Royal Palace of Amsterdam

The Royal Palace Amsterdam stands on the west side of Dam Square, opposite the National Monument and beside the Nieuwe Kerk. It was not built as a palace. Amsterdam commissioned it as a new town hall, Jacob van Campen took charge of the project in 1648, and the building was opened on 29 July 1655 by burgomaster Cornelis de Graeff. It rests on 13,659 wooden piles driven into the marsh, a figure Dutch schoolchildren still learn. 26 June–11 November 2026: daily 10:00–18:00.

Almost every room on the main floor is open, together with the Tribunal on the ground floor, so the route is a single storey plus one flight. The centre of it is the Citizens' Hall, a vast marble room built to place Amsterdam at the middle of the universe, with the marble galleries running off it. A free booklet, Traces of Slavery, sits opposite the audio tour desk. Summer brings a changing exhibition; the rest of the Palace stays open during it.

The Palace answers this itself: asked how much time a visit takes, its visitor information page says about an hour on average. Its own full audio route, the Royal Palace Tour, runs 75 minutes, and the shorter Palace Highlights Tour runs 45. This guide plans 75 minutes, which is the longer of the two operator figures and the one that matches walking the whole main floor with the audio tour rather than skipping through it. Add time at either end. General adult admission is €13.50, including the audio tour.

This is a Palace that plans around the King, not around a weekly rhythm, so there is no fixed closing day: when it is open, it is open seven days a week. Every listed day from 1 September to 25 October 2026 closes at 17.00, and December's listed days mostly close at 17.00 too. 26 June–11 November 2026: daily 10:00–18:00. The Dam Square entrance has a sloping ramp suitable for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. The interior has no thresholds and an elevator serves the visitor route. A wheelchair-accessible toilet is available on the ground floor.

Adult admission is 13.50 euro and includes the audio tour. Students pay 9 euro, and anyone aged 17 and under enters free, audio tour included. The Dutch Museumkaart and an ICOM card both admit free; the I Amsterdam City Card is explicitly not valid here. Online tickets cannot be refunded, which matters given how the opening calendar moves. General adult admission is €13.50, including the audio tour. The Dam Square entrance has a sloping ramp suitable for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. The interior has no thresholds and an elevator serves the visitor route.

No car is needed and none is wanted. The Palace sits on Dam Square in the middle of the old centre, and the visitor entrance is on Dam Square at the right-hand side of the main facade. From Amsterdam Centraal, take a city-centre tram to Dam. Lines 4 and 14 stop at the front of the Palace and are the most accessible option for wheelchair users; lines 2, 12, 13, 17 and 24 stop beside or behind the building and are recommended for visitors with visual impairments. Metro line 52 serves Rokin station; use the Dam exit, approximately 150 metres from the Palace.

The bag rule is the one that catches people arriving between trains. Only small hand bags up to 30 by 30 by 15 centimetres come inside. Umbrellas, scooter and motorcycle helmets, back-mounted child carriers and other large protruding objects are also barred from the rooms, though the cloakroom takes them. Wheelchairs, rollators, prams and walking sticks are allowed through. The Dam Square entrance has a sloping ramp suitable for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. A wheelchair-accessible toilet is available on the ground floor. Wheelchairs and walking sticks can be borrowed free of charge by arranging this through [email protected].

Photography for private use is allowed without flash. Filming and vlogging are not, and neither are tripods or selfie sticks; wedding photographs are specifically excluded. That leaves a hand-held camera in a building the Palace describes as having no bright lights and no loud sounds, with some rooms markedly darker than others. The Tribunal on the ground floor is the darkest room on the route and the least forgiving. Wheelchairs and walking sticks can be borrowed free of charge by arranging this through [email protected]. Mobility scooters and harnessed assistance dogs are permitted.