El Greco, The Annunciation, c. 1596 to 1600, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. Image courtesy Mauritshuis
About this tour
From the 17th century to modern art in a day. Old masters in the morning, a Spanish guest among them, and an afternoon of choice. From 15 October 2026 to 17 January 2027 the Mauritshuis hosts 25 masterpieces from the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, El Greco's Annunciation included, in the first simultaneous swap of highlights between two museums, and the last. After the exhibition and the beach of 1881 at Panorama Mesdag, the day ends at one of two museums, chosen when booking. The Kunstmuseum Den Haag, home to the largest Mondrian collection in the world and the unfinished Victory Boogie Woogie, or Museum Voorlinden in the dunes of Wassenaar, a private museum of contemporary art celebrating its tenth anniversary with Celebrating the Icons of Art (until 7 March 2027), Kusama beside Monet, Lichtenstein beside Léger, in a building rebuilt from the inside for the occasion. Either way, the Storykeeper carries one thread through the day, the freedom of these provinces and the absence of dogma that shaped Dutch art in the 17th century and still shapes what is painted and collected here now.
The day
Meet the Storykeeper in the hotel lobby and drive to The Hague, about 45 minutes from Amsterdam. Start with a walk around the Binnenhof and the Hofvijver, the medieval court where the oldest working parliament in Europe still sits, past Noordeinde Palace, where the King goes to work, along the Lange Voorhout and through the Passage, the oldest shopping arcade in the country, to the Plein.
Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Sweerts, Boy in a Turban. Image courtesy Mauritshuis
Willem van Haecht, Apelles Painting Campaspe, c. 1630, Mauritshuis
Enter the Mauritshuis with a timed ticket for Masterpieces from Madrid. Begin in Toledo with El Greco, move through Van Eyck, Bronzino and Sebastiano del Piombo, whose portrait of Ferry Carondelet now hangs beside Van Haecht's Apelles Painting Campaspe, where it already appears in miniature on the painted wall, and end in Delft with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, linked by livestream to Sweerts' Boy in a Turban. Lunch near the Plein (not included).
Drive to Panorama Mesdag. In 1881 Hendrik Willem Mesdag painted Scheveningen beach on a canvas 14 metres high and 120 metres around, viewed from a dune in the centre of the room, the oldest panorama in the world still in its original building.
The afternoon, option A, Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Continue to the yellow brick museum H.P. Berlage designed in 1935 and walk the Mondrian rooms with the Storykeeper, from the early windmills and trees to the last canvas, Victory Boogie Woogie, left unfinished in New York in 1944. From El Greco's angels to Mondrian's grid in a single day.
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Art Deco entrance by Berlage
Piet Mondrian, Victory Boogie Woogie, Kunstmuseum Den Haag
The afternoon, option B, Museum Voorlinden
Continue through the dunes to Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar, twenty minutes away, and walk the anniversary exhibition and the gardens with the Storykeeper, past Leandro Erlich's Swimming Pool, Ron Mueck's Couple under an Umbrella and James Turrell's Skyspace, with tea at the estate café before the drive back (local payment).
Leandro Erlich, Swimming Pool, Museum Voorlinden
Ron Mueck at Museum Voorlinden
Return to Amsterdam in the early evening.
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Inclusions
Tour Disclaimers: Please be aware that even after your booking is confirmed, your itinerary may be subject to changes based on availability and to ensure we deliver the best possible experience to our clients.