The Museum Card

Have you ever discovered something so awesome that instead of being thrilled you are slightly annoyed that you didn’t know about it earlier? It’s a weird feeling. This is exactly how I felt a few months ago when I first learned about the museum card. How have I not known about this magic card in the past? I have missed out on YEARS of museum filled awesomeness. I have been paying FULL PRICE to get into these places all these years!!

It happened completely randomly. A friend of mine and I were spending one night in Amsterdam as a “mommy get away weekend”. I have a friend who lives in Amsterdam that I rarely see so I decided to see if she wanted to meet for a coffee or lunch while I was in town. While PMing I mentioned that my friend and I wanted to visit a museum but weren’t sure. My Dutch friend (yes, Dutch people all seem to know about these things. Like a special little discount club that I’m clawing my way into) said she would love to join us. The rest was something like,

“I have the card so I will go to which ever one you want. I love them all”.

The card? Pardon?

So that night as my friend and I were sitting on the common room of the boat we were spending the night on we decided to do some investigating. We both bought our cards the next day.

So I will let you in on the secret. De Museum Kaart

It costs 59.50 Euros per year and gives you access to 400 museums all over The Netherlands.  Kids under the age of 18 get a discounted rate for their card (32.45 Euros). Generally kids are free till they are 4 years old so they don’t need a card till then. I can’t promise this is true in all cases so check the websites before.

Just let that sink in. 400 museums and castles all over The Netherlands covered by the card.

Some of the big tourist spots covered by the card are:

The Oude Kerk

The Van Gogh Museum

The Hermitage

The Rembrandt House

The Rijks Museum

Palace Amsterdam

Het Loo

There are also tons of museums labeled as “kid proof”. This is really great because when you see this label you know that the kids will not be bored and there really isn’t much that they can break.

Some of the “kid proof” museums on my list are (these are on my list because they are less than 1 1/2 hour dive from Eindhoven):

The Nijntje Museum (Utrecht)

The Maritime Museum (Rotterdam)

Brabant Nature Museum (Tilburg)

Science Center Nemo (Amsterdam)

Train Museum (Utrecht)

Muiderslot Castle (Muiden, just outside of Amsterdam)

Netherlands Water Museum (Arhnem)

Looking for something to do in Eindhoven?

The Van AbbeThe Van Abbe

The DAF Museum

Eindhoven Prehistoric Museum

There are loads more, these are just the ones that caught my eye.

You can order your card online or by it at the front desk of any museum.

I have also heard a rumor that card holders don’t have to stand in line to get into a museum. I can not confirm this, but I will update the blog as soon as I can confirm or deny this exciting rumor.

Here is the link to the official site. Here you can find all information including a list of all the museums covered my the card. You can also purchase one here if you choose.

Museum Kaart

I have taken the kids to Nemo twice and the North Brabant Nature Museum Museum twice since buying the card in January. I have also visited the Dutch Resistance Museum.

The way I look at it, I’m taking the kids to an indoor play area where they might actually learn something. Almost for free.

What can be better than that?