Rijksmuseum

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Designed by PJH Cuypers and opened in 1885, the Rijksmuseum holds the country's largest collection of art and artefacts, including 40 Rembrandts and four Vermeers. However, most of its million exhibits will be out of the public eye until after the summer of 2010 while the Rijksmuseum gets a €227 million facelift at the hands of Spanish architect Cruz y Ortiz (for those interested, the museum regularly organises 'Hard Hat Tours' to show the state of the renovations).

The closure may turn out to be a blessing in disguise: instead of overdosing on the vastness of the place, visitors will be able to see the 400 most masterful masterpieces in the Philips Wing. Some of the collection will be used in other exhibitions organised by museums throughout the Netherlands. In addition, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol (Schiphol Airport, Holland Boulevard between E and F) has a few choice pieces by the likes of Rembrandt, Steen and Ruysdael. In short: there will still be plenty of Golden Age art to look at, but you'd do well to check the museum website before you visit, just to be on the safe side.

The collection was started when William V began to acquire pieces just for the hell of it, and has been growing ever since: it includes Dutch paintings from the 15th century until 1900, as well as decorative and Asian art. The Old Masters' works that will almost certainly stay on display include such noted jewels as Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Kitchen Maid and Woman Reading a Letter, plus a selection from the likes of Frans Hals, Jacob de Wit and Ferdinand Bol.

There should also be a wealth of decorative arts on display, including 17th-century furniture and intricate silver and porcelain, 17th- and early 18th-century dolls' houses, plus furnishings to give a glimpse of how the interiors of canal houses looked. Eighteenth- and 19th-century paintings, art objects from Asia, statues, lacquer work, paintings, ceramics, jewellery, weaponry and the textile and costume collection will also undoubtedly be visible; the freely accessible garden, filled with Golden Age gateways and architectural fragments on the west side, will remain an oasis of rest.