Apple Centre's "Vote Back" exhibition.

The political exhibition highlights were the Geert Wilders Webshop and political Karaoke. We had great fun being Martin Luther King, Obama and Margret Thatcher. One of our group was considered the best Thatcher of the night and walked away with a free t-shirt with political patterns.

Politic Karaoke, Apple Arts Centre

Verzetsmuseum (Dutch Resistance Museum)

Amsterdam's Resistance Museum sometimes sits in the shadow of the Anne Frank House but it is the premiere World War II museum.

For museum night a special exhibition of WWII propaganda cartoons called "(Anti) Hero:  Captain America". Comics and cartoons were dusted off and brought to the museum hall.

The old Donald Duck cartoons of the famous duck taking on the Nazis was a rare insight into the war years of the 1940s. The rock band was also great with people jigging and jiving the night away.

WWII American Jeep with the Museumnacht light

On the way home we finished with the Portuguese Synagogue for a moment of peace underneath the 700 natural candles.

As always the event was a great local night. A big hearty thank you  and thumbs up to all those involved in organizing Amsterdam's Museumnacht 2012. See you next year.

Amsterdam Museumnacht 2012 gets a big thumbs up.

When in Amsterdam...enjoy!

Museum Night Amsterdam 2012

When in Amsterdam...Museumnacht is once a year. Museum Night is an event when 50 museums throughout Amsterdam are open until 2am. Museum's fill with Djs, bands and special events. One big cultural party is held all over Amsterdam. In 2012 Museumnacht is November 3. The first weekend of November always experiences cold and possibly wet weather.

Have a read of what When in Amsterdam got up to on Museum Night 2011.

This year highlights will include:

Portuguese Synagogue with a jazz trio naturally lit

• The Applesap people are holding a music extravaganza in the Tropenmuseum.
• Amsterdam's new film museum, Eye, will hold a zombie party.
• A midnight Yoga session will be held in the New church surrounded by Andy Warhol art work.
• The Portuguese synagogue will be lit with hundreds of candles. If like last year a tasty falafel can be pickup up. Men have to wear a yarmulke (skull cap) which is supplied.

Ticket can be bought online at the N8 website or at Primera newsagents through out Amsterdam. There are only 27 500 tickets. Do not leave to the last minute as this event is always sold out.

Museum Night Tickets 2012

Primera shops will be selling Museum Night tickets in 2012.

When in Amsterdam....enjoy!