27. March 2025
Home » Travel » Travel Reviews » Museums & Exhibitions » Escher In The Palace (The Hague)
Museums & Exhibitions

Escher In The Palace (The Hague)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Escher in the Palace The Hague

10 Euro
Escher in the Palace The Hague
3.4

Rating

 3.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Combination of arts museum and royal palace
  • Nice location
  • Intresting glass sculptures
  • Cozy cafe

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Not a unique place - there are many Escher exhibitions
  • Weak Covid-19 handling / social distancing

I am a huge fan of the works of the Dutch artist M.C. Escher, wo worked a lot with geometric stuctures and perspective. In a former palace of the Netherlands’ capital The Hague / Den Haag, a museum is honoring his work. I just had to dare a visit when I have been in the city. The local name of the museum is Escher in het Paleis – “Escher in the Palace”.

 

Escher In The Palace – Location & Admission

The museum is located at Lange Voorhout 74, right at the edge of a small park in central The Hague. If you are in the center fof the city anyway, it is an easy walk. The next tram stations are Kneuterdijk and Korte Voorhout. There are multiple other museums around and the area also features two parking garages, Malieveld and Museumkwartier. Parking prices in the Netherlands are typically not that low, though.

During my time of visit, adult admission has been 10 Euro. The museum is closed on Mondays and operates all other days between 11:00 and 17:00 hrs.

 

Escher In The Palace – The Palace

The venue, which is officially named Lange Voorhout Palace, has been designed in 1760 already. It became a royal place in 1848, when Prince William Frederick Henry bought the place. From 1896, it has been bought by Queen Emma from her sister-in-law and from 1901, she used it as a winter residence. The palace was an official royal office until 1984. Part of the acquisition of the building by the city of The Hague in 1991 was that it is used for cultural activities only. The museum also references the former usage by scattered pictures on the walls.

 

Escher In The Palace – The Visit

The museum gives a nice overview about the development of M.C. Escher. However, what I really liked is that they illustrate the techniques and geometry behind the world famous prints. In parallel, you tour through the different rooms of the palace – there are at least signs in each room which explain the original usage of these

You have to say that as Escher’s works are dominantly prints, there are a lot of exhibitions and museum about the Dutch and you might have seen similar museums in other places. I definitely like the presentation in The Hague, though. Unfortunately, on the negative side (and despite a very low level of visitors in the city in general), the museum was packed and social distancing was absolutely impossible in pandemic times. I unfortunately cannot post pictures with people you may recognize in here, but some rooms of a small to average size were filled with 15 to 20 people. Overall, the Covid-19 management of the place felt poor to me.

The upper floor was more interactive and also dealt with optical illusions motivated by works of M.C. Escher. I really liked that area, which had a surprisingly low level of visitors (even though included in the ticket). Some of the interactive stuff was limited due to hygienic measures.

Spread over the whole place, there was a collection of optimally high quality crystal balls and similar structures. To me, that was one of the key features of the museum. First of all, they are a lovely illustration of the geometric and mathematical theories behind Escher’s work. Finally, they are simply outstanding by themselves.

 

Escher In The Palace – Services

Of course, the museum drives a souvenir shop. Like the museum the shop was rather packed. The items offered were all you would expect from a store like that.

The basement of the palace hosts the MC Cafe, which has been closed during my visit (due to late visit times). The place looked really cozy.

 

Escher In The Palace – My View

I am mixed about Escher in het Paleis. On the one hand, it is a really nice exhibition, I especially likeld the glass items. On the other hand, there are very similar places and the Covid-19 handling was too weak. The lovely historic building, which is such a beauty, just increases the issues with that: the rooms are rather small, the aisles rather narrow. As I am rather strict in these things, I would not absolutely recommend to visit this place – but if it is your first Escher museum, you will have a good time.

 

Rotterdam & The Hague

Here are all my postings about the Rotterdam & The Hague region:

 

Graphic Arts on Flyctory.com

Under the Graphic Arts tag, I sum up all kinds of paintings, graphics and prints:

 

You might also like

Tutankhamun – Treasures of the Pharao (Paris)

German Customs Museum Hamburg

Dat Otto Huus (Otto Waalkes Museum) Emden

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *