Royal Palace in Amsterdam

History and beauty combined in the historic centre of the city

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is the official reception Palace of King Willem-Alexander. It was built in the 17th Century and stands prestigiously in Dam Square. Designed by architect Jan Van Campen it reflects the power and wealth of Amsterdam and is one of the most important buildings in the Netherlands. It is situated in Dam Square in the heart of the city.

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Brief history of the Royal Palace

For 150 years, the building was Amsterdam’s Town Hall and also served as the French Royal and Imperial Palace for five years in 1808. Now, the building is used as the official reception palace of the Dutch Royal family. This is where Royal weddings take place along with gala dinners and award ceremonies.

The Royal Palace is open to visitors when not hosting Royal events from 10am-5pm.

Tickets for the Royal Palace in Amsterdam

When open to visitors, Royal Palace tickets must be booked online in advance. Tickets prices are:

Adults: €10

Students: €9

Under 18: Free

Museum Card, ICOM: Free

When booking, you must choose a date and start-time online, even if you have a Museum Card. Currently all tickets are non-refundable. Tickets can be scanned from a smartphone.

Groups of 4 are allowed and you must enter the Palace within the 15 minutes allowed for your timeslot. Audio tours are free for visitors and do not currently need to be pre-booked. Languages available include English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Russian.

Book Royal Palace tickets

How long does a visit to the Royal Palace in Amsterdam take

You can spend as long as you like exploring the Palace although on average most visitors stay around an hour.

Rooms open to the public at Royal Palace

There are many rooms open to the visitor including the Throne Room, Citizens Hall, Balcony Chamber, Mozes Hall. On the ground floor the Tribunal is also open for viewing.

Inside the Palace you will find many beautiful paintings and sculptures that have symbolism and meaning that is well worth discovering on its own. The rooms are stunning, as you would expect. Citizens Hall which would be considered the heart of the building is a marble hall of real beauty.

One of the nice things here is that you can see the history of the building through it’s art leading back to when it was the Town Hall. You can then follow that through to its modern day usage as the reception Palace.

Accessibility at Royal Palace

The Royal Palace has good accessibility for visitors with special needs and wheelchair users with a lift, disabled toilets, wheelchairs and walking sticks available. For deaf and hard of hearing visitors, there is a free guide book at the ticket desk in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Dam Square for cafes and restaurants

The Royal Palace does not have cafe facilities inside, but its location means that you have a plethora of options on its doorstep. Dam Square is one of Amsterdam’s most visited locations, with many other attractions in attendance. You’ll find plenty of cafes and restaurants to recharge and people watch within, before moving on to the next attraction. As the Royal Palace in Amsterdam is not an all day visit you can spread your time out visiting the other attractions Dam Sqaure offers too.