Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum's grand red-brick building, opened in 1885, holds the great treasures of Dutch art. The highlight is the Gallery of Honour, leading to Rembrandt's huge Night Watch, with Vermeer's quiet Milkmaid and portraits by Frans Hals along the way.

Beyond the paintings are Delftware, model ships and dolls' houses, and a passage runs right through the building for cyclists. Do look into the Cuypers Library, the museum's grand old reading room with its iron galleries and spiral staircases. The Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum share the same square, the Museumplein.

We book a timed entry, and with limited time a guided highlights tour of about an hour and a half covers the essentials. In spring the museum gardens are planted with tulips.