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Tours in Amsterdam |
Rijksmuseum
The largest and most popular museum in the Netherlands was opened in 1885 and has grown steadily ever since. Today, it is in the midst of the biggest rebuilding programme in its history. Much of its most famous work by ‘The Masters', though, is still on show in the impressively designed Phillips Wing and as many of the other collections are being put on display as possible. The main galleries are scheduled to reopen by the end of 2008.
Jan Luijenstraat 1
Tel: (020) 674 7047.
Website: www.rijksmuseum.nl
Opening hours: Sat-Thur 0900-1800; Fri 0900-2200.
Admission charge.
Anne Frankhuis (Anne Frank House)
The queues can be horrendous at the small but very popular Anne Frank House, which annually attracts up to a million people. It is the historic home where Anne Frank, her family and four other Jewish people hid from the occupying Germans during WWII, after fleeing their native Germany. Finally caught by the Nazis, after two years in hiding, they were taken off to concentration camps, where Anne died. However, her father survived and published her diary, which has been translated into 50 languages. The story of how they were saved by local people for so long sometimes masks the reality that the city's Jewish population was all but wiped out during the war.
Prinsengracht 263, Westerkerk
Tel: (020) 556 7105.
Website: www.annefrank.org
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (Sep-Mar); daily 0900-2100 (Apr-Aug).
Admission charge.
Van Gogh Museum
This spacious museum houses a permanent display of 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 700 letters by Van Gogh (making it easily the largest Van Gogh collection in the world), as well as works by Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin. They also stage a variety of temporary exhibitions.
Paulus Potterstraat 7
Tel: (020) 570 5200.
Website: www.vangoghmuseum.nl
Opening hours: Sat-Thur 1000-1800; Fri 1000-2200.
Admission charge.
Scheepvaartmuseum (Netherlands Maritime Museum)
The highlight of the maritime museum is the reconstruction of an old Dutch East Indiaman, The Amsterdam, which is moored just offshore. The ship may have no engine but it looks impressive and its confined interior is authentic. The museum helps open up the reality of the country's rich maritime past when the Dutch were major global players and their fleet ventured as far as modern day Indonesia, Goa and Macau.
Katterburgerplein 1
Tel: (020) 523 2222.
Website: www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
Museum Het Rembrandthuis
This museum, a charming three-storey house, built in the early 17th century, is where Rembrandt lived for nearly 20 years. Recently, a museum wing has been added, with more space for a permanent collection of his work. It is home to a comprehensive collection of 250 of the artist's etchings and self-portraits. Many visitors find the odds and ends that he accumulated during his lifetime, such as Roman busts and turtle shells, every bit as colourful and illuminating as his paintings. The work of Rembrandt's teachers and students is also on display, which adds depth and dialogue to Rembrandt's own work.
Jodenbreestraat 4
Tel: (020) 520 0400.
Website: www.rembrandthuis.nl
Opening hours: Sat-Thur 1000-1700; Fri 1000-2100.
Admission charge.
Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art
The best collection of modern art in Amsterdam is currently located in a temporary home whilst work continues on Museumplein. The renovation work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009. The collection includes Dutch and international art from the second half of the 19th century onwards, with works by Picasso, Cézanne, Chagall and Monet, as well as photography, video, film and industrial design. Recent Dutch artists on display include Mondrian, De Kooning and Lichtenstein.
Oosterdokskade 5
Tel: (020) 573 2911.
Website: www.stedelijk.nl
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission charge.
Amsterdams Historisch Museum (Amsterdam Historical Museum)
The Amsterdam Historical Museum shows how this city grew from a small medieval town into a modern city. Housed in a former orphanage that dates back to 1524, the museum is filled with paintings, prints and archaeological finds. One of the most interesting exhibits is an 18th-century coach without wheels. According to council regulations (and to reduce the noise of wheels on the cobbled streets) wealthy Amsterdammers had to travel by sleigh, even in summer. The entrance fee to the museum includes free entry to the Civic Guards Gallery, a glass-roofed ‘street' between Kalverstraat and the Begijnhof, which is lined with 15 massive portraits of the Amsterdam Civic Guards, dating from the 17th century. However, the Rijksmuseum has the most famous painting of the Civic Guard - Rembrandt's Nightwatch. The museum's courtyards are a relaxing place to be on a warm summer's day with the restaurant offering outside tables.
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 357
Tel: (020) 523 1822.
Website: www.ahm.nl
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1700; Sat-Sun 1100-1700.
Admission charge.
Heineken Experience
The award-winning Heineken Experience is a self-guided, multimedia delve into the workings of the world's largest beer exporter. There is plenty of information on the company's rich history and also the 'Bottle Ride', where visitors get to feel what it is like to be a beer bottle during the production process. At the end of the tour, there is, of course, the chance to sample the brew in the ‘See You Again Bar'. People do come back - in 2005, the Heineken Experience celebrated their one millionth visitor. The Experience is undergoing a refit and will be temporarily closed until summer 2008.
Stadhouderskade 78
Tel: (020) 523 9666.
Website: www.heinekenexperience.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge.
Sub-Culture Museums
Amsterdam is infamous for its Sex Museum, but it also boasts the dubious charms of the Hash Museum and the Torture Museum. The extremely tacky Sex Museum is full of erotica (objets d'art, photos, prints, paintings and videos) dating from the Roman era to about 1960, although somehow manages to be totally devoid of eroticism. The Hash Museum is of interest to those visitors who come to Amsterdam in search of coffee shops and would like to learn a little more about the hallowed weed, while the Torture Museum caters to another sub-group of society altogether. Nevertheless, it is tongue-in-cheek enough to be of interest to all. The three museums are all within walking distance of each other in the city centre.
Hash Museum
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148
Tel: (020) 623 5961.
Website: www.hashmuseum.com
Opening hours: Daily 1100-2200.
Admission charge.
Sex Museum
Damrak 18
Tel: (020) 622 8376.
Website: www.sexmuseumamsterdam.com
Opening hours: Daily 1000-2330.
Admission charge.
Torture Museum
Singel 449
Tel: (020) 320 6642.
Website: www.torturemuseum.com
Opening hours: Daily 1000-2200.
Admission charge.
Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace)
The Royal Palace, designed by Jacob van Campen, was built in 1648, as Amsterdam's city hall. When King Louis Napoleon arrived in Amsterdam, in 1808, he had the city hall turned into a palace. The large collection of Empire-style furniture, chandeliers and clocks date from this period. Although the palace is still the official royal residence, the royal family lives in The Hague. However, Queen Beatrix does host official functions here. Note that the interior is off limits to visitors until 2009 due to a major refurbishment.
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 147
Tel: (020) 620 4060.
Website: www.koninklijkhuis.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Thur and Sat-Sun 1230-1700; guided tours need to be booked two weeks in advance.
Admission charge.
NEMO Museum
The funky and modern NEMO Museum is an unmistakable sight on the banks of the IJ. Just a short stroll away from Centraal Station, this museum attempts to defy the crusty image of some traditional museums by offering plenty of hands-on exhibits to stimulate young minds and keep them occupied, as well as provide more information on science and technology for older visitors. This bright, relaxed venue is a good antidote to Amsterdam's other, perhaps stuffier museums, especially for younger visitors. The rooftop has a beach area, a surreal place to take in the rays on a sunny day.
Oosterdok 2
Tel: (020) 531 3233.
Website: www.e-nemo.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
The largest and most popular museum in the Netherlands was opened in 1885 and has grown steadily ever since. Today, it is in the midst of the biggest rebuilding programme in its history. Much of its most famous work by ‘The Masters', though, is still on show in the impressively designed Phillips Wing and as many of the other collections are being put on display as possible. The main galleries are scheduled to reopen by the end of 2008.
Jan Luijenstraat 1
Tel: (020) 674 7047.
Website: www.rijksmuseum.nl
Opening hours: Sat-Thur 0900-1800; Fri 0900-2200.
Admission charge.
Anne Frankhuis (Anne Frank House)
The queues can be horrendous at the small but very popular Anne Frank House, which annually attracts up to a million people. It is the historic home where Anne Frank, her family and four other Jewish people hid from the occupying Germans during WWII, after fleeing their native Germany. Finally caught by the Nazis, after two years in hiding, they were taken off to concentration camps, where Anne died. However, her father survived and published her diary, which has been translated into 50 languages. The story of how they were saved by local people for so long sometimes masks the reality that the city's Jewish population was all but wiped out during the war.
Prinsengracht 263, Westerkerk
Tel: (020) 556 7105.
Website: www.annefrank.org
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (Sep-Mar); daily 0900-2100 (Apr-Aug).
Admission charge.
Van Gogh Museum
This spacious museum houses a permanent display of 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 700 letters by Van Gogh (making it easily the largest Van Gogh collection in the world), as well as works by Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin. They also stage a variety of temporary exhibitions.
Paulus Potterstraat 7
Tel: (020) 570 5200.
Website: www.vangoghmuseum.nl
Opening hours: Sat-Thur 1000-1800; Fri 1000-2200.
Admission charge.
Scheepvaartmuseum (Netherlands Maritime Museum)
The highlight of the maritime museum is the reconstruction of an old Dutch East Indiaman, The Amsterdam, which is moored just offshore. The ship may have no engine but it looks impressive and its confined interior is authentic. The museum helps open up the reality of the country's rich maritime past when the Dutch were major global players and their fleet ventured as far as modern day Indonesia, Goa and Macau.
Katterburgerplein 1
Tel: (020) 523 2222.
Website: www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
Museum Het Rembrandthuis
This museum, a charming three-storey house, built in the early 17th century, is where Rembrandt lived for nearly 20 years. Recently, a museum wing has been added, with more space for a permanent collection of his work. It is home to a comprehensive collection of 250 of the artist's etchings and self-portraits. Many visitors find the odds and ends that he accumulated during his lifetime, such as Roman busts and turtle shells, every bit as colourful and illuminating as his paintings. The work of Rembrandt's teachers and students is also on display, which adds depth and dialogue to Rembrandt's own work.
Jodenbreestraat 4
Tel: (020) 520 0400.
Website: www.rembrandthuis.nl
Opening hours: Sat-Thur 1000-1700; Fri 1000-2100.
Admission charge.
Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art
The best collection of modern art in Amsterdam is currently located in a temporary home whilst work continues on Museumplein. The renovation work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009. The collection includes Dutch and international art from the second half of the 19th century onwards, with works by Picasso, Cézanne, Chagall and Monet, as well as photography, video, film and industrial design. Recent Dutch artists on display include Mondrian, De Kooning and Lichtenstein.
Oosterdokskade 5
Tel: (020) 573 2911.
Website: www.stedelijk.nl
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission charge.
Amsterdams Historisch Museum (Amsterdam Historical Museum)
The Amsterdam Historical Museum shows how this city grew from a small medieval town into a modern city. Housed in a former orphanage that dates back to 1524, the museum is filled with paintings, prints and archaeological finds. One of the most interesting exhibits is an 18th-century coach without wheels. According to council regulations (and to reduce the noise of wheels on the cobbled streets) wealthy Amsterdammers had to travel by sleigh, even in summer. The entrance fee to the museum includes free entry to the Civic Guards Gallery, a glass-roofed ‘street' between Kalverstraat and the Begijnhof, which is lined with 15 massive portraits of the Amsterdam Civic Guards, dating from the 17th century. However, the Rijksmuseum has the most famous painting of the Civic Guard - Rembrandt's Nightwatch. The museum's courtyards are a relaxing place to be on a warm summer's day with the restaurant offering outside tables.
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 357
Tel: (020) 523 1822.
Website: www.ahm.nl
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1700; Sat-Sun 1100-1700.
Admission charge.
Heineken Experience
The award-winning Heineken Experience is a self-guided, multimedia delve into the workings of the world's largest beer exporter. There is plenty of information on the company's rich history and also the 'Bottle Ride', where visitors get to feel what it is like to be a beer bottle during the production process. At the end of the tour, there is, of course, the chance to sample the brew in the ‘See You Again Bar'. People do come back - in 2005, the Heineken Experience celebrated their one millionth visitor. The Experience is undergoing a refit and will be temporarily closed until summer 2008.
Stadhouderskade 78
Tel: (020) 523 9666.
Website: www.heinekenexperience.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge.
Sub-Culture Museums
Amsterdam is infamous for its Sex Museum, but it also boasts the dubious charms of the Hash Museum and the Torture Museum. The extremely tacky Sex Museum is full of erotica (objets d'art, photos, prints, paintings and videos) dating from the Roman era to about 1960, although somehow manages to be totally devoid of eroticism. The Hash Museum is of interest to those visitors who come to Amsterdam in search of coffee shops and would like to learn a little more about the hallowed weed, while the Torture Museum caters to another sub-group of society altogether. Nevertheless, it is tongue-in-cheek enough to be of interest to all. The three museums are all within walking distance of each other in the city centre.
Hash Museum
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148
Tel: (020) 623 5961.
Website: www.hashmuseum.com
Opening hours: Daily 1100-2200.
Admission charge.
Sex Museum
Damrak 18
Tel: (020) 622 8376.
Website: www.sexmuseumamsterdam.com
Opening hours: Daily 1000-2330.
Admission charge.
Torture Museum
Singel 449
Tel: (020) 320 6642.
Website: www.torturemuseum.com
Opening hours: Daily 1000-2200.
Admission charge.
Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace)
The Royal Palace, designed by Jacob van Campen, was built in 1648, as Amsterdam's city hall. When King Louis Napoleon arrived in Amsterdam, in 1808, he had the city hall turned into a palace. The large collection of Empire-style furniture, chandeliers and clocks date from this period. Although the palace is still the official royal residence, the royal family lives in The Hague. However, Queen Beatrix does host official functions here. Note that the interior is off limits to visitors until 2009 due to a major refurbishment.
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 147
Tel: (020) 620 4060.
Website: www.koninklijkhuis.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Thur and Sat-Sun 1230-1700; guided tours need to be booked two weeks in advance.
Admission charge.
NEMO Museum
The funky and modern NEMO Museum is an unmistakable sight on the banks of the IJ. Just a short stroll away from Centraal Station, this museum attempts to defy the crusty image of some traditional museums by offering plenty of hands-on exhibits to stimulate young minds and keep them occupied, as well as provide more information on science and technology for older visitors. This bright, relaxed venue is a good antidote to Amsterdam's other, perhaps stuffier museums, especially for younger visitors. The rooftop has a beach area, a surreal place to take in the rays on a sunny day.
Oosterdok 2
Tel: (020) 531 3233.
Website: www.e-nemo.nl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
View Our Airport Guides for Amsterdam:
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol