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Must See Museums in Amsterdam

amsterdam tips

Mad for museums? Well look no further than Amsterdam – home to over fifty, boasting everything from paintings with dogs to giant bubble tunnels. Here’s my top selection of the best:

Rijksmuseum
After ten years of renovation, the Rijksmeseum (National Museum) reopened its doors to the visitors in 2013. The museum is filled with paintings and historical artifacts, prints and classic photography and you can easily lose a whole day within its walls. If you see a crowd of people taking selfies in front of a huge painting then chances are it’s The Night Watch … not the Jon Snow Night’s Watch sadly, but one of Rembrandt’s most famous bits of oil on canvas.

Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh, or VVG as I like to say, is one of the greatest painters in human history and the Museum is the richest collection of VVG pieces – but don’t expect to find Starry Nights or Cafe Terrace at Night, because MOMA in NYC stole those. But.. it does hold one of five (!) Sunflower paintings and a crazy amount of merchandise with everything from a graphic novel/comic on the artists life to stuffed toys. The ‘Friday Nights’ where it stays open late are pretty fun too as you get to drink cocktails and listen to jazz music.

Anne Frank House
You cannot say you’ve been to Amsterdam if you’ve not visited the Anne Frank House. The museum is the secret annex where Anne, her family and another family hid from the Nazis and shows you how they lived. There’s also a guest-book which Bieber was famous for signing in horrifically bad taste.

Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum (Municipal Museum Amsterdam) is located near Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum, but is often skipped or overlooked. And that’s a shame as it hold an amazing and colourful contemporary art and modern design collection. It features work from greats such as Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Karel Appel, Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning.

Science Museum Nemo
This technology museum of Amsterdam is mainly aimed at kids, but don’t let that hold you back as it makes a fun and interactive day out for kids of all ages. In the museum people mess around with all sorts of science experiments, but the best bit is the giant bubble tunnel. Head to the the fifth floor or upper deck for a great view of the city surroundings (and a place to grab a bite).

The Amsterdam Museum
The Amsterdam Museum gives you an overview all aspects of the history of Amsterdam (you didn’t see that one coming, did you?). Dating back as far as the 1500s, this place is home to the famed aerial view painting of the city from 1538, which has an interesting take on perspective. Overall, the exhibits are fun and interactive, so don’t worry about dozing off.

Hash, Marijuana & Hemp Museum
Not really a museum, more like someone saw a market for an ‘adventurous’ tourist wanting to check the place out. It offers visitors information about the historical and modern uses of cannabis for medicinal, religious and cultural purposes. They also focus on how hemp can be used for agricultural and industrial purposes – though I’m sure people probably ignore that use!

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13 Comments

  1. I’d love so much to visit Amsterdam, it seems to be a wonderful city, it’s definitely on my bucket list! Xx

    riitamacedo.blogspot.pt

  2. Great list. I honestly don’t know that much about Amsterdam, but this kinda makes me want to visit it a little more now.. I’d love to see the Van Gogh Museum in particular, he’s such a fascinating artist.

  3. I feel ashamed that I have not been to more than just the Anne Frank house, which was awesome, but boy do I need to get on the ball. This year the Netherlands is celebrating Van Gogh, so we’re heading to his museum next!

  4. Hi! I found you on the feature over on Hand Luggage Only.
    Thanks for this post. I’ll be going to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks and I’m super excited. Sadly the tickets for the Anne Frank house are sold out but I guess I can still walk by and see it.
    Really enjoy reading your posts.

  5. Sounds kiiiiind of terrible but I’ve been to Amsterdam more times than I can count and I’ve never been to any of the above mentioned museums… Need to up my game asap!

    xo N
    Naomi in Wonderland

  6. These are great! I also really enjoyed the Museum of Bags and Purses! It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be!

  7. All adults need to see the ‘BOLS museum” across the street from The Van Gogh museum…..go after for a nice treat!