Museum Gouda

Museum Gouda has a unique collection. From 16th-century altar pieces, 17th-century militia group portraits to French and Dutch paintings from the 19th century (The Hague School). Take a leap into the past and travel back in time to 1562 with the interactive city model. You can also enjoy the famous Gouda pottery, known as Gouds plateel, as well as the large open depot with clay pipes, modern art, silverware and many other objects. Buy your tickets here.

Opening hours

Museum Gouda Tuesday until Sunday 11h - 17h
The Museum café from Tuesday until Saturday 10h - 17h
The Museum café Sunday 11h - 17h

The museum and museum café are open on Easter Monday and Whit Monday. The museum is closed on January 1, King’s Day, and on December 25.

Admission prices and tickets

Do you want to visit Museum Gouda? Buy your tickets here.

Adults € 12
0 - 17 years free
Combiticket (Church of St. John, Museum Gouda and the Museum café) € 17
Museumkaart/ICOM* free

*The Museumkaart can be purchased at the admission desks in Museum Gouda, or ordered online via the Museumkaart website: museumkaart.nl

Tickets
Admission tickets are only available online. You pick a day and a timeslot. A limited number of tickets is available for each day and time. This will prevent too many people being in the museum at the same time and queues forming at the entrance (Achter de Kerk 14). This applies for all visitors, including those with free admission, e.g. Museumkaart holders or children aged 17 or under. This also applies for other cards that give free access or discounts, such as the CJP or Rotterdampas. Do you want to visit Museum Gouda? Buy your tickets here.

TICKETS

Address and route

Museum Gouda
Achter de Kerk 14
2801 JX Gouda
Tel: +31 (0)182 33 10 00
info@museumgouda.nl

Walking from the NS Railway station
It is a 10-minute walk from the NS Railway station to Museum Gouda. Follow the signs marked VVV; from the Marktplein, you will find signs to Museum Gouda. You can use our entrance at Achter de Kerk 14.

By car
Parking tip: Q-Park Bolwerk underground parking (Sint Mariewal 3). Follow the Hoge Gouwe from the underground car park and the signs marked VVV; from the Marktplein, you will find signs to Museum Gouda. You can use our entrance at Achter de Kerk 14.

Accessibility

Museum Gouda has limited accessibility for the disabled. Disabled persons are advised to use the entrance at Oosthaven 9, but due to national measures concerning the coronavirus this entrance is temporarily closed. Please announce your visit to Museum Gouda at the entrance Achter de Kerk 14 and one of our employees will guide you.

There is a parking space for the disabled on the Noodgodsbrug, between Oosthaven and Westhaven. A wheelchair is available; we recommend booking the wheelchair in advance.

The altarpieces, the civic guard portraits, the rooms with the temporary exhibition, the city scale model, and the Treasury are easily accessible.

The Gouda earthenware and the French/Hague School are more difficult to access. Unfortunately, there is no lift in the museum (as this is a listed building). We have a small present for those who are unable to visit the upper floor.

Exhibitions

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.
Henry David Thoreau, American 19th-century writer

Changing perspectives
Every day, our eyes pick up countless images. Yet we rarely manage to truly take them all in. The same happens when we visit a museum. Did you know that on average, a visitor looks at a work of art for less than 30 seconds? So, we see a lot, albeit fleetingly. And that’s a real pity. Because the longer and the more attentively you look at art, the more you discover.

This exhibition is all about observing attentively. We subject works of art of Museum Gouda to all kinds of glances. What influences your gaze? And what happens when you look through someone else’s eyes? Unfortunately, the audio tour is only available in Dutch. But eyes don’t need words, so enjoy this feast for the eyes. Buy your tickets here.

Cool Waters
From 21 March to 24 October 2021, Museum Gouda hosts the exhibition Cool Waters (Koele Wateren): a selection of paintings from the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Four centuries of art, starring water as both friend and foe. This exhibition also makes a connection to the future. What will happen if the sea level rises 6 metres, and what will the Netherlands look like 200 years from now?

Relatively unknown works by great masters such as Jan van Goyen, Salomon van Ruysdeal, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Jacob Maris and Isaac Israels are shown side by side with gems by less well-known painters. Plus unique one-on-one working drawings that were used in the 17th century for creating the famous Gouda Windows (Goudse Glazen). By a miracle, these so-called cartons survived the Iconoclastic Fury. Two cartons depicting the Relief of Leiden during the Eighty Years’ War are shown at the exhibition. Nowhere else in the world can working drawings such as these be found. Buy your tickets here.

Children

Are you visiting Museum Gouda with your (grand)children? The museum offers various activities to make their visit even more fun. Meet the rich beer brewer Dirck van Reynegom and discover why the colossal St. John's Church is in ruins ...

Museum café

Tuesday to Saturday10am - 5pm
Sunday11am - 5pm

Museum café Gouda is the place to go for a nice cup of coffee, cake, and lunch in a wonderful museum surrounding. In the summer, you can enjoy your drink on the terrace of the beautiful museum garden, an oasis of calm in the city. The museum café is located at the entrance at Achter de Kerk 14. More information on: museumcafegouda.nl.

Digital COVID Certificate
If you visit the Museumcafé, we will ask you to show a digital COVID certificate, ID and you will be asked about your health (health check). The digital COVID certificate does not apply on the terrace in the museum garden.

Museum shop

The museum shop is open from Tuesday to Saturday between 11.00 and 15.00 hours. The shop is currently only accessible with an entrance ticket to the museum. Among other things, the shop sells:

  • Books on Gouda, ceramics, and art
  • Postcards and reproductions
  • Brochures and catalogues
  • Gifts
  • Artefacts
  • Bags made from old banners

We stock a selection of books, collectables and momentos for all ages – perfect to remember your visit to Museum Gouda! We also sell related (gift) items during special exhibitions.

E-mail addresses

Do you have a question? Contact us at one of the addresses below: