Stretching across the Singel is the Torensluis, one of the oldest and widest bridges in the city. The big moustached bust is of Multatuli, aka 19th-century author Eduard Douwes Dekker, who exposed colonial narrow-mindedness in his 1860 novel about a coffee merchant, Max Havelaar. The nearby Multatuli Museum tells his story.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.21 MILES
This wonderful museum traces Van Gogh's life and artistic development via the world's largest collection of his work. More than 200 canvases are on…
0.95 MILES
Attracting over 12 million visitors per year, Amsterdam’s favorite playground is the green expanse of Vondelpark, with its 116 acres (47 hectares) of…
0.23 MILES
Visiting the Anne Frank Huis is one of Amsterdam's most profound experiences. Tragically, of the 107,000 Jewish adults and children deported from the…
1.04 MILES
The Netherlands’ top treasure house, the Rijksmuseum (pronounced ‘rikes’), is among the world's finest art museums. With over 1.5km of galleries, it packs…
0.62 MILES
Housed in Rembrandt's former home on lively Jodenbreestraat, this evocative museum provides an unparalleled insight into one of the Netherlands’ greatest…
26.27 MILES
Impressive for both its size and its magnificent stained-glass windows, Sint Janskerk had chequered beginnings: previous incarnations of the building…
28.51 MILES
This captivating museum consists of two sections, 300m apart: open-air Buitenmuseum, with more than 130 rebuilt and relocated dwellings and workshops, and…
0.85 MILES
Formerly a branch of St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum, H'Art Museum cut ties with Russia and now operates as an independent museum.
Nearby Western Canal Ring attractions
0.09 MILES
This 15th-century late-Gothic basilica is only ‘new’ in relation to the Oude Kerk – the city's Old Church, dating from 1306. A few monumental items…
0.11 MILES
Built in 1617, this ornate neck-gabled building was designed by famed architect Hendrick de Keyser, and has two bends in the facade to follow the course…
0.14 MILES
Opened as a town hall in 1655, this resplendent building became a palace in the 19th century. The interiors gleam, especially the marble work – at its…
0.16 MILES
A whimsical example of Dutch Renaissance style, this 1622 canal house designed by Hendrick de Keyser and his son Pieter has a beautiful step gable with…
0.17 MILES
This square is the very spot where Amsterdam was founded around 1270. Today pigeons, tourists, buskers and the occasional funfair (complete with Ferris…
0.19 MILES
Sure, Madame Tussauds wax museum is overpriced and cheesy, but its focus on local culture makes it fun: 'meet' the Dutch royals, politicians, painters and…
0.19 MILES
Behind the Westerkerk, this 1987-installed cluster of three 10m by 10m by 10m granite triangles recalls persecution by the Nazis, who forced gay men to…
0.21 MILES
Occupying three glorious 17th-century canal houses – which once sheltered the Vrijburg, the largest clandestine church in the Netherlands – this cultural…