Visiting the Mauritshuis and Girl with a Pearl Earring: tickets, best times and what else to see
September 3, 2026 · by Robin Lenskens
The Mauritshuis is a small museum with a large reputation: about 200 paintings on two floors of a 17th-century town house, including Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft, Fabritius’s Goldfinch and Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson. A ticket costs €21.00, under-19s go free, the Museumkaart gets you in for nothing with a booked time slot, and 90 minutes is enough for most visitors. Two things matter for autumn 2026: the museum is closed for maintenance until 20 September, and the Girl is away on loan until 4 October. Both are back from 5 October.
Is the Mauritshuis open, and is the Girl there?
From Monday 21 September 2026 the museum is open again after a four-week maintenance closure (24 August to 20 September). Girl with a Pearl Earring is not on display from 15 August to 4 October 2026, so if she is the reason for your visit, come from 5 October onwards. The View of Delft, the Goldfinch and the Rembrandts are all on the walls as normal from the reopening. The museum’s press page and special opening hours page carry the official dates.
What do tickets cost in 2026?
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | €21.00 |
| Under 19 | Free |
| Student | €13.50 |
| Museumkaart | Free, time slot required |
| Group of 15 or more | €18.50 per person |
| Combination with the Prince William V Gallery | €24.00 |
The museum strongly recommends booking a ticket and time slot online, and on weekends and school holidays you should treat that as a requirement: walk-up entry depends on space. Museumkaart holders also book a free slot online. Prices are from the Mauritshuis visitor page and can change.
What are the opening hours?
Monday 13:00–18:00, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. The museum is open on most public holidays, usually 10:00–18:00, with a few exceptions listed on the special opening hours page. If you are relying on the Monday afternoon opening, check it on the day: hours are the item museums change most often.
When is the Mauritshuis quietest?
Late afternoon on a weekday. The museum is compact, so a single coach group can fill the Vermeer room, and the groups arrive between 10:00 and 14:00. From about 15:30 the building empties, and by 17:00 you can usually stand in front of the Girl without anyone in front of you. Tuesday to Thursday are quieter than Friday and the weekend. If you can only come in the morning, book the first slot at 10:00 and go straight to the second floor, where the Vermeers hang, before the crowd works its way up.
Avoid, if you can: Saturday afternoons, the King’s Day weekend in late April, and the two weeks around Christmas.
What should I see in 90 minutes?
The collection is small enough that you do not need a route, but if you have 90 minutes and want the highlights, do the second floor first and the ground floor second.
Second floor
- Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer, about 1665. Not a portrait but a tronie, a study of a face and a costume, and the pearl is almost certainly glass or an imitation; the museum points out it was painted with two strokes of white. Bought at auction in The Hague in 1881 for just over two guilders and bequeathed to the museum in 1902.
- View of Delft, Vermeer, about 1660 to 1661. The only cityscape of its kind by him, painted from the Hooikade in Delft, ten minutes away by train. Proust called it the most beautiful painting in the world.
- The Goldfinch, Carel Fabritius, 1654. A small trompe-l’oeil of a chained bird, painted the year the artist died in the Delft gunpowder explosion.
- The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, Rembrandt, 1632. His first major Amsterdam commission at 26.
- Rembrandt’s late self-portrait from 1669, the year he died.
Ground floor and first floor
- The Bull, Paulus Potter, 1647. Enormous, almost life-size, and the painting the museum was best known for until the Girl overtook it.
- Rubens, Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Holbein, and the small Brueghels.
- The building itself: the Golden Room on the first floor, and the view over the Hofvijver from the windows.
If you only have 30 minutes, go upstairs, see the Vermeers, the Goldfinch and the Rembrandts, and leave. That is the core of the museum.
What is the building?
The Mauritshuis was built in the 1630s and 1640s as the town house of Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, a cousin of the stadholders and governor of the Dutch colony in Brazil, which is where the money came from. It stands at the corner of the Hofvijver, the pond beside the Binnenhof, and its classical brick and sandstone facade is one of the best examples of Dutch classicism. The royal picture collection moved in during 1822. An underground extension opened in 2014, which is why you enter from a forecourt below street level rather than through the front door.
Practical details
- Address: Plein 29, The Hague, next to the Binnenhof. About ten minutes on foot from Den Haag Centraal: cross the tram tracks, walk along the Herengracht and Korte Poten to the Plein.
- Cloakroom: Free, with lockers that take a €0.50 coin you get back. Large bags must be checked.
- Photography: Allowed without flash; no tripods or selfie sticks, and no filming during normal opening hours.
- Accessibility: Fully wheelchair accessible via the lift; a companion for a disabled visitor enters free.
- Time needed: 60 to 90 minutes for most people, two hours if you read every label.
- Shop and café: In the underground foyer, no ticket needed.
What is next door?
The Binnenhof is directly behind the Mauritshuis, but it is not what it was. The parliament complex has been under a full renovation since 2021, the courtyard is closed, and the government says visitors will walk through it again in summer 2031. What you can still see is the outside: the Hofvijver pond with the Binnenhof towers behind it, the best photo in The Hague, taken from the Korte Vijverberg or the Lange Vijverberg beside the museum. From the end of 2026 there will be work platforms on the pond itself, though the Binnenhof renovation site says sightlines will be kept as far as possible.
The Plein, the square in front of the museum, is lined with cafés and restaurants and is the easiest lunch stop. A five-minute walk away at Buitenhof 33 is the Prince William V Gallery, the 18th-century picture gallery that started the royal collection, included in the €24.00 combination ticket and open Tuesday to Sunday 12:00–17:00.
What should I pair the Mauritshuis with?
Two museums within 15 minutes on foot, and one worth a tram ride.
Escher in Het Paleis, Lange Voorhout 74, about eight minutes north. More than 120 Escher prints in a former royal winter palace, open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00–17:00, €14.50 for adults, children 7 to 12 €8.00 and under 7 free. One warning: it does not accept the Museumkaart, which surprises many visitors who have just used the pass next door. Check the Escher admission page for current prices.
Panorama Mesdag, Zeestraat 65, about 15 minutes north-west. A 360-degree painting of Scheveningen beach in 1880, 14 metres high and 120 metres around, painted by Hendrik Willem Mesdag in 1881 and still in the round building made for it. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00, €17.50 for adults, free under 19 and free with the Museumkaart. Details on the Panorama Mesdag site. If you have to choose one of the two, choose the Panorama: nothing else like it exists in the Netherlands.
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, a tram ride away, for Mondrian, including his last painting, Victory Boogie Woogie. Worth it if you have a second day.
Our post on the five unmissable art museums in the Netherlands puts the Mauritshuis in national context, and if you are visiting several museums, read what a museum pass is and whether you should get one before you buy tickets one by one.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to book Mauritshuis tickets in advance?
The museum strongly recommends it and on busy days it is effectively required, because entry is by time slot and slots fill up. Book online for the slot you want, including a free slot if you have a Museumkaart. On a quiet weekday afternoon in winter you can usually walk in, but there is no reason to risk it.
Is the Museumkaart accepted at the Mauritshuis?
Yes. Museumkaart holders enter free, but you still book a time slot online. Note that the Escher museum eight minutes away does not accept the card, while Panorama Mesdag does.
How long does a Mauritshuis visit take?
Sixty to ninety minutes for most visitors, including the highlights on both floors. The building is small, so you will not run out of time; you are more likely to be limited by how long you can look at paintings before wanting coffee.
Where is Girl with a Pearl Earring in autumn 2026?
On loan abroad from 15 August to 4 October 2026, and back on display in The Hague from 5 October. The museum itself is closed for maintenance from 24 August to 20 September. If you are visiting in that window, the View of Delft and the Goldfinch are the reason to come from 21 September; after 4 October everything is back in place.
Can I take photos inside?
Yes, without flash, tripod or selfie stick. Filming is not allowed during regular opening hours. Expect a small crowd in front of the Girl and be quick.
Is the Binnenhof open to visit?
No. It has been closed for renovation since 2021 and is expected to reopen to visitors in summer 2031. You can see the outside from the Hofvijver, and the Mauritshuis is the best place to start that walk.
Is the Mauritshuis suitable for children?
Yes. Under-19s enter free, the visit is short, and the Girl, the Goldfinch and the Bull hold a child’s attention in a way that a room of landscapes does not. The museum has a family programme; ask at the desk.
See the Mauritshuis with a Discover The Hague guide
If you would rather have the paintings explained than read from a label, our guided Mauritshuis visit takes your party through the collection with a guide in the language you choose, and it combines well with the private walking tour of The Hague for the Binnenhof, the palaces and the Lange Voorhout. Both are private and start at a time that suits you.
