The best museum shops in Holland

You don’t have to be very cultural or arty to pay a visit to a museum. Most museum shops are so great that you feel like buying everything. These are the tops five in Holland and we like them a lot.

Liesbeth once visited this one and told me: ” I spent more time in the shop than in the museum.” The Stedelijk museum is a very cool museum especially since the rebuild, and the shop has also improved by leaps and bounds. You’ll need to take an afternoon free for both of them. What’s on sale in this huge store? International art, design- and photography books, which you absolutely will want to see lying open on your table, but also several designer articles and jewellery. Not just any old thing either, no, art from independent designers from all over the world. Looking for a good children’s book? Also there. They are all selected on originality and uniqueness so you will always find a good gift.

The shop at the Gemeente museum is not huge, but what they do have it extremely good. They have loads of lovely cards, from photos to illustrations, art books and small gifts. Another great thing; they create a special kid’s book for almost every new exhibition, for example Coco or the little black dress, so that children can enjoy the outing too.

MOTI is well worth a visit for the graphic lovers and appreciators among us. I think the shop is even better. They’ve got a huge assortment of books that bring graphic art to life. And cards. And bits and bobs. And posters. And actually everything that pleases the graphic eye.

If you’ve just been through the museum and seen all those beautiful and fun bags, I’ll forgive you for wanting to buy everything. They probably won’t have the latest Proenza’s and Célines on the shelves, but they will have several highly original examples and handmade pieces. The newspaper Het Parool also chose the shop in the Tassenmuseum as the best museum shop in Holland. It’s a real candy store.

The shop is actually just as beautiful as the museum itself. They have a huge range of art, a slightly more affordable version of the Nachtwacht than the one that is hanging in the museum and loads of special little gifts. Like an old Dutch tulip vase. It’s also fun to make your own masterpiece in the Rijks-studio.