Art Depot Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Visited the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and was truly impressed! The architecture is incredibly unique, with its full mirrored exterior beautifully reflecting the city around it. The design stands out as one-of-a-kind and creates a surreal experience. Loved the concept and the way it blends art, storage, and modern aesthetics. A must-visit spot for architecture and art lovers.

This is one of the coolest museums I've ever been to! The museum is curated through a free app, and qr codes around the museum allow you to view in-depth explainations behind each piece, and the artists. There are also multiple temporary exhibits throughout the museum which are also really cool. At certain times during the day, free tours of the storage rooms are offered, where amazing paintings by famous painters like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Salvador Dali, etc. can be seen. The museum also has a restaurant on the top floor, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the city. Super worth the visit!

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is one of the most unique and forward-thinking museum experiences in Rotterdam—and in the world. Unlike a traditional museum, this depot allows visitors to see how art is stored, preserved, and curated behind the scenes, offering a rare and fascinating perspective on the life of artworks. Architecturally, the building is stunning. Its mirrored, bowl-shaped exterior reflects the surrounding city and park, making it a landmark in itself. Inside, the experience is equally impressive: transparent storage spaces, visible conservation rooms, and carefully curated displays give visitors direct access to thousands of works that would normally remain hidden. The rooftop garden is a highlight, featuring trees and panoramic views over Rotterdam, adding a calm and unexpected contrast to the futuristic design. The layout is well thought out, the information is clear, and the overall visit feels both educational and inspiring. The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is not just a place to see art—it’s a place to understand it. A must-visit for art lovers, architecture enthusiasts, and anyone looking for something truly different in Rotterdam.

Way more than a museum. Please see the pics and videos. You might not be lucky enough to catch the open day, but it is worth paying €20! It is mentioned that there are more than 100K items. Visitors of all ages can easily find something of their interest from the drawing room to the movie saloon, the terrace view of the city, the amazing cafeteria and the store of course

The Depot is an architectural masterpiece. A must see for anyone visiting Rotterdam. The space is absolutely stunning. The collection on display is constantly updated, so even if you have visited before, it’s worth revisiting time and time again.

Weird exhibit, as you can only experience the rooms for 10 minutes, which is not enough. So not great as a gallery, but the view and rooftop restaurant is fantastic, so ot makes up for not fully being emersed in art.

Worth visiting just for the building’s architecture- but inside and out. Don’t miss the rooftop terrace for amazing views over the city. The bar remains open after the museum closes, so if you are short of time you can visit the Terrance after your museum visit The exhibits challenge visitors on how they interpret art. I enjoyed seeing how the exhibits are stored and loved the exhibit on the challenge of storing the glass pieces

The depot is the world’s first publicly accessible art storage facility, a cultural icon where visitors can explore behind the scenes of a vast collection. Opened in 2021 and designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, it was created while the main Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum undergoes renovation, housing more than 150,000 works. Its mirrored, bowl-shaped building has become a Rotterdam landmark, topped with a rooftop garden offering panoramic city views. By opening what is traditionally a closed space, the depot has introduced an innovative model that has inspired museums worldwide.

The Boijmans is the main art museum in Rotterdam. It opened in 1847, originally with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans. Since then, it has grown and now contains some of the preeminent works of art. Not just Dutch artists, the collection includes Rembrant, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, René Magritte and Salvador Dalí. And those are just the more famous. There are Rubens and Bosch and many more! A friend of mine had visited a few months ago and found the Rembrant/Dali wing was closed. That wing was open this time, but the Kandinsky wing was closed. I'm a big fan of Kandinsky and I have a few posters of his work and his contemporaries. I was bummed. Even bummed, I still enjoyed the Bruegel "Tower of Babel", one of the most famous paintings in Rotterdam. And the Rodin sculptures. Amazing artworks! The museum wasn't particularly crowded on this weekday and they had no issue with photographs, as long as the flash was disabled. An audio tour is available, which I strongly recommend. Note: The museum is a member of the Museumkaart system, so if you're planning on visiting more than three or four museums in the Netherlands, get the card!

I was all museum'd on my Eurotrip, so Boijmans Van Beuningen was the only one I visited while I was in Rotterdam. Fortunately for me, the place was under renovation so it was half price to enter (€7.50 instead of €15). Unfortunately for me, there was still a TON to see. I think most other people would consider that second one a pro instead of a con. Anyway, in case you can't tell, I'm not much of a museum person. So I like modern art and crazy displays. BVB had both in spades. At the front, there are a ton of surrealist paintings and sculptures, including some from Salvador Dali and Magritte. There's also some Mondrion's sprinkled throughout. In the middle is The Collection as Time Machine, which is basically just a lot of paintings arranged by century, curated to tell how European art themes/techniques changed and morphed over time. The layout of those rooms is a little weird, as you can cut through multiple ways. Easy to skip if it's not your thing. Then when you go downstairs, there's a ton of modern art including what this place is probably most known for - some creepy dude coming up through the floor. And also a creepy boy sitting in the corner that scared the crap out of me when I walked into the room. Further down, there was a cool exhibit about discontinued electronics and furniture design. That's the kind of random shit I liked to look at in museums. There was also a "Bling" exhibit which was all sorts of shiny things, some artifacts, some random and modern. Wasn't sure what to make of that. All in all, I spent probably two and a half hours there (which was an hour longer than I thought I needed). If the entire place is open, you could definitely spend upwards of three hours. Definitely check it out!

This is a disappointing museum experience. At least half of the museum was closed for remodeling/adjustments. They allowed a large group of adolescent kids to run around screaming loudly with minimal effort to stop it. The layout is off putting. Small rooms with uncomfortable wall colors and tight corridors. Confusing flow of rooms and areas. Art collections and galleries are okay, but seem chaotic in placement around the museum. Maybe my expectations were too high for this place (recently visited the Van Gogh Museum) but overall this is a disappointing experience. Do not recommend.

Really enjoyed this museum. It is free with the museum card. I love the Dutch Golden age- and to see Rembrandt's picture of Titus, as well as some of his other works, was great. Some works were missing- presumably loaned out to other museums, but there was so much here, I didn't mind. Loved seeing the Steens, the Hals, the Bosch, the Bruegel the elder (Tower of Babel), and all the other works. Such a wonderful collection. I never got to the Monet's and Van Goghs- was worn out. Of all the Museums we visited in the Museum park area (the Chabot, the Nieuwe Institute, the Kunsthal) we liked this one best. The art is well displayed, the gift shop is large, the cafe is decent (though I much prefer the one across the street at the Nieuwe Institute).