Has anyone visited the Museum Van Loon in Amsterdam? Where exactly is it and did you need to make reservations or could you just go in and see this house museum? Thank you.
Their website www.museumvanloon.nl/ gives all the information you need, including a link to Google Maps.
I did not make any reservations ahead of time for Museum Van Loon. Admission was included with the purchase of my Museumkaart so I just went right in as I happened to be in the neighborhood.
The houses are rarely crowded with other tourists and can easily be seen top to bottom, including the gardens, in an hour or less depending how much time you want to hang around. I would not recommend them if you are traveling with younger children and teens would likely find them a bit dull. But they are a nice break if you are interested in seeing period furnishings and interiors, and the private gardens, in nice weather, provide a really nice spot to get some photos and take a break to have something to drink or a light snack in between the bigger more touristy sights.
The Van Loon is across the street/canal from the excellent FOAM photography museum, so you can easily pair up with that attraction. FOAM is housed in a converted mansion with a garden in the back. A couple buildings down from the FOAM there was another historic house which can toured (the Amazing Race had a checkpoint there a couple years ago) , but it doesn't appear on Google Maps anymore so perhaps its no longer in operation?
Another excellent attraction in a historic mansion is the Museum of Bags and Purses. It's a top notch attraction with an excellent tea house(best to make reservations) and garden.
Thank you everyone for all the information. My days in Amsterdam are shaping up on where to go and what to see.