5 Ways to Soak up the Art Scene in Amsterdam For Free

Amsterdam is a city imbued with art and culture. You can almost feel it tangibly weaving its way around the narrow streets and alongside the canals. Simply walk around this city for an hour or so and you’ll know that it places a heavy emphasis on creativity, from the tall, quirky buildings, to the range of independent artsy shops, and the attention to design and detail.

But as an art lover, it can get pretty pricey trying to whizz around all the museums and galleries. Entry tickets aren’t that cheap these days, and then of course there are the gift shops and the in-house coffee shops (sure, these aren’t a necessity, but they add a little something to the trip, right?)

So, just for all you budget art travellers out there, I’ve collected a few of the free arty things you can do in Amsterdam.

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1. Find the Free Galleries

Amsterdam is a hotbed of museums, with big-hitters like the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. As you can imagine the tickets don’t come cheap.

However, there are a range of free galleries you can peruse without spending a single penny. There’s Radar, an art and architecture gallery that showcases exhibits with an urban edge, there’s the Galerie Fons Welters, a large industrial space filled with contemporary installations, and KochxBos, which is set in a residential building in the leafy streets of Jordaan.

There are numerous other independent and, more importantly, free galleries around the city, you just have to be prepared to wander a little of the beaten path.

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2. Make Do at the City Markets

Amsterdam’s streets are filled with quirky markets selling all manner of trinkets, art, and crafts. On any day of the week you’re likely to stumbled across a weird and wonderful market of some kind, like the Waterlooplein flea market which is filled with vintage knickknacks and old, forgotten works of art, and Modern Hippies which sells a range of designer home goods and other creative fare.

3. Marvel at the Museums

Whilst most the major museums in Amsterdam will charge you a small fortune to peruse their displays, there are a few that are still free for visitors to enter. Take the Civic Guard Gallery, which is attached to the Amsterdam Museum, and offers art-lovers a sneaky (free) glimpse at some old-fashioned portraits.

There’s also the Amsterdam Architecture Foundation which showcases themed exhibitions covering urban design.

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4. Seek Out the Street Art

Amsterdam’s streets are filled with creative, colourful murals and street art created by some of the world’s best-known artists. Some areas are better for seeing it than others so, if you’re looking to see some graffiti-adorned walls head to Jordaan, an urban, quiet, and leafy district that has an impressive piece of art on practically every street.

Remember to put down the map and get lost – take a left when everyone else is taking a right. This is the best way to come across hidden gems in the street art world.

5. Have Fun at the Festivals

Throughout the year, Amsterdam hosts a flurry of lively festivals spanning all sorts of industries, themes, and interests. The festival season begins in April and runs right through to the following January, so there is plenty to get stuck into on most weekends.

Some of the best (free) arty festivals include Museum Weekend, the Amsterdam Light Festival, and the Canal Festival.
It’s easy to get stuck into the art scene in Amsterdam simply because it penetrates the entire city. Everywhere you look there is something creative to soak up and simply walking through the streets is inspiring.

Hopefully these points will give you somewhere to start exploring the art scene without breaking the bank.

Have you been to Amsterdam? What’s your favourite arty thing to do there?

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