State Museum. The Netherlands' greatest museum, the Rijksmuseum is home to Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's The Kitchen Maid, and a near infinite selection of world-famous masterpieces by the likes of Steen, Ruisdael, Brouwers, Hals, Hobbema, Cuyp, Van der Helst, and their Golden Age ilk. This nation's pride (and the information contained herein), however, is soon to be rent by major changes: the Rijksmuseum is set to close between 2004 and 2008 for extensive renovation and rebuilding, following the plans of Seville's architect duo Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz. Only the South Wing -- which has now through corporate sponsorship been renamed the Philips Wing -- will remain reliably open to house a "Best of" selection. However, with a new exhibition space in Schiphol Airport (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol, Holland Boulevard between piers E and F, tel. 020/653-50 36, Mon.-Fri. 7 AM-8 PM, admission free), and promises of several "roaming" exhibits, visitors can still get an ample dose of Golden Age glory (as long as they call ahead or check the Web site).

Ironically, the Rijskmuseum's fabled collections began life by being housed in the Trippenhuis mansion, an act of French sibling rivalry at the dawn of the 19th century during French occupation when King Louis wanted to compete with his brother Napoléon's burgeoning Louvre collection. When architect P. J. H. Cuypers came up with the current location's somewhat over-the-top design in the late 1880s, it shocked Calvinist Holland down to its -- one imagines -- overly starched shorts. Cuypers was persuaded to tone down some of what was thought of as excessive (read: Catholic) elements of his Neo-Renaissance decoration and soaring Neo-Gothic lines. During the building's construction, however, he did manage to sneak some of his ideas back in, and the result is a magnificent, turreted building that glitters with gold leaf and is textured with sculpture -- a fitting palace for the national art collection.

The Rijksmuseum has more than 150 rooms displaying paintings, sculpture, and objects from both the West and Asia, dating from the 9th through the 19th century. The bulk of the collection is of 15th- to 17th-century paintings, mostly Dutch (the Rijksmuseum has the largest concentration of these masters in the world); there are also extensive holdings of drawings and prints from the 15th to the 20th century.

If your time is limited, head directly for the Gallery of Honor on the upper floor, to admire Rembrandt's Night Watch, with its central figure, the "stupidest man in Amsterdam," Frans Banningh Cocq. His militia buddies who surround him each paid 100 guilders to be included -- quite the sum in those days, so a few of them complained about being lost in all those shadows. It should also be noted that some of these shadows are formed by the daylight coming in through a small window. Daylight? Indeed, the Night Watch is actually the Day Watch, but it received its name when it was obscured with soot -- imagine the restorers' surprise. The rest of this "Best of the Golden Age" hall features other well-known Rembrandt paintings and works by Vermeer, Frans Hals, and other household names -- or at least names that you may recognize from wandering the streets of the De Pijp neighborhood.

A clockwise progression through the rooms of the adjoining East Wing takes you past works by some of the greatest Dutch painters of the 15th to the 19th century, which will have you walking by: Mannerist renderings of biblical and mythic scenes where gods and goddesses show an almost yogic ability in twisting their limbs; eerily lifelike portraits with the lighting maximized to flatter the paying subject; landscapes that may either be extravagant and fantastical in both subject and style or conversely dull, flat, and essentially lacking everything but sky; Caravaggio-inspired exercises by the painters of Utrecht School who employed contrast in light and shadow to heighten a sense of drama; straight moralistic paintings of jolly taverns and depraved brothels warning of the dangers of excess; meticulous and shimmering still-lifes of flowers, food, and furnishings; and cold mathematical renderings of interiors that could be used as architectural blueprints. All of these works prove that the nouveau riche of the Golden Age had a hunger for art that knew no bounds.

Unmissable masterpieces include Vermeer's The Little Street -- a magical sliver of 17th-century Delft life -- and his incomparable The Love Letter, in which a well-appointed interior reveals a mistress and her maid caught in the emotional eddies of a recently opened and read billet-doux. Note the calm seascape on the back wall -- a quiet sea was seen as a good omen by the Dutch; inner anxieties, however, are present in the mistress's face, so much so that the room's clothes hamper, lace-making pillow, and broom all lie forgotten. Ostensibly, a more sedate missive is being read in Vermeer's Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, on view nearby. But is this just a matronly dress or is the woman pregnant and thinking about a missing husband (note the seafaring map)?

The walls of this museum here are virtually wallpapered with other masterpieces by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, Cornelis Engebrechtsz, Lucas van Leyden, Jan van Scorel, Joos de Momper, Pieter Aertsen, and Karen van Mander. Especially notable are the group company portraits of Frans Hals, the Caravaggist works by Gerrit van Honthorst, the often funny genre interiors of Jan Steen, and the beloved landscapes of Jan van Goyen, Meindert Hobbema, Aelbert Cuyp, Hendrick Averkamp, and Jacob and Salomon van Ruisdael -- these artists created the landscape genre and gave us its greatest achievements. Crowning all are the famous Rembrandt works, topped off by the Night Watch and the Jewish Bride (which Vincent van Gogh would study for hours) plus many other of the master's paintings; also note the many daubs by his pupils, including Gerrit Dou, Nicolaes Maes, and Ferdinand Bol.

The South Wing contains 18th- and 19th-century paintings, costumes, and textiles and the museum's impressive collection of Asian art, which includes some 500 statues of Buddha from all over the Orient. The Rijksmuseum's collection of drawings and prints is far too vast to be displayed completely, and only a small selection is shown in the Print Room at any one time. Here you might catch a glimpse of Italian Renaissance sketches, Rembrandt engravings, or early-19th-century photographs. Elsewhere in the museum you can wander through room after room of antique furniture, silverware, and exquisite porcelain, including Delftware. The 17th-century doll's houses -- made not as toys but as showpieces for wealthy merchant families -- are especially worth seeing, as is the collection of expressive Art Nouveau furniture.

A particularly neglected -- and freely accessible -- part of this museum is its sculpture- and port-filled gardens formed in the triangle by Hobbemastraat and Jan Luijkenstraat. You can also use the alternative entrance found here when the lines seem too long to its main entrance.

For an institution dedicated to antiquity, the Rijksmuseum has shown a remarkable technical savvy in making its vast collection more accessible via its incredible Web site. From the comfort of your home, you can make a virtual tour, chart out a plan of attack, and absorb vast chunks of background information. The museum has also introduced an "ARIA" (Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Inter-Active) system, which allows visitors to ask for information -- which may include visuals, text, film, and/or sound -- on 1,250 objects and then be given directions to find other related objects. These "create-your-own tours" are available in a room directly behind the Night Watch. Whether they will still be available here once the massive renovation of the museum is over remains to be seen. COST: EUR9 (though the price will be markedly lower if areas are closed during renovation).