Escher in The Palace in The Hague

At Escher in The Palace you walk through the rooms where queens once lived and worked, past the prints of M.C. Escher. On Dutch signs the museum is called Escher in Het Paleis. Water flows uphill, staircases go round and round without end and birds slowly change into fish. Above your head hang chandeliers by the artist Hans van Bentem, including a shark and a spider. On the top floor you become part of the illusion yourself. There the walls seem to move and your sense of distance suddenly stops working. The museum has been in Paleis Lange Voorhout since 2002. Children and adults stand here looking just as amazed.

What you see in Escher's palace

You see more than 120 prints by Maurits Cornelis Escher, with a changing selection of graphic work and tessellations. The highlight is Metamorphosis III, a woodcut seven metres long in which shapes keep turning into something else. That way you can follow how Escher worked, from early landscapes to the famous impossible buildings. On the second floor is the interactive presentation Looking like Escher. There is a room in which the walls seem to move, a floor that plays with your perception and a magic sphere in which worlds appear and disappear. It is precisely that combination of looking and experiencing things yourself that makes the museum suitable for children.

Which Escher works can you see at Escher in The Palace?

The core of the museum is its prints by M.C. Escher, more than 120 of them. The best known works are always on view, next to a rotating selection of prints and tessellations, the repeating patterns of interlocking figures for which he is famous. Metamorphosis III is the centrepiece: a woodcut about seven metres long in which shapes keep changing into other shapes. Along the walls you can trace his development, from early landscapes to the impossible buildings with staircases that go on forever and water that seems to flow uphill. Because the selection rotates, a second visit can show you different prints.

A palace with a royal history

Pieter de Swart designed the palace in 1760. Queen Emma bought it in 1896 and lived there from 1901 until her death in 1934. After that, queens Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix used it as a working palace. In 1962 Wilhelmina's coffin lay in state in the hall. You can still see that history in the spacious rooms. The chandeliers by the Rotterdam artist Hans van Bentem give the rooms a contemporary twist. In the ballroom a large star is reflected endlessly in the mirrors, while other rooms have a shark, a spider and a seahorse. There are plans to move the museum in due course to the former American embassy on the Lange Voorhout.

Tips for your visit to Escher in The Palace

Note that the Museumkaart, the Dutch annual museum pass, is not valid here. Children up to and including 6 get in free. Combination tickets exist, including one with the Mauritshuis, so you can see Escher and the Dutch masters in one day. For young children there are treasure hunts, and workshops during the school holidays. The building has a lift and wide doorways, but no adapted toilet. Save the second floor for last: you will then recognise the tricks you have just seen in the prints. The Lange Voorhout itself is a lovely place for a walk afterwards.

Frequently asked questions about Escher in The Palace

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