Reopening Amsterdam – Visiting the Hermitage Museum
Visiting the Hermitage of Amsterdam
The Front Office team of Canal House visited the Hermitage Museum of Amsterdam on one of the first days after it’s reopening.
Enjoying an amazing collection of Romanov’s Jewels, Dutch lifestyle in the Golden Age, the first Dutch Outside Art Museum and experienced all the safety rules and regulations you can expect when visiting a museum in the Netherlands.
Before visiting the museum, you have to order your tickets online via the official website of the museum. You will need to choose a date and the time you want to enter you will get the entry time of 15 minutes, for example between 10.15 till 10.30. So be on time!
We also recommend to download the museum app where you can listen to the audio tour. If this is not possible in the museum itself you can also scan the QR-code to also enjoy the audio tour via your own phone. We recommend bringing your own headphones. Museum can also provide the audio tour device – disinfected after use.
Beware that the entrance to Hermitage is now from the garden side and the exit is from the Amstel side. To keep one direction rule, of course.
Once you arrived at the entrance there is a staff member asking you a number of questions in regards to the virus: if you showed any symptoms in the last 2 weeks, you have been in contact with Covid-infected, if you were infected yourself and if you were required to stay in quarantine. If the answer is NO to all questions you may enter.
Beware you can go in groups of 2 pax.
First thing you see, clearly yellow on black, are the rules and regulations of the museum, the one direction way of walking marked on the ground, a hand disinfectant and on the ground, you have all 1.5-meter yellow marking guiding you to reception desk. Here they will scan your ticket. The staff member was wearing the rubber gloves and worked behind the screen as can be seen on the pictures below.
Once your tickets and your museum card (if you have one) are scanned you can continue to the wardrobe where you can drop off your coat. Bags are not allowed inside the museum and can be placed inside a safety deposit box as you can see below.
After that you continue upstairs were you will be met by a staff member behind the protective screen ready to answer your questions. Here you can choose which exhibition you would like to start with and here you can scan QR-code to start with the audio tour. And another chance to disinfect your hands!
Do note that the WC’s are located on the ground floors. If needed, do visit it before going upstairs.
When you enter the exposition, you will see on the floor 1,5-meter blocks – dividers where you can stand 1 person per block. Each block has a number to make it easy to follow the route.
The exposition is located in one big space and many smaller rooms where only 2 to 4 persons per room are allowed. Sometimes you need to wait till the other visitors are ready with wondering around. When you are inside of one of those rooms, you may feel being under pressure to leave since the other visitors start queuing.
The other inconvenience that you constantly need to look down on the floor to follow the signs. For example, if you would like to rest for a moment.
Overall, the atmosphere was safe and relaxed, but when the number of visitors gets to 100 pax as per 1st of July I am not sure you can keep this feeling…
If the weather permits you can get some fresh air and enjoy a curious courtyard of the Hermitage museum full of old trees and outdoor art works.
For lunch you can go to a beautiful garden restaurant Dignita where you have to book your table beforehand on-line only. The same household family can book one table. If you are not living together under one address and you are coming with more than 2 guests you will be required to book more tables. For example, we were with 3 pax so we had to book 2 tables.
Upon arrival at the entrance you will be asked the same health and safety questions if all answered NO you can take a seat at the given table. We did seat together behind one table after all. There are no hard-copy menus so you have to scan the QR-code given on the table and from your phone you can read the menu. Your order will be placed on the table at a safe distance. Restaurant staff did not wear maskers nor rubber glove when serving on the terras.
After the lunch we reentered the museum. By the way, do not forget to report to the museum staff that you will be back after lunch! Via the same entrance as before we followed the same yellow markings to go back upstairs and we started the second part of the exhibition.
Have a nice day!
