Sights in Amsterdam
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House of Bols
The House of Bols is a jenever (Dutch gin) museum run by the Bols distillery. The hour-long, self-guided tour includes a confusing sniff test, a company history and a cocktail made by one of the bartenders who train at the academy upstairs. You must be aged 18 or over to visit.
reviewed
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Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is one of Amsterdam’s must-sees. Opened in 1973 to house the collection of Vincent’s younger brother Theo, it consists of about 200 paintings and 500 drawings by Vincent and his friends and contemporaries, such as Gauguin, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Bernard. Vincent van Gogh was born in 1853 and had a short but astonishingly productive life. Through his paintings, the museum chronicles his journey from Holland, where his work was dark and sombre, to Paris, where, under the influence of the impressionists, he discovered vivid colour. From there he moved to Arles, where he was incredibly productive, often completing a canvas every day. Astoundingly Van …
reviewed
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Begijnhof
This enclosed former convent dates from the early 14th century. It’s a surreal oasis of peace, with tiny houses and postage-stamp gardens around a well-kept courtyard. The Beguines were a Catholic order of unmarried or widowed women who cared for the elderly and lived a religious life without taking monastic vows. The last true Beguines died in the 1970s. Contained within the hof (courtyard) is the charming Begijnhof Kapel, a ‘clandestine’ chapel where the Beguines were forced to worship after their Gothic church was taken away by the Calvinists. Go through the dogleg entrance to find marble columns, wooden pews, paintings and stained-glass windows commemorating the Mir…
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Heineken Experience
The district’s other draw is the Heineken Experience. On the site of the company’s old brewery, the newly renovated attraction let’s you take a self-guided tour that’s tantamount to brew-worship. Learn the history of the Heineken family, watch Heinie commercials from around the world, visit the horse stables and make your own music video. In the Experience’s crowning glory – a multimedia exhibit where you actually ‘become’ a beer – you’ll get shaken up, sprayed with water and subjected to heat. Afterward you get to down a couple of cold ones (though we should point out the suds are dismissed as ‘old man’s beer’ by many locals, while being sold at a premium abroad). Allo…
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Vondelpark
As vital to Amsterdam as Rembrandt, canals and coffeeshops, on a sunny day there’s no place better than the Vondelpark. As people from all walks of life descend on this sprawling equivalent to New York’s Central Park, a party atmosphere ensues. Some kick back by reading a book, others hook up with friends to share a spliff or cradle a beer at one of the cafes, while others trade songs on beat-up guitars. The Vondelpark offers an abundance of ponds, lawns, gardens and winding footpaths that encourage visitors to get out and explore. For bicycle rentals, the outlet of MacBike at Weteringschans is relatively close to the park’s main entrance.
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Waag
The very grand, multiturreted Waag (Weigh House) dates from 1488, when it was part of the city’s fortifications. It looked more like a castle in those days, fronted by a moatlike canal and built into the old city walls. From the 17th century onwards it was the main weigh house. The surgeons guild, which occupied the upper floor, commissioned Rembrandt’s famous The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp (displayed in the Mauritshuis museum in Den Haag). The masons’ guild was based in the tower facing the Zeedijk; note the superfine brickwork. Public executions took place at the Waag, but more recently it served as a fire station and a vault for the city’s archives. A bar-restaurant…
reviewed
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Anne Frank Huis
The Anne Frank Huis is the Western Canal Belt’s ubersight, drawing almost a million visitors annually. With its reconstruction of Anne’s melancholy bedroom and her actual diary – sitting alone in its glass case, filled with sunnily optimistic writing tempered by quiet despair – it’s a powerful experience. The focus of the museum is the achterhuis (rear house), also known as the secret annexe, a dark and airless space where the Franks and others observed complete silence during the daytimes, outgrew their clothes, pasted photos of Hollywood stars on the walls and read Dickens, before being mysteriously betrayed and sent to their deaths. The house stays open later…
reviewed
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Hortus Botanicus
Established in 1638, the Hortus Botanicus became a repository for tropical seeds and plants brought by Dutch ships from the East and West Indies. From here, coffee, pineapple, cinnamon and palm-oil plants were distributed throughout the world. The 4000-plus species are kept in wonderful structures, including the colonial-era seed house and a three-climate glasshouse. The 300-year-old cycad is possibly the world’s oldest potted plant. The butterfly house is a hit with kids and stoned adults. Guided tours (additional €1) are held at 2pm Sunday year-round.
reviewed
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Artis
The oldest zoo on the European continent, Artis has an alphabet soup of wildlife: alligators, birds, chimps and so on up to zebras. The layout is full of delightful ponds, statues, and leafy, winding pathways. Themed habitats such as African savannah and tropical rainforest are pretty convincing. For many, the aquarium complex is the highlight, featuring coral reefs, shark tanks and an Amsterdam canal displayed from a fish’s point of view. There’s also a planetarium and a kids’ petting zoo.
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Madame Tussauds Amsterdam
This is a delight for kids, who will be filled with wonderment when they realise there is absolutely no difference between the wax David Beckham and the real thing. The place is kind of a bellwether of who’s hot in Holland, be it Tiësto (a DJ), Ali B (a rapper) or Princess Maxima. And you can decide for yourself whether Prince Willem-Alexander looks fit to rule or not. Buying tickets online will save you a few euros and get you into the fast-track queue.
reviewed
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Amsterdam Tulip Museum
Sponsored by a bulb-growing company, this small, rather clinical exhibit traces the prince of petals from its beginnings in Turkey. Displays cover Tulipmania, bulbs as food in the war years, and present-day scientific methods of growing and harvesting. A highlight is the tulip paintings by 17th-century painter Judith Leijster, a student of Frans Hals. The gift shop is one-stop shopping for all your tulip souvenirs.
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Diamond Museum
The Diamond Museum explores the trade’s history and Amsterdam’s shining role in it. The museum is fairly low-tech, and those who are economically minded might want just to go next door to Coster Diamonds (the company owns the museum and is attached to it) and take a free factory tour, where you can see gem cutters at work and hear about the process.
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Allard Pierson Museum
Run by the University of Amsterdam, the Allard Pierson Museum, shows a rich archaeological collection, including an actual mummy, ancient Greek and Mesopotamian vases, a wagon from the royal tombs at Salamis (Cyprus), and galleries stuffed to the wainscoting with other fascinating items.
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Hollandsche Manege
Built in 1882, the Hollandsche Manege is an indoor riding school inspired by the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Upstairs is a cafe where you can sip a beer or coffee while watching the instructor put the horses through their paces. Opening times vary, so ring ahead.
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NDSM-Werf
Hop on the ferry behind Centraal Station and set sail for a different world. NDSM-werf looks like the set from a postapocalyptic film – abandoned boats and trams rust by the water’s edge, graffiti scrawls across every surface, smoke stacks belch in the distance, and huge carved wooden tiki heads gaze over it all. The area is actually a city-sponsored art community called Kinetisch Noord that has taken over a derelict shipyard. Participants converted a mondo old warehouse to hold more than 100 studios, theatres and a skateboard hall, and it has quickly become a centre for underground culture and events, such as the Over het IJ Festival. MTV thought the area was so cutt…
reviewed
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Holland Experience
Situated next to the Rembrandthuis, this multimedia hype-fest tries to cram all of this little land's big attractions into an overpriced mishmash of sights and sounds. The audience dons 3-D glasses and sits on a rotating platform that lurches along with a plotless half-hour film from tulips to windmills to threatened dykes. Oh dear.
The film has no narration or explanation, just a theme from Swan Lake which gets played ad nauseam. At one point a fish wags its tongue at the audience. Then an on-screen dyke crumbles, the room temperature plummets, and a Sony-augmented thunderstorm rages. As film-making it leaves a lot to be desired but we will say this: the six-year-olds in…
reviewed
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Oosterpark
Oosterpark was laid out in 1891 to accommodate the nouveau riche diamond traders who found their fortunes in the South African mines, and it still has an elegant, rambling feel. On the south side, look for two monuments: one commemorates the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands in 1819; the other, De Schreeuw (the Scream), honours free speech and, more specifically, filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered at the southeast corner of the park in 2004. Another (living) monument to Van Gogh is the Spreeksteen, an open-forum ‘speakers’ corner’ established on the park’s east side in 2005 – scheduled talks (almost always in Dutch) are held on Sundays at 1.30pm.
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Amstelpark
South of the ringway, in the suburb of Buitenveldert, lies the vast Amstelpark, the grounds of an international flower show in 1972. The park is a paradise for kids, with a petting zoo, minigolf, pony rides and a playground. In summer a miniature train chugs its way around the park. Other attractions include rose and rhododendron gardens, and art exhibitions are held in the Glazen Huis (Glass House), the Orangerie and the Papillon Gallery. Just outside the south edge of the park you’ll see a windmill called the Riekermolen. In a field southwest of the mill you’ll find a statue of a sitting Rembrandt, who made sketches here along the riverbank. To get there, take the met…
reviewed
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Museumplein
Museumplein was laid out to host the World Exhibition in 1883, but gained its lasting title only when the Rijksmuseum was opened two years later. One of many facelifts raised a triangle of turf at the southern end, dubbed the ‘ass’s ear’ for its shape; it’s now a popular spot for sun worshippers. There’s a large supermarket, Albert Heijn, concealed below. For as long as anyone can remember, the square has been used for concerts, special events and political demonstrations. At other times it’s a relaxing place to hang out, play hacky-sack, skateboard (ramp provided), toss a frisbee or enjoy a picnic. In winter the long concrete pond is transformed into a festive skating ri…
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Museum het Rembrandthuis
You almost expect to find the master himself at the Museum het Rembrandthuis, where Rembrandt van Rijn ran the Netherlands’ largest painting studio, only to lose the lot when profligacy set in, enemies swooped and bankruptcy came a-knocking. The museum has almost every etching he made (around 250) and holds etching demonstrations several times daily. Expect to see between 20 and 100 etchings on display, depending on the exhibit. There’s also a mind-boggling collection of Rembrandt’s possessions: seashells, weaponry, Roman busts and military helmets. Ask for the free audio guide at the entrance. You can buy advance tickets online, though it’s not as vital here as at some o…
reviewed
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Westerkerk
The Westerkerk is the main gathering place for Amsterdam’s Dutch Reformed Church community. Rembrandt, who died bankrupt in 1669 at nearby Rozengracht, is buried somewhere in the church – perhaps near the grave of his son Titus, where there’s a commemorative plaque. A highlight is the bell tower, Amsterdam’s highest church tower at 85m. It’s topped by the imperial crown that Habsburg emperor Maximilian I bestowed to the city’s coat of arms in 1489. The climb (186 steps) during the 60-minute tour is steep and claustrophobic, but there are periodic landings where you can rest while the guide describes the bells and other workings of the massive carillon.
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Sarphatipark
This diverse little park was named after Samuel Sarphati (1813–66), a Jewish doctor, businessman and urban innovator. The grounds are a mix of ponds, gently rolling meadows and wooded fringes. In the centre you’ll see the Sarphati memorial (1886), a bombastic temple with a fountain, gargoyles and a bust of the great man himself. Water is pumped to the fountain via an underground pipe from a canal hundreds of metres away. Sarphati’s diverse projects (waste- disposal service, slaughterhouse, factory for cheap bread, trades schools, the Amstel Hotel and a mortgage bank) exasperated the dour city council, though many of these ventures survive to this day.
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Oostindisch Huis
This is the former office of the mighty VOC, the Dutch East India Company (which was the very first multinational). You could easily walk past it, as there’s no sign or plaque to identify it. This sweeping complex, built between 1551 and 1643, was attributed in part to Hendrick de Keyser, the busy city architect. On the Kloveniersburgwal side you can see that the gables defy convention by tilting backwards, making them seem much larger. Pass through the carved Tuscan entrance vault to reach the grand inner courtyard, and on the opposite side you’ll spy a small VOC emblem above the door. The mighty VOC sailed into rough waters and was dissolved in 1798.
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Amstelkerk
The unique pinewood Amstelkerk was erected in 1668 as a noodkerk (makeshift church) under the direction of the city architect, Daniël Stalpaert. The idea was that the congregation would have somewhere to meet while a permanent church arose next to it. Plans for a stone church were abandoned in the 1840s, and the Amstelkerk’s square interior was updated with neo-Gothic alterations, including a pipe organ. The building now houses the offices of a local city restoration group, and is a popular concert venue. The seats under the shady plane trees at the adjacent bar-restaurant NEL are a wonderful place to nurse a drink.
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Tropenmuseum
The Tropenmuseum is the star attraction. It houses a three-storey collection of colonial artefacts, presented with insight, imagination and a fair amount of multimedia. You can stroll through an African market or a Central Asian yurt (traditional felt hut), see ritual masks and spiky spears, and listen to recordings of exotic musical instruments. There’s a children’s section, a great gift shop and two cafes serving global foods. It’s a grand place to spend a lazy Monday, when many other museums are closed. The attached Tropeninstituut Theater screens films and hosts music, dance and plays by visiting international artists.
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