Amsterdam Sex Museum
Enjoy the fun, quirky and eye popping Museum of Sex Amsterdam
The Sex Museum Amsterdam Venustemple to give it its full name is an exploration of love, erotica and human sexuality throughout history. You could be forgiven for thinking the Sex Museum is merely a tacky tourist trap mocked up to look like a museum, some may feel this is the case, others may not (a bit marmite like for the UK readers).
Amsterdam is the perfect place to have a museum dedicated to sex. The museum of sex Amsterdam was indeed the first of its kind in the world and is incredibly popular. The Sex Museum in Amsterdam is actually one of the most visited museums in the whole of the Netherlands with roughly 500,000 visitors every year. Sex sells and within the walls of this house they take you on a journey through sex using historical art, sculpture, paintings, objects, photographs and attractions.
Leave your inhibitions at the door and you can enjoy a museum like no other.
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Tickets for Amsterdam Sex Museum
Before the pandemic it was possible to have a couple of beers for Dutch courage and then head to the museum and enter on a whim. This has slightly changed, we have seen more recently that you can turn up and queue (if there is a queue – mid-week is quieter than weekends and off-peak season is quieter too), but it does seem to be variable (especially if coronavirus cases increase in the winter).
So, we would still recommend buying a ticket in advance if you are in Amsterdam during peak season, especially as if restrictions are put in place then only 100 people are allowed in at any one time.
For example, when we visited in January 2023 on a Tuesday there was no queue at all and barely any people visiting. This would no doubt be different at weekends and during the Spring/Summer.
3 Month open tickets
Online tickets are now 3-month open tickets, meaning you can choose the day you wish to visit on within that 3-month window.
This implies that you can get in at anytime, which should be the case. But, as things change quickly, especially in Winter, you may find you need to be flexible on which day/time you visit if there are too many people there when you arrive.
Sexmuseum Opening hours
It is open everyday (except King’s Day) but still at reduced hours, these start at 10am through until 6pm at night (last entry is 5.30pm and not a second later, they are quite strict on this), (the previous normal opening was 9.30am-11.30pm).
If restrictions are in place (think coronavirus), there are only 100 visitors allowed to be in the museum at any one time. if this is the case then this does force you to plan ahead and perhaps if you are thinking of exploring the red light district one evening, then booking your tickets for the sex museum for that day might make the most sense.
The museum used to be open into the night which allowed those out for a night out to make it part of their experience. With last entry at 5.30pm a night time visit is no longer possible.
The Sex Museums Amsterdam tickets cost: €10 per person.
To enter you must be aged 16 years or older.
With every ticket to the museum you receive a floor plan and postcard. It is worth noting that an online ticket costs €10 which includes a booking fee and you receive your ticket via email and QR code. This ticket is valid for 3 months and your statement does not show up as SexMuseum when you buy online (BEM International BV).
Tour of red light district, coffee shops and optional upgrade to Sex Museum entry
You may be intrigued by the red light district area, but perhaps not as confident to visit straight off the bat on your own. This is where private tours can give you a great experience of the area in a small group. A local knowledgeable guide will walk you through and entertain you with stories, the history, laws and current developments in the area.
We like this flexible tour as it gives you options depending on what you want to experience. You can just take the tour of the area (option 2), you can take the area tour plus add the sex museum entry (option 3), you can take the area tour and add a coffee shop entry (option 4) or take the complete tour including coffee shop and museum entry (option 1). It’s entirely up to you.
Whichever you decide, a private guided tour gives you a trip out for a few hours into the neon lights with complete confidence. Do double check any red light tour you are interested in is running as stated, as more recently the larger group tours of the red light district have been paused, the smaller private tours usually get around this.
Amsterdam Red Light District & Coffee Shop Private Tour (with Sex Museum optional entry)
Museum of Sex Amsterdam Opening Times
The museum is open, but running reduced opening hours.
We do recommend booking in advance but it is possible to turn up on the door and queue depending on various circumstances, not least Coronavirus current rate.
Opens at 10am (usual time pre-pandemic 9.30am)
Closes at 6pm (usual time pre-pandemic 11.30pm)
Last entry 5.30pm (they are very hot on this).
What to expect at the Museum of Sex Amsterdam
Obviously you can expect to learn and see a lot about the history of sex. If you are a little bit prudish then this probably is not the museum for you.
For everyone else the Sexmuseum Amsterdam will take you on a journey about sex throughout the ages. To do this they have collected artefacts from various historical times that showcase how man and woman have been fascinated by sex since day one. You can read about the artefacts, photographs and paintings on show and take photographs throughout. There is even the opportunity to take photographs next to two enormous phallus’s (something instagram may not approve of).
You’ll find models of Marilyn Monroe, as well as her famous windswept skirt. Sculptures of Rudolph Valentino, as well as chastity belts, Venus sculptures and plenty of Roman phallus’s.
What era’s are featured in the Museum of Sex in Amsterdam
The Sex Museum looks back as far as the early Greek and Roman times through to the 1900’s. Each room has a different name such as the Marquise de Sade, Oscar Wilde, Mata Hari and more.
How long does it take to visit the SexMuseum Amsterdam
This depends on your interest level, you could probably walk through the sex museum quickly in around 30 minutes or linger for a lot longer. Average visit times are in the region of an hour, as that is how the tickets were being booked during the pandemic.
Where is the Amsterdam Sex Museum
The Museum of Sex Amsterdam is on the edge of the red light district in historic Amsterdam. It is a short 2-minute walk from Centraal Station and only 5-minutes walk from Dam Square. The museum entrance is small and could easily be walked past, as it sits innocuously between a bank and a pasta bar on a normal street.
Amsterdam Sex Museum Venustemple address:
Damrak 18, 1012 LH Amsterdam
SexMuseum Amsterdam Accessibility
Unfortunately the accessibility at the museum is lacking. The second floor is not accessible for wheelchair users, so only the ground floor is able to be visited. They do however give free access to disabled visitors to the ground floor.
Other related attractions nearby
If you are visiting the Sex Museum then you are on the doorstep of the red light district. It may be that after visiting the museum you want to go and immerse yourself in the present rather than the past and perhaps take in a very naughty show at Casa Rosso or enjoy a drink in one of the bars looking out onto the neon reflected canals.
There are other sex related museums in the red light district too.
Red Light Secrets is a museum of prostitution that dares to look behind the doors of what happens in the brothels of Amsterdam. Read about our visit to the Red Light Secrets Museum.
The Erotic Museum also situated in the red light district explores the erotic world, mainly through art that you can then purchase in the shop. It is open until 1am most nights and 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Red Light District Tour Amsterdam
Finally one of the best ways to visit the red light district is to take a RLD guided tour with a knowledgeable guide. They will regale you with information and history you are unlikely to discover on your own and it is a great way to see the red light district in a small group.
