Discover 2022’s Top Attractions & Museums in the Netherlands

– This post was written by Becky Wicks –

Ready to discover a winner near you? The 2022 Remarkable Venue Awards celebrates seven categories of awards across the most exciting Tiqets’ markets, recognising forward-thinking museums and attractions all over the world.

The top attractions in Tiqets’ 2022 Remarkable Venue Awards have been decided by more than 1.1 million customer reviews on Tiqets.com and a special panel of expert judges, including Barbera Bosma from National Geographic Traveler and Anouk van Eekelen from the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions. Without further ado, here are the best museums and attractions in the Netherlands in 2022.

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Best Hidden Gem: Escher in the Palace

The winner of the Best Hidden Gem award is chosen by a panel of industry experts. The award is focused on recognising a venue which is off-the-beaten track, unique or unconventional and highlights lesser-known and more niche museums and attractions to travellers the world over. This year we’re happy to announce that Escher in the Palace takes the top spot with its unique mix of quirky art and classical architecture and design.

Welcome to a wonderful – yet warped – world of optical illusions! Dedicated to the world-famous Dutch artist, M.C. Escher, this museum is housed in the beautiful former Winter Palace of Queen Mother Emma of the Netherlands. It deservedly won this year’s Best Hidden Gem award for showcasing the artist’s work in novel ways.

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The second application-based Remarkable Venue Award is Most Innovative Venue. This prestigious award shines a spotlight on museums and attractions that have discovered new and interesting ways to appeal to visitors. Our House claims the prize for taking us on a walk through the history of dance music, providing the chance to produce records, and even have a boogie on a moving dance floor. If house music is your thing, you might find this one of the top attractions in the Netherlands.

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Most Remarkable Venue: Rijksmuseum

Every year, the Most Remarkable Venue award goes to the venue that is the most popular and top-rated with visitors, based on customer reviews on Tiqets.com. As one of the top attractions in the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum takes the top spot in 2022.

Bright, airy and inviting, the ten-year renovation worked wonders in pulling this place into majestic modernity. Visitors from around the world flock to get up close to Rembrandt’s Night Watch, one of the museum’s most famous (and largest!) paintings. 

Vermeer’s The Milkmaid is another crowd-pleaser, but with an equally impressive collection of lesser-known, but equally intriguing works of art, plus weapons and ship models, there’s always something new to get you going “oooh.”

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Best Museum: Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis

The Best Museum award recognises the best museum or art gallery in the country, based on customer reviews on Tiqets.com. Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis takes the prize this year with five-star reviews across the board.

It’s no surprise that this year, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis gets the prize. One of the top attractions in the Netherlands, based in The Hague, this is the place to get up close and personal with some of the world’s most prominent and exciting collections of Dutch and Flemish masterpieces.

Works on show here include Vermeer’s famous ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, Rembrandt’s ‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp‘, ‘The Goldfinch’ by Fabritius, ‘The Earthly Paradise with the Fall of Adam and Eve’ by Rubens and Brueghel, and more. Art fanatics won’t want to miss it!

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Best Attraction: THIS IS HOLLAND

The Best Attraction award celebrates the top attraction in the Netherlands, from theme parks and interactive exhibitions, to guided visits of cultural locations. It recognises venues that stand out for their appeal to all types of visitors. THIS IS HOLLAND comes up trumps and blows us all away with its flight simulator ride around the country.

THIS IS HOLLAND takes you on a spectacular 5D flight simulation over Holland’s most famous sights. Talk about immersive – this experience even throws wind and rain over you, and you can’t get more Dutch than that! Flyers can see Amsterdam’s canals, an abundance of windmills, boats on the Wadden Sea and more, from a whole new perspective.

Aside from the special effects, this eye-opening journey gives a real insight into what makes the Netherlands one of the most fascinating countries on earth. 

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Best Landmark: Keukenhof

The Best Landmark category recognises venues such as cathedrals, churches (or any place of worship), castles, natural landmarks, historical or iconic buildings, and observation decks. In this case, it’s rare to find a historical landmark in the Netherlands more remarkable than Keukenhof.

Did you know this 79-acre garden, located on the 15th-century hunting grounds of Teylingen Castle, was once the castle’s kitchen garden?
This flower-powered attraction is home to over 7 million flower bulbs, planted in the gardens annually. Keukenhof sweeps the tulip-scented board when it comes to praise from visitors and is widely recognized as one of the top attractions in the Netherlands.

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Best Onsite Experience: Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught

Staff interaction and information available at the venue is what influenced voters to decide on this year’s best onsite experience. The selection for this award is based on customer reviews on Tiqets.com that relate to how customers felt at the venue during their visit. Kamp Vught’s all-round excellence brings it in at the top spot in 2022.

Anyone who wants to learn the history of the only concentration camp run directly by the SS in Western Europe outside Nazi Germany will discover a world of information at this year’s best onsite experience. As one of the top attractions in the Netherlands, Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught conjures up an evocative trip to the past – as dark and disturbing as that may be.

Visitors can explore the museum, memorials, watchtowers, and barracks, and examine the seven seasons that passed while the camp was open between 1943 and 1944 in the memorial’s permanent exhibition, 32,000 Stories and Seven Seasons.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to 2022’s best museums and attractions in the Netherlands. For a full overview of the winners across all countries (including France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the USA, UAE, and UK) and a chance to book tickets, check out this page.