Art Galleries of the Netherlands

A FIVE NIGHT HOLIDAY | 5 MARCH 2023

In what will undoubtedly be one of Europe’s blockbuster exhibitions of 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam will host the largest Johannes Vermeer retrospective ever held. Working in collaboration with the Mauritshuis in The Hague and international loans, this exhibition devoted to the 17th century master will be an unmissable opportunity to view these exceptional pieces all together, and forms the centre of our art tour this spring. Meanwhile at The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, we will see a collection of paintings including some of the great masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age. In addition to these, we will visit the Stedelijk and the Van Gogh Museums, both recently reopened following lengthy closures for renovations, as well as the Kröller-Müller Museum near Arnhem. This stunning, modern gallery enjoys an unusual location amid the wild beauty of the national park De Hoge Veluwe, and is home to a rich collection of 19th and 20th century paintings including over 90 works by Van Gogh.

the itinerary

1

We transfer to the 3* NH Museums Quarter Hotel which is conveniently located close to the Museumplein. The hotel has a bar, a restaurant and comfortably furnished bedrooms.

2

This morning we go to the Van Gogh Museum where over 200 paintings, drawings and letters are on display. Afterwards we will visit the most famous art museum in Holland, the Rijksmuseum, where the new exhibition of works by Johannes Vermeer promises to be one of the most important shows in years. Designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened in 1895, the Rijksmuseum was reopened in 2013 after a ten-year restoration project, and houses the world’s greatest collection of Dutch paintings dating from the 17th century, Holland’s Golden Age, which includes Rembrandt’s eminent ‘The Night Watch.’ For the new exhibition, a rare gathering of works by Vermeer will include ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’ from the Mauritshuis, ‘The Geographer’, from the Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, ‘Woman Holding a Balance’ from The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, and the newly restored ‘Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window’ (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden).

3

Today we drive to The Hague, a sedate and dignified town of great charm. Here we visit the Mauritshuis with its wonderful collection of works by Dutch and Flemish masters, including ‘The Goldfinch’ by Carel Fabritius. Although one of the highlights here, Vermeer’s ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’, will be at the Rijksmuseum for the spring exhibition, there are an enormous number of masterpieces here including works by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens and Paulus Potter among others.

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Optional Concerts

Amsterdam’s beautiful and distinguished Concertgebouw is one of the best loved concert halls in the world, as much for its superb acoustic as for its long history. We will publish details of optional concerts in due course.

4

We will enjoy a canal cruise in a private saloon boat and afterwards we will visit The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam’s main modern art museum housed in an imposing building which contains collections of paintings, drawings, sculptures and more from 1850 until today. The museum also hosts changing, and sometimes controversial, exhibitions of contemporary art.

5

We drive to Arnhem this morning to visit the Kröller-Müller Museum, a superb collection displayed in a building surrounded by the great open spaces of the National Park. Helene Kröller-Müller was a collector of great taste and in her lifetime she amassed more than 11,000 objects and works. Her last major purchase was Seurat’s ‘La Chahut’ in 1922.

We drive to the airport for the flight back to the UK.

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DAY 6

TOUR INFORMATION

DEPARTURE DATE & PRICES

DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP

5 March £1,897 £298

Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown.

FLIGHT DETAILS

Flights with British Airways: Depart London Heathrow 10.55, arrive Amsterdam 13.20 Depart Amsterdam 14.10, arrive London Heathrow 14.30 Flight times subject to change – regional departures available on request.

WHAT WE INCLUDE

• Return flights • Five nights’ accommodation with breakfast • Three dinners • All sightseeing, entrances fees and gratuities • The services of a Kirker Tour Lecturer