Sights in The Netherlands
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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.
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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 …
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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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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…
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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…
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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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Binnenhof
Adjoining the Mauritshuis, the Binnenhof is surrounded by parliamentary buildings that have long been at the heart of Dutch politics, though parliament now meets in a modern building on the south side.
The central courtyard looks sterile now but was once used for executions. A highlight of the complex is the 13th-century Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall). The Gothic dining hall has been carefully restored.
The North Wing is still home to the Upper Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, in 17th-century splendour. The Lower Chamber used to meet in the ballroom, in the 19th-century wing. It all looks a bit twee and you can see why the politicians were anxious to decamp to the sleek new ex…
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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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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.
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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.
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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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Scheveningen
The long beach at Scheveningen, pronounced – if possible – as s’CHay-fuh-ninger, attracts nine million visitors per year. It’s horribly developed: architects who lost hospital commissions have designed all manner of modern nightmares overlooking the strand. It’s tacky, but you might just find pleasure in the carnival atmosphere.
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Mauritshuis
For an introduction to Dutch and Flemish Art 101, visit the Mauritshuis, a small museum in a jewel-box of an old palace. Highlights include the Dutch Mona Lisa: Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Rembrandts include a wistful self-portrait from the year of his death, 1669, and The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.
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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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Naturalis – Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum
A stuffed elephant greets you at Naturalis – Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, a large, well-funded collection of all the usual dead critters and, notably, the million-year-old Java Man discovered by Dutch anthropologist Eugene Dubois in 1891.
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Sint Janskerk
Sint Janskerk is a small 17th-century Gothic church, one of the most beautiful in the Netherlands. A remarkable red colour, it photographs beautifully. Climb to the top (€2) for sweeping views.
reviewed
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Willemswerf
Walk alongside the water on Boompjes until you see the striking 1998 Willemswerf, the headquarters of the huge Nedlloyd shipping company. Note the dramatic lines casting shadows on its sleek, white surface.
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Nieuwe Kerk
The 14th-century Nieuwe Kerk houses the crypt of the Dutch royal family and the mausoleum of Willem the Silent. There are exhibitions about the House of Orange and the church.
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Royal Delft
Royal Delft is the only original factory operating since the 1650s.
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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…
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Rijksmuseum
With a collection worth billions, the Rijksmuseum is the cream of Dutch classical art, but until renovations finish in 2008 only 400 masterpieces are on display. If all goes well, the building will be returned to its original 1885 glory. But never mind the building dust, the much-loved Dutch and Flemish paintings from the Golden Age remain on display.
The museum's crowning glory is here too: Rembrandt's mesmerising Nightwatch (1650), the artist's breathtaking group portrait of an Amsterdam civil militia led by Frans Banningh Cocq, a future mayor and apparently not the brightest of lights.
Other must-sees are in Sculpture & Applied Art and Asiatic Art (including the famous…
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