By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Where
- Monuments across Amsterdam
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- September
- Dates
- Set by a weekday rule, so the date moves each year
From the organiser, Stichting Nederland Monumentenland, which publishes its dates years ahead: Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September 2027, the 41st edition, with the theme Hidden Heritage. It is always the second weekend of September. Which Amsterdam buildings open, and their hours, are published with the programme nearer the time.
For one weekend every September, Amsterdam’s canal houses, old banks, hotels and other buildings that are private the rest of the year open to anyone, free. It is the Dutch heritage weekend, always the second weekend of the month, and its dates are published years ahead. Pick a neighbourhood from the map, check each building’s hours, and walk.
What Open Monumentendag actually is
The Netherlands’ national heritage weekend, organised by Stichting Nederland Monumentenland with local committees, and the Dutch part of the European Heritage Days, now held in about fifty countries. The last edition, the 40th, opened more than 6,000 monuments around the country free and drew an estimated 1.8 million visitors.
Amsterdam’s own committee builds the city programme. At the last edition it mixed classic buildings with what it called monuments of the future: the city’s first skyscraper, iconic hotels, canal houses with exclusive interiors, old bank buildings and depots, with dance and spoken word in the day and film, electronic music and stargazing in the evening.
The next edition’s national theme is Hidden Heritage, which suits a city whose best interiors sit behind front doors that are shut the other fifty-one weeks of the year.
How to plan the weekend
- Start with the map. The Amsterdam committee’s page on the national site maps every participating building, and the Open Monumentendag app carries the same programme. Choose one area and stay in it.
- The canal belt, for the interiors. Canal houses are the draw that no other weekend offers, because most are homes and offices you would otherwise only see from the street.
- The newer monuments, for contrast. The programme reaches beyond the seventeenth century to twentieth-century buildings, a different side of the city from the canal belt.
- The evening programme. Last time the city added film, music and stargazing after dark, a reason to stay out once the doors close.
Tickets and what it costs
Everything is free. There is no pass to buy and no general ticket; each building simply opens its doors for the weekend.
Hours differ from building to building, so check each listing before you set out.
Official information and booking: www.openmonumentendag.nl/comite/amsterdam
Getting there
The canal belt is best on foot or by bike, and the trams through the centre stop within a short walk of most of it.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Assuming you need a ticket
You do not. Every participating building is free, and most need nothing more than turning up.
Planning a route across the whole city
The buildings are spread out and hours vary. One neighbourhood, walked properly, beats a tour of five.
Not checking the hours
Each building sets its own opening hours for the weekend. Check them on the map before you build a route.
Mixing it up with the heritage days elsewhere
Each country picks its own weekend. Paris holds its Journées du Patrimoine the weekend after, so a trip timed for one will not catch the other.
Other Amsterdam events
Frequently asked questions
When is Open Monumentendag in Amsterdam?
Always on the second weekend of September, and the organiser publishes the dates years ahead.
Is Open Monumentendag free?
Yes. Every participating building is free to enter, with no pass or ticket to buy.
What can you see on Open Monumentendag in Amsterdam?
At the last edition: canal houses with exclusive interiors, old bank buildings, iconic hotels, depots and the city’s first skyscraper, with an evening programme of film, music and stargazing.
How do you find out which buildings are open?
From the Amsterdam committee’s map on the national Open Monumentendag site, or in the Open Monumentendag app.
Is Open Monumentendag the same as European Heritage Days?
It is the Dutch part of them. Each country sets its own weekend, so the Netherlands and France, for instance, hold theirs a week apart.
Sources
- Open Monumentendag, the coming editions
- Open Monumentendag, the Amsterdam committee and map
- Open Monumentendag, the last edition in figures
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2030. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.