Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. As well as the preservation of the hiding place — known in Dutch as the Achterhuis — and an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank, the museum acts as an exhibition space to highlight all forms of persecution and discrimination. It opened on 3 May 1960 with the aid of public subscription, three years after a foundation was established to protect the property from developers who wanted to demolish the block.
Address: Prinsengracht 267 (Westerkerk); Telephone: (020) 556 7105; Website: www.annefrank.nl; Transport: Tram 13 or 17; or bus 21, 170, 171 or 172 from Central Station to Westermarkt; Opening time: Daily 9am to 7pm; and 9am to 9pm (15 March to 14 September). Note that the queues can be long; Admission: €7.50 (adults); €3.50 (children aged 10 to 17)
Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum features the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world. The main exhibition chronicles the phases of Van Gogh's life, from his childhood to his various emotional stages through his death. Highlights include The Potato Eaters, Bedroom in Arles and one of the three Sunflowers paintings with a yellow background.
Address: Paulus Potterstraat 7; Telephone: (020) 570 5200; E-mail: info@vangoghmuseum.nl; Website: www.vangoghmuseum.nl; Transport: Tram 2 or 5 from Central Station; Opening time: Daily 10am to 6pm, Fridays 10am to 10pm; Admission: €10 (adults), €2.50 (children aged 13 to 17)
The Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art.
Address: Jan Luijkenstraat 1; Telephone: (020) 674 7000; Website: www.rijksmuseum.nl; Transport: Tram 2 or 5 from Central Station to Hobbemastraat; Opening time: Daily 9am to 6pm (closing at 10pm on Fridays). Closed 1 January; Admission: €10 (adults), under 18s are free
Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art
The Stedelijk Museum is a museum for modern art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is located at Museum Square, close to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Its collection includes a room painted by Karel Appel and a large collection of paintings by Kazimir Malevich.
Address: Museumplein; Telephone: (020) 573 2911; E-mail: info@stedelijk.nl; Website: www.stedelijk.nl; Transport: A few minutes walk from Central Station following the signs 'Route Oosterdok'; Opening time: Daily 10am to 6pm. Closed 1 January; Admission: €9 (adults), €4.50 (children 7-16), family pass €22.50
Rembrandt House
The Rembrandt House Museum is a house in Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where Rembrandt lived and painted for a number of years. It is now a museum. Rembrandt purchased the house in 1639 and lived there until he went bankrupt in 1656, when all his belongings went on auction.
Address: Jodenbreestraat 4; Telephone: (020) 520 0400; E-mail: museum@rembrandthuis.nl; Website: www.rembrandthuis.nl; Transport: Five-minute walk from Central Station; Opening time: Daily 10am to 5pm (open from 11am on Sundays and public holidays). Closed 1 January; Admission: €7.50 (adults), €1.50 (children 6-15)
Amsterdam Historisch Museum
The rich collection of works of art, objects and archaeological finds brings to life the fortunes of Amsterdammers of days gone by and today. From a mediaeval child's shoe and the map of Cornelis Antonisz from 1538, giving a bird's-eye view of the city, to the impressive Civic Guard paintings from the Golden Age. Photos and film material show the happy times as well as the drama of the modern city's inhabitants. You'll witness the poverty in the Jordaan area he 19th century but also the idealism of the sixties and Ajax's success at football.
Address: Kalverstraat 92; Telephone: (020) 523 1822; E-mail: info@ahm.amsterdam.nl; Website: www.ahm.nl; Transport: 10-minute walk from Central Station; tram 1, 2, 5 to Spui, or tram 4, 9, 14, 16, 24 and 25 to Rokin; Opening time: Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Closed 1 January, 29 April, 25 December; Admission: €6 (adults), €3 (children aged 6 to 16)
Red Light District (De Wallen)
De Wallen is the largest and best-known red-light district in Amsterdam and a major tourist attraction. It is located in the heart of the oldest part of Amsterdam, covering several blocks south of the church Oude Kerk and crossed by several canals. De Wallen is a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred tiny one-room cabins rented by female prostitutes (and some ladyboys) who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, a sex museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana.
The Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum)
The Dutch Resistance Museum, chosen as the best historical museum of the Netherlands, tells the story of the Dutch people in Word War II. From 14 May 1940 to 5 May 1945, the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. Permanent exhibit of the museum recreates the atmosphere of the streets of Amsterdam during the German occupation of the WWII. Big photographs, old posters, objects, films and sounds from that horrible time, help to recreate the scene. The background of the Holocaust is visualized to the visitor. This is an exhibition about the everyday life during that time, but also about exceptional historical events, resistance of the population against the Nazis and heroism.
Address: Plantage Kerklaan 61; Telephone: (0)20 620 2535; E-mail: info@verzetsmuseum.org; Website: www.verzetsmuseum.org; Transport: Tram 9 and Circle tram 20A from Central Station; Opening time: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm; Saturday, Sunday, Monday and public holidays 12pm to 5pm; Admission: €5.50 (adults), €3 (children 7-15)
The Royal Palace (Koninklijk Paleis)
The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is one of four palaces in the Netherlands which is at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. The palace was built as city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the seventeenth century. The building became the royal palace of king Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House. It is situated in the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk.
Address: Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 147, Dam Square; Telephone: (0)20 620 4060; Website:
www.koninklijkhuis.nl; Transport: 10-minute walk from Central Station, or any tram leaving from Central Station; Opening time: 12.30pm to 5pm; closed Mondays and Fridays (November, January and February). Guided tours can be booked on (020) 624 8698; Admission: €4.50/€6.50 with audio tour (adults), €3.60 (children)