H'ART Museum Amsterdam

If you searched for Hermitage Amsterdam and landed here, you have the right museum but the old name. The institution is now H'ART Museum. It no longer operates as the Amsterdam satellite of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and describing it as a Russian-art museum is now materially wrong.

The museum broke ties with the Russian state museum on 3 March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A new international direction and the H'ART name were announced in 2023, and the renewed museum was formally opened in June 2024 with a Kandinsky exhibition organised with Centre Pompidou.

What replaced the Hermitage partnership?

H'ART now works with multiple international partners instead of one Russian parent institution. Its published programme has included collaborations with Centre Pompidou in Paris, the British Museum in London and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, alongside other loans and collaborations.

That means the museum can change character dramatically from one season to the next. One visit might centre on modern French art; another can focus on American photography, archaeology or a large historical loan exhibition. Check the exhibition title before buying, not just the building name.

September and October 2026 changeover note

This page is being updated during an exhibition changeover, so the dates matter. H'ART's current visitor page lists a special closure on Monday 7 September 2026. From 8 September to 2 October, it lists reduced H'ART admission while the programme is between major shows. Chez Matisse — Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou then runs from 3 October 2026 to 14 February 2027 with a special exhibition surcharge.

The continuing exhibition The Land of Chocolate Sprinkles. Building a new world together is currently scheduled through 8 November 2026. This is exactly why an old static description of “Hermitage Amsterdam” is no longer useful enough.

Current opening hours and admission

Normal H'ART Museum hours are daily 10:00–17:00, with last entry at 16:30. It is always closed on King's Day, and opens 12:00–17:00 on 25 December and 1 January. Temporary closures around exhibition changes can override that pattern, as the 7 September closure shows.

Standard adult admission is currently listed at €22.50, with visitors up to age 17 free. The Museum Pass and I amsterdam City Card are normally accepted, but major special exhibitions can carry a surcharge even for some pass holders. For Chez Matisse, H'ART currently lists a €7 surcharge for Museum Pass and I amsterdam City Card holders.

The Amstelhof building is still part of the reason to go

The museum remains at Amstel 51 in the historic Amstelhof. The building began in 1683 as a home for older women; men were also admitted from 1817. It remained a care institution for centuries, and the last residents moved out in 2007 before the building's museum conversion.

Hermitage Amsterdam opened here in 2009. The name and international relationship have changed, but the riverside setting, internal courtyard and monumental scale remain. If you like buildings with a life before they became museums, the Amstelhof adds context even when the current exhibition is not your absolute first choice.

Accessibility

H'ART says all rooms and facilities are wheelchair accessible. The building has accessible lifts and toilets; manual wheelchairs and walkers can be reserved in advance at no charge, subject to availability. A necessary companion may enter free, and guide dogs are welcome.

That makes H'ART one of the easier historic-building museums to plan for step-free access, although reserving mobility equipment ahead of time is sensible.

How long to allow

I would allow 90 minutes to two hours for a major exhibition, less for a smaller changeover-period programme. The museum's temporary-show model makes a rigid universal duration impossible, so use the current exhibition rather than the building size as your guide.

What to combine with H'ART

H'ART sits near Waterlooplein and is easy to pair with the Rembrandt House Museum or an Amstel walk. If the current H'ART exhibition does not grab you, that is not a failure of itinerary planning — Amsterdam has enough museums that you should choose subject matter you actually care about.

For a broader comparison, use our Amsterdam museum guide. On a first visit with limited time, I would still choose the museum whose collection or current exhibition excites you most rather than visiting H'ART simply because an older guidebook calls it Hermitage Amsterdam.

Sources checked 7 September 2026: H'ART Museum visitor information, official organisation and history, accessibility guidance and current H'ART exhibition/programme pages. Exhibition dates, closures and surcharges are volatile; check the museum site for your exact date.