Rembrandt in Amsterdam: his house, his paintings and the places he lived

Rembrandt in Amsterdam: key dates

Born in Leiden in 1606, Rembrandt settled in Amsterdam in 1631, aged 25. He lodged and worked with the art dealer Hendrick Uylenburgh on the Jodenbreestraat, whose studio produced portraits for the city's wealthy burghers. The young painter quickly made a name for himself as a portraitist. In 1634 he married Saskia van Uylenburgh, a relative of the dealer.

In 1639, at the height of his fame, he bought a large house on the same street, the Jodenbreestraat, for around 13,000 guilders. The couple had four children, but only Titus, born in 1641, survived infancy. Saskia died in 1642, the year Rembrandt completed The Night Watch. Hendrickje Stoffels then shared his life; they had a daughter, Cornelia.

Debts piled up. In 1656 Rembrandt came close to bankruptcy: an inventory of all his possessions was drawn up and almost everything was sold at auction. He had to give up his house in 1658 and moved to a more modest rented home on the Rozengracht, in the Jordaan, where he went on painting for eleven more years. Titus died of the plague in 1668. Rembrandt died on 4 October 1669, aged 63, and was buried on 8 October in the Westerkerk.

The Rembrandt House, Jodenbreestraat 4

This is the stop not to miss. The Rembrandt House (Museum Het Rembrandthuis) has been furnished from the 1656 inventory: the document made it possible to reconstruct, room by room, the kitchen, the living room with its box bed, the cabinet of curiosities where the painter amassed busts, shells and weapons, and the large studio lit by north-facing windows. Etching and paint-making demonstrations are included in the ticket, and the print room shows original etchings.

The museum opens daily at 10 am, closing at 6 pm until 1 November 2026, then at 5 pm from 2 November to 18 December. An adult ticket costs €23.50, or €19.50 from 4 pm; it is free with the Museumkaart or the I amsterdam City Card, but everyone has to book a time slot. Allow 1.5 hours.

Hendrick Uylenburgh, with whom Rembrandt had lived when he arrived, lived on the same street. The surrounding area, with the Portuguese Synagogue and the Jewish Museum, forms the Jewish Cultural Quarter.

The Zuiderkerk, the family church

Three minutes' walk away, the Zuiderkerk was the parish church of the Jodenbreestraat. Titus was baptised there on 22 September 1641, and three children of Rembrandt and Saskia who died shortly after birth were buried near the church. Ferdinand Bol, one of his pupils, also lies there. The church no longer holds services and only opens for concerts and fairs; its tower is closed to visitors. Admire it from the bridge over the Groenburgwal.

The Waag and The Anatomy Lesson

On the Nieuwmarkt square, the Waag is a 15th-century city gate that became a public weigh house and then the seat of several guilds. The surgeons' guild had its rooms there: in 1632 it commissioned Rembrandt to paint The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, the group portrait that launched his career in Amsterdam. The original painting now hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague.

The square and the outside of the Waag are freely accessible. The anatomy theatre upstairs, fitted out later, in 1690-1691, only opens for events; the ground floor houses a restaurant-café. Our guide to the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood lists the addresses nearby.

The Oude Kerk, where Saskia lies

Five minutes from the Waag, the Oude Kerk, the city's oldest building, holds the grave of Saskia van Uylenburgh, buried in 1642 beneath the small organ in the choir. The church opens Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and on Sunday from 1 pm to 5.30 pm; admission costs €14.50, free with the Museumkaart or the I amsterdam City Card. It stands in the heart of the Red Light District: ideally visit in the morning.

The Westerkerk and the Rozengracht, the final years

The Westerkerk, on the Prinsengracht, is the church where Rembrandt was buried on 8 October 1669. The exact location of his grave is unknown; a memorial plaque is fixed to the north wall. Hendrickje Stoffels and Titus were also buried there. Admission is free, Monday to Friday from 11 am to 3 pm, but the church closes on some days for events (in October 2026: 1, 2 and 10 October and from 20 to 26 October).

Less than ten minutes' walk away, at number 184 on the Rozengracht, a plaque marks the site of his last home; the original house has gone. The street is a filled-in former canal in the Jordaan, the working-class neighbourhood where the painter spent his last years.

Rembrandt's paintings at the Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum holds several of Rembrandt's masterpieces, the most famous of them in and around the Gallery of Honour.

• The Night Watch (1642): the group portrait of the civic guard company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, painted for the meeting hall of this militia. It has its own room at the end of the Gallery of Honour. Since 2019, Operation Night Watch has been restoring it in full view of the public, inside a glass chamber. The removal of the old varnish, which began at the end of 2024, is under way: increasingly large areas temporarily look matt and dull. The painting remains on view.
• The Jewish Bride (c. 1665-1669): a tenderly embracing couple, painted in thick layers of colour, one of the most admired works of his final years.
• The self-portraits: the Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul (1661) hangs in the Gallery of Honour, as does the portrait of his son Titus in a monk's habit.
• The Sampling Officials of the Drapers' Guild (1662): his last great group portrait, five inspectors of cloth quality and their servant caught as if interrupted in their work.

The museum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. An adult ticket costs €25, with free admission up to and including age 18 and with the I amsterdam City Card. Everyone has to book an entry time, including Museumkaart holders. To see The Night Watch with fewer people around, go in at 9 am and head straight there. Our guide to the Museum Quarter covers the other sights on the Museumplein.

Rembrandtplein and its statue

South of the centre, the Rembrandtplein has borne his name since 1876. In the middle of the square, the statue of the painter, designed by Louis Royer, was unveiled on 27 May 1852 in the presence of King William III, when the square was still called Botermarkt. It is the oldest surviving statue in Amsterdam and the first statue of an artist in the Netherlands. Today the square is mainly a nightlife spot, with cafés and terraces; come during the day for the statue.

A walk in Rembrandt's footsteps

This route of about 4 kilometres takes half a day including the visit to the Rembrandt House. Keep the Rijksmuseum for another half-day.

1. Start on the Rembrandtplein, in front of the statue, then walk to the Jodenbreestraat via the Amstel and the Waterlooplein (about 10 minutes).
2. Visit the Rembrandt House at opening time, 10 am.
3. Pass by the Zuiderkerk and the Groenburgwal bridge.
4. Head up to the Waag, on the Nieuwmarkt, for a break on a terrace.
5. Continue to the Oude Kerk and Saskia's grave.
6. Cross the Dam westwards to the Westerkerk (about 20 minutes on foot), before 3 pm.
7. Finish on the Rozengracht, in front of the plaque at number 184.

Prices checked in October 2026. The Rembrandt House, the Oude Kerk and the Rijksmuseum are free with the Museumkaart and with the I amsterdam City Card.

Two day trips: Leiden and The Hague

To go back to the painter's roots, Leiden, his home town, is about 35 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal. Museum De Lakenhal there shows his earliest known work, The Spectacles Seller, painted at around 18.

In The Hague, about 50 minutes by train, the Mauritshuis holds The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp and one of his last self-portraits, from 1669. The museum is a 10-minute walk from Den Haag Centraal station. It opens from 10 am to 6 pm, on Monday from 1 pm; a ticket costs €21, free for under-19s and with the Museumkaart (prices checked in October 2026). Our selection of day trips from Amsterdam offers more ideas for days out.

Practical tips

• Book a time slot for the Rembrandt House and the Rijksmuseum, even with a pass: both museums require it for all visitors. Our guide to booking tickets in Amsterdam explains how.
• Pick the right pass: the Museumkaart (€75 for an adult, valid for a year in more than 500 Dutch museums) covers the Rembrandt House, the Rijksmuseum, the Oude Kerk and the Mauritshuis. The I amsterdam City Card (from €67 for 24 hours) covers the three Amsterdam sights and public transport. Our comparison City Card or Museumkaart helps you choose.
• Check the closing days of the Westerkerk and the Oude Kerk, which close from time to time for events or exhibition installations.
• Pay by card: the Rijksmuseum and the Oude Kerk do not accept cash.

Further reading

Rembrandt is inseparable from the Golden Age: our guide to the history of Amsterdam covers the other places from that era. To choose your other visits, see our selection of the best museums in Amsterdam, and to wander around the Waag, our guide to the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood.