Open air museums in the Netherlands

The Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood in Zaandam. Formally it is not a museum, but an outdoor attraction. It features old mills and houses. The Zaans Museum is located in the Zaanse Schans.

Madurodam is a miniature park. Through models of buildings it illustrates a Dutch town and the Dutch society. Everything is recreated on a scale of 1 to 25. It includes buildings of historic city centers, modern residential areas, airports, roads, canals, port areas, natural areas and farmlands.

The Kröller-Müller Museum is a place where things of beauty come together. The unique combination of art, nature and architecture guarantees visitors a truly unforgettable experience. The museum has the finest Van Gogh collection in the world. Furthermore, you will also find masterpieces such as Cla

History can be viewed from many angles. This versatility is reflected in the Dutch Open Air Museum. Here you will find buildings, objects, and stories that are up to two hundred years old. You reflect on the major events in our history as well as the 'small' moments of daily life. You immerse yourse

The Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen brings stories of the people who once lived on the shores of the Zuiderzee to life. Discover the everyday life round the Zuiderzee as it was before the Afsluitdijk (the great IJsselmeer Barrier Dam) turned the former inland sea into what we now know as the IJsselmee

The Muiderslot from 1285 is a medieval moated castle. It is a square castle with five towers, battlements, embrasures and a drawbridge. One of the inhabitants of the castle was the Dutch writer and poet Pieter Cornelis Hooft, who lived there in the seventeeth century. The visitor is taken back in ti

At Museum Batavialand, you uncover hidden stories through three unique experiences: Step aboard the reconstructed VOC ship Batavia, discover traditional crafts at the shipyard, and dive into the history of Flevoland in our exhibition spaces. All included with just one ticket! Parking is easy right

The Steamtrain Hoorn Medemblik museum is dedicated to the steam train in the Netherlands. The museum uses the former freight and classification yard of that station of Hoorn. Steam trams drive from village to village on the railway between Hoorn and Medemblik from 1887. The collection consists of st

Museum Kaap Skil is housed in a modern glass building with a shell of wooden beams. The museum is dedicated to Texel and the sea. The collection includes beachcombing objects and dive finds, as well as paintings and prints. In addition, the museum has the largest maritime model in the world.

The Archeon is a theme park that shows how people lived in ancient times. Visitors can participate in various activities themselves, such as sword fighting, calligraphy and archery.

Maritime and Beachcomber Museum Flora is the largest beachcomber museum in the world. The museum displays old beachcomber finds and beachcombers talk about their experiences and wanderings on the beach. Various exhibits are on display and films are shown. For children there are scavenger hunts, vari

This open air museum, located in the vast Genneper Parken, shows how life in the Netherlands has been over a period of 10,000 years. Starting from the Stone Age, moving on to the Iron Age, visitors can explore dwellings, tools and other structures that have been reconstructed using the same material

Veenpark has an arcreage of 160 hectares, which makes it the largest museum in the Netherlands. This open-air museum is dedicated to the digging of the brown gold, peat. The peat history of Drenthe comes to life in this museum. The visitor travels through nostalgic villages and a bog area with peat

Fort Kijkduin is a Napoleonic fort from 1811. It is part of the Defence Line of Den Helder. In the fort is a museum about the history of Den Helder, especially about the French and German times. There is also a unique North Sea aquarium on display, where children can feed and pet sharks and rays! Th

The Netherlands Fortress Museum is housed in ‘Bastion Turfpoort’. The museum is dedicated to the war history of the Netherlands. The visitor learns how the soldiers of the garrison guarded Holland, and specifically Amsterdam. The museum consists of an outdoor part and an underground part. The outdoo

The Limburgs Openluchtmuseum Eynderhoof is a village that demonstrates life in the Peel region around 1900. The museum is located in a green countryside setting and is managed, staffed and maintained by volunteers. This do museum focuses largely on games, food, drinks and crafts, but is also about d

The MEC Museum (Mechanical Heritage Center) in Dronten is a museum with a large diverse collection, from sewing machines and tools to large steam engines and historic combustion engines. A 1942 English patrol ship/minesweeper, and a 1949 icebreaker, etc. Every third Saturday of the month is steam d

ProDemos is located opposite of the ‘Binnenhof’ in The Hague. It is the house of democracy and the ‘rechtsstaat’. Visitors learn about the rules of democracy and the ‘rechtsstaat’ and experience the functioning of politics, democracy and the ‘rechtsstaat’. The Visitors Centre ProDemos organizes tour

Openluchtmuseum Ellert en Brammert is dedicated to the history of Southeast Drenthe. The museum illustrates how the people worked and lived in the area by showing different types of housing. The collection of the museum includes a turf hut, a tollbooth, a school, a Saxon farmhouse and a prison.

The Biesbosch Museum Werkendam illustrates the history and the fishing, hunting and ‘griend’ culture in the Biesbosch. The museum also focusses on the artisans in the area. There are workshops of among others, a hoop maker, a basket maker and a cooper. In addition, the museum covers the resistance i

Openluchtmuseum Het Hoogeland illustrates how people lived and worked in a small village in the countryside in the 19th century. The museum consists of twenty old buildings. Because of the many different buildings and their detailed decoration, the visitors gets to know the community of the village.

Openluchtmuseum De Duinhuisjes consists of four original dune farms with outbuildings from the period 1850 to 1910. During that time workers, gardeners and farmers lived in these simple houses. Three of the four houses are decorated as was common around 1900. In the fourth house changing exhibitions

Openluchtmuseum De Spitkeet illustrates on a site of more than four hectares how people lived on the Frisian and Groningen heath in the period from 1850 to 1950. In that period people were very poor and life was difficult. The museum displays various types of properties and conditions of that time.

Visit Museum Giethoorn 't Olde Maat Uus, which is located in an original historical farmhouse. It is the only place in Giethoorn where you can see how people lived more than 100 years ago and how they earned a meagre living by cutting peat and building small boats (‘punters’). There is also a museum

At Geofort, everything revolves around the earth. Learn more about themes such as climate, geo-design and big data in our interactive science center. GeoFort is located on a historic fortress island, part of the New Dutch Water Line. Experience the GeoExperience. Get disoriented in the dark under

The fortress of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie has Unesco World Heritage status. Hidden under the earth, the fort is five stories high and from the roof you have a spectacular view. Where else can you look across the Waal, Rhine and Pannerdensch Kanaal than here - at Doornenburg? Come to Fort Panne

Openluchtmuseum Ootmarsum is a museum that illustrates life in the countryside of Twente from a hundred years ago. It consists of seventeen authentic buildings fully furnished with their own story. In addition to the typical Saxon farmhouses, the museum features outbuildings, including a blacksmith,

Museumpark Orientalis is an open-air museum dedicated to religion and culture. The museum shows the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It illustrates how the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran emerged against the background of past civilizations in the Middle East. The exhibits

Museum 't Oude Slot is housed in a 200-year-old farm, built on the foundations of the Manor ‘Slot Zeelst’ from approx 1575. The museum manages a unique collection of 17th until early 20th century prints, regional archaeological finds and objects from earlier life in the nearby Kempen area. There ar

The Waterline Museum tells the story of water in its capacity as an ally in defending the Netherlands between 1588 and 1940. The museum will bring the Waterline to life through personal stories, original elements and replicas, working models and digital media. The 50 metre-long model of the New Dutc

The Casematemuseum Kornwerderzand is dedicated to the Battle of the Afsluitdijk during the German attack on the Netherlands in 1940. It features seven casemates decorated in the style of 1940, a German bunker and several other buildings. The museum illustrates the daily lives of the soldiers during

The Westlands Museum is dedicated to the history of Westland. The museum illustrates the story of the origins of the Westland, which starts in prehistoric times. The earliest traces of habitation date back to 3700 BC. Behind the museum is a historical garden with all types of greenhouses and crops f

The Openluchtmuseum It Damshûs illustrates how the peat workers worked and lived and how ‘laagveenturf’ was made in the period 1863 to 1920. The living and working conditions were the cause of social struggle. The museum also illustrates the change in the landscape as a result of peat extraction. On

Kasteel Wijlre estate brings together contemporary art, architecture, cultural heritage, and nature. Nestled in the rolling hills of South Limburg, the estate's expansive gardens and historic park surrounding the castle and carriage house offer a unique setting for contemplation and discovery. The H

Museum Smedekinck is housed in the historical farm Smedekinck. The museum illustrates the history and lifestyle of the ‘Zelhemmers’ through the ages. Archaeological finds reflect habitation in the region in the past. There is also a ‘style room’ decorated as a farmhouse kitchen, including a cherry w

Botanische Tuin De Kruidhof is the largest botanical garden of the Netherlands. It features seventeen themed gardens each with their own plant collections. Themed gardens that can be visited include: medicinal herbs, cloister garden, butterfly garden, rose garden, woodland garden, fruit garden, fern

Natuurdiorama Holterberg is an open air museum that exhibits a large collection of European animal species. The museum displays more than a thousand animals, including the only surviving monkey species in the Netherlands and the largest Dutch songbird. The animals are on display in eleven large dior

The Van Eesteren Museum is dedicated to Dutch architect and urban planner Cornelis van Eesteren.