Why Visit
If you're going to step off the harbor for one indoor stop, this is the one. The Volendams Museum is compact (you'll cover it in 40-60 minutes) but it's the only place that pulls together the three things that made Volendam internationally famous: its traditional costume, the international artists' colony of 1880-1940, and the village's working-fishery history. It also has the cigar band room - a single space that makes the trip worthwhile on its own.
The Cigar Band Room
The museum's signature exhibit is a single room covered floor to ceiling in mosaics made entirely from cigar bands - the small printed paper rings that used to wrap individual cigars. Over 11 million bands were donated by collectors worldwide and arranged over decades by local artist Nico Molenaar into landscapes, portraits and decorative panels.
It was started in 1947 and the work continued for more than 30 years. There is nothing else like it in Europe. Allow 10-15 minutes just for this room - the patterns reward close inspection.
What Else You'll See
Costume gallery
Original Volendam klederdracht: the pointed lace bonnet (hul), striped aprons, coral necklaces, men's silver-buttoned trousers. Includes mourning, wedding and Sunday-best variants - the everyday tourist photo only shows one of about a dozen subtly different outfits.
Period interiors
Reconstructed 19th-century fisherman's houses showing how 8-10 person families lived in two rooms. Bedboxes set into the walls, copper utensils, the herring barrel in the corner.
Artists' colony
Paintings, photographs and letters from the international artists who based themselves at Hotel Spaander - Pablo Picasso passed through, as did Renoir, Edvard Munch and roughly 1,500 others over 60 years.
Fishing heritage
Models of the botter sailing fishing boat, nets, eel-smoking equipment, and the story of how the closing of the Zuiderzee in 1932 ended the saltwater fishery.
Palingsound corner
A small section on the local music scene that produced BZN, The Cats and Jan Smit - if you want the full version, the dedicated Palingsound Museum is a few minutes' walk away.
Temporary exhibitions
The museum runs 1-2 themed shows a year drawing on its archive of historic photographs.
Practical Info
| Address | Zeestraat 41, 1131 ZD Volendam |
|---|---|
| Hours (April-October) | Daily 10:00-17:00 |
| Hours (November-March) | Wed-Sun 11:00-16:00, closed Mon-Tue |
| Closed | 1 January, 25 December |
| Admission | Adult €6, child (6-15) €3, under 6 free |
| Museumkaart | Accepted |
| Audio guide | Free with admission, EN/NL/DE/FR |
| Accessibility | Ground floor accessible; first floor has stairs only |
| Time needed | 40-60 minutes |
Hours and prices indicative for 2026; verify on the museum's site if you're planning around opening times.
Tips
- Go early or late. 10:00-11:00 and after 15:30 are the calmest times. Coach groups peak at 12:00-14:00.
- Pick up the audio guide. Many of the costume and painting captions are short; the audio fills in the context that makes the rooms make sense.
- Don't expect art-museum scale. This is a village museum - charming, well-curated, but small. Calibrate expectations.
- Combine with the Palingsound Museum. If you have the music interest, the two together make a focused 90-minute indoor circuit.
Getting There
The museum is on Zeestraat, the main street running from the bus stop down to the Dijk - directly across the road from the harbor. From the bus 316 stop "Volendam, Zeestraat" it's a 2-minute walk. From any harbor restaurant it's a 1-minute walk inland.