Three museums for a rainy autumn holiday

Naturalis, NEMO and the Railway Museum each offer a different indoor route when the weather turns wet.

Museum Magazine · 17 October 2026

Green historic steam locomotive inside a covered museum hall. — A historic steam locomotive inside the Railway Museum hall, Utrecht. Photo: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Zairon / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

A rainy holiday need not mean staying at home. These three museums offer indoor programmes in natural history in Leiden, hands-on science in Amsterdam and railway history in Utrecht.

At Naturalis in Leiden, an indoor route runs through themed galleries. The skeleton of T. rex Trix stands in Dinotijd; in LiveScience visitors can see researchers and collection staff at work. Naturalis expects the autumn school holiday to be busy and asks visitors to book a timed ticket in advance, including Museum Card holders.

Visitors and children at an interactive water display in NEMO Science Museum. — Interactive water display at NEMO Science Museum, Amsterdam, photographed in 2018 (archive image). Photo: Hanno Lans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0; resized version. Hanno Lans / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · Image source

NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam suits visitors who want to try things for themselves. On the first floor, Fenomena explores light, sound and static electricity through experiments. Other indoor floors cover technology, the universe and the human body. The roof square is outdoors, so a wet-day visit can focus on the indoor floors. NEMO also uses timed entry.

The Railway Museum in Utrecht offers a change of scale. Its central hall displays steam locomotives, carriages and electric trains from different periods. Treinen door de Tijd links the vehicles to stories of passengers and railway staff. The museum suggests itself as a rainy-day outing and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 10–25 October 2026, including Mondays.

A completely dry route is not guaranteed at the Railway Museum: the walk from Maliebaan station to the main hall passes along a platform, and some areas are outdoors. NEMO’s roof square is outside as well. Naturalis offers an indoor route through themed galleries.

Naturalis and NEMO use timed entry; the Railway Museum also requires a reservation, even with an admission pass.