Amsterdam.

info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 1 of 8

Amsterdam | Search | Site map | Index

Amsterdam Hotels 80% off Amsterdam canal cruises

Up to 80% discount on selected hotels on Most popular tourist attraction.
Amsterdam's premium site. List of boating companies.
www.hotels.nl www.amsterdam.info

Site channels: Business directory Community Events Municipality Print and take
Basic facts Amsterdam » Museums in Amsterdam Musea
Attractions Amsterdam museums
Museums
Accommodation Museums in Amsterdam are among the main tourist attractions. The Rijksmuseum,
Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum are the most popular choices, but there are
Hotels many, many more. Amsterdam has over fifty museums, which attract millions of
Transportation visitors every year. Alongside the wealth of magestic Golden Age paintings, you'll find
exciting modern art, press, film, theatre and photography museums and some unique
Entertainment
Dutch treats like the Heineken Experience, the Ajax Museum and the Houseboat
Shopping museum. And Amsterdam wouldn't be Amsterdam without the likes of the Sex, Erotic,
Tips for visitors Hash or Torture museums.
For kids there is the impressive NEMO; a hands-on, science and technology museum
housed in an unmissable, boat-shaped building. The Shipping Museum is also worth a
visit with its replica of a Dutch trading ship, docked at the front. Museums such as the
Tropical museum and Jewish museum also include children's section. The Museum
card is the ideal solution for museums and arts addicted, for tourists wishing to stay in
Amsterdam longer, or visiting museums also in other Dutch cities. Exept for these well
Amsterdam pictures known museums, there is a number of art galleries in Amsterdam.
Pictures of Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
now available free for
The Rijksmuseum is the largest museum in the
your web site. See also
Netherlands, with more than a million visitors each year.
our new webcam.
The Rijksmuseum is a familiar Amsterdam landmark and
possesses an unrivalled collection of Dutch art, from
Amsterdam info early religious works to the masterpieces of the Golden
Age. Location: Stadhouderskade 42, The museum
Amsterdam map
quarter.
Amsterdam pass
Amsterdam weather
Link to us Stedelijk Museum
Housing the municipal collection of modern art, this important museum
with wonderful collection of all biggest 20th C. artists, is going
See also through the difficult phase of reconstruction and enlargement. In the
The Netherlands period - August 28, 2010 - until January 9, 2011, temporary exhibit
Brussels will be open in its renovated old building in South Amsterdam. Location: Paulus
Potterstraat 13
Site updated
10/02/2010 Van Gogh Museum
The museum houses some 200 paintings and 550 sketches showing Van Gogh in all
his moods. These combined with hundreds of letters by Van Gogh to Theo, and
selected works by his friends and contemporaries, form the core of the museum's
collection. Location: Paulus Potterstraat 7, The museum quarter.

Amsterdam Historical Museum

The permanent exhibitions are housed around the complex's inner courtyards. Clear
signposting allows the visitor to concentrate on a specific period of the Amsterdam's
history. Location: Kalverstraat 92, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 357, St Luciensteeg.

Anne Frank House

Anne Frank House in the center of Amsterdam is the hiding place where Anne Frank
wrote her famous diary during World War II. The original of the diary is on display as
part of the Anne Frank House's permanent exhibition. Location: Prinsengracht 267,

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 2 of 8

Jordaan quarter near Westerkerk.

Houseboat museum
Ever wondered what it is like to live right on the canals of
Amsterdam? This is your chance to visit a former sailing
vessel, although the houseboat is no longer used as a
home, it looks like the owner could pop back in at any
moment.
Location: Prinsengracht, opposite 296

Amsterdam Tulip Museum

A friendly, small museum about the tulip - flower which is a symbol of the Netherlands,
Amsterdam Tulip Museum is located just across the bridge from the Anne Frank
House. You may see there interesting multimedia presentations about the history of
tulip, its cultivation and the 17th century speculation with tulip bulbs – so called tulip
mania. In the musum shop you may buy bulbs of rare tulips and many other
decorative flowers. Location: Prinsengracht 112

Electric Tram Line Museum

One of the few museums on wheels in the world: visiting
you make a ride because Electric Tram Line Museum
operates historical trams on a separate tramway leading
from Haarlemmermeerstation in South Amsterdam,
through Amsterdamse Bos to Amstelveen. Some of the
trains in the Museum's collection are from 1910, some
younger, but they all are funny, slow and noisy. Great
pleasure for kids. The line starts operating in spring after
Eastern through summer until the end of October. Only on Sundays. Location:
Haarlemmermeerstation, Amstelveenseweg 264

Bilderdijk Museum
Willem Bilderdijk has been an important Dutch poet, writer and thinker of the 19th
century. At the age of six, he had an accident as a result of which, he had to stay at
home for many years, until his adulthood. Love of books and studies he developed as
a boy, marked his whole life. Today, Bilderdijk remains important as one of the
thinkers who argued in his writings for the creation of the constitutional monarchy in
the Netherlands, reinstating the Dynasty of Orange on the Dutch throne and against
social revolution and liberalism. A small museum bestowed to him, preserves the
memory of Bilderdijk - the person and that of his writings.

Fluorescent Art Museum

This small museum is also called Electric Ladyland, to
honor American musician Jimmi Hendrix (after the title of
one of his albums) and it is exhibiting art created with
fluorescent materials, as well as fluorescent minerals
completed by a worthy of note information. The
Fluorescent Art Museum has been created by an
American artist Nick Padalino in the Jordaan district of
Amsterdam. This museum is really out of the ordinary.
Location: Tweede Leliedwarsstraat 5

Museum Vrolik
A collection of abnormal embryos, skulls and bones, as well as other unusual
anatomical human and zoological specimens. The museum has been made named
after the collection founders - Gerardus Vrolik (1755-1859) and his son Willem Vrolik
(1801-1863), both anatomy professors and scientific authorities in their times. The
museum is now located in the modern Academic Medical Center hospital, out of the
city center, in the South East,- Amsterdam new business and commerce area.
Location: Meibergdreef 15 (Amsterdam Z.O.)

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 3 of 8

Museum Kromhout
Named after the owners of the famous Dutch shipyard
and the producers of ship engines Museum Shipyard “’t
Kromhout” is beautifully located at the waterfront, side be
side with a working small shipyard. Consisting mainly of
the collection of small ship engines produced by
Kromhout, most of them hundred years old, nevertheless
often maintained in a working condition, this museum will
appeal to all people fascinated by shipbuilding, ship
engines and industrial heritage in general. Location: Hoogte Kadijk 147

Multatuli Museum
The most important Dutch writer of the 19th century took his penname Multatuli (much
experienced) from Roman poet Ovid. Born in Amsterdam in 1820 as Eduard Douwes
Dekker, a son of ship captain, Multatuli achieved through his writings prominence
lasting until our days. A small museum in the house of his birth, reminds his life and
his writings.

Vodka Museum
The newest of Amsterdam museums, it is located on Damrak,
almost in front of the Central Station. The Vodka Museum
features a small, professionally organized exhibit about the history
of Russian Vodka. The timeline is completed with some unique,
interesting vodka bottles, as well as hundreds of sorts of vodka
from Russia and other countries, ironically completed by some old
anti-alcohol drinking posters from the Soviet era. And while the
times have changed, an elegant Museum Bar makes the vodka
consumption possible directly on the spot, in the museum.
Location: Damrak 33

Pijpenkabinet – Pipe Museum

Thousands of pipes on show, carefully collected and presented in the beautiful interior
of a 17th century's canal house at the Prinsengracht. The best collection of its kind in
Europe, confirmed by the Dutch Museum Register, recognized as the national
museum in its field by the Dutch Ministry of Culture. Location: Prinsengracht 488 (near
Leidsestraat)

Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis

In 1687, for the occasion of his marriage to the much younger Sara Hinlopen, the
wealthy and influential merchant Albert Geelvinck built a canal mansion. Today the
period rooms and the rich garden between the main house and its former carriage
house on Keizersgracht is open for the public on Saturdays and Sundays 11:00 -
17:00. A guided tour will give you an impression of the life inside. Address:
Keizersgracht 633

Jewish Historical Museum

The museum consists of four synagogues, the oldest
dating back to 17th century and houses a rich collection.
It shows the history, religion and culture of Jews in the
Netherlands.
Location: Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 2-4

Coffee and Tea Museum

A small museum above the beautiful old shop selling freshly roasted coffee as well as
tea, run for almost 150 years by the Geels family, located in a busy street on the very
edge of the Red Light District. This dusty collection of old coffee trade artifacts has
been organized by the passionate coffee and tea lovers. Since Coffee and Tea
Museum is led by the volunteers, it is open only on Saturday afternoon. Interesting to
see, especially for the coffee fanatics.

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 4 of 8

Museum Our Lord in the Attic

On the edge of the Red Light District, museum houses in the restored 17th-century
canal house with two smaller houses to the rear. The lower floors of the building
became a museum in 1888 and today contain refurbished rooms, as well as a
collection of church silver, religious artefacts and paintings.
Location: Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40.

Hermitage in Amsterdam
A small dependence of the famous Hermitage museum
of Saint Petersburg, Russia, organizes each year two
interesting exhibitions. Check their website for the current
show - if the subject does interest you, it will be certainly
worth seeing, because these exhibits are usually
intersting and well presented. The Hermitage Amsterdam
has some big development plans linked to the adaptation
of the Amstelhof – an old and beautiful building at the
Amstel River. It should make of Hermitage dependence
one of the biggest museums in Amsterdam. Location:
building Neerlandia, Nieuwe Herengracht 14

Museum van Loon

An impressive patrician canal house at the very center of Amsterdam. Here is your
unique possibility of entering such a house, still owned by the aristocratic Van Loon
family, which decided to open it to the public. An interesting private museum
documenting the life of the upper class in the city of Amsterdam.
Location: Keizersgracht 672

Allard Pierson museum

Allard Pierson Museum is Amsterdam's the only specialist archeological collection,
now owned by the University. The museum contains Egyptian, Greek, Cypriot,
Roman, Etruscan and Coptic artefacts.
Location: Oude Turfmarkt 127.

Civic Guards Gallery (Schuttersgalerij)

A gallery of the 17th century portraits of the important
citizens of Amsterdam, both - men and women. These
beautiful, painted by the Old Masters portraits, will give
you an intense feeling of the life in the city at the time.
The entry to the gallery is free.
Location: Kalverstraat 92 (deep in the curtyard)

Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum

Netherlands Maritime Museum holds the largest collection of boats in the world.
Displays of real-size ships, models and maps give a chronological view of Dutch naval
history. Location: Linnaeusstraat 2, quarter Plantage.
www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl

Tropenmuseum - Tropical Museum

One of the most intriguing Amsterdam's museums belongs to the Royal Institute for
the Tropics, a foundation devoted to the study of the cultures of tropical areas around
the world.
Location: Kattenburgerplein 1, quarter Plantage.

Museum Willet-Holthuysen
An impressive collection of furniture, silverware and paintings housed in a beautiful
preserved 17th-century canalside mansion. How did a wealthy family live in an
Amsterdam canal house? Find out in this 17-th century mansion.
Location: Herengracht 605, South-East of the city center, near the river Amstel.

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 5 of 8

Film museum
The collection of the film museum consists of thousands of movies, photos, posters
and scripts of Dutch and international movies. Exclusive masterpieces of cinema
history are show every day since the museum is often the only place which has the
equipment to show them.
Location: Vondelpark 3

Rembrandt house museum

The house where Rembrandt lived from 1639 until 1659 is now the home of a large
collections of his etchings and the very place where most of them where made. It also
has a large collection of paintings of people who inspired him, like Pieter Lastman.
Location: Jodenbreestraat 4

NEMO
Right next the Central Station is the largest futuristic science center in the
Netherlands, housed in a ship like building designed by Renzo Piano. Here you can
be amazed by the world of science and technology. Contrary to other museums, here
you must touch the collection and experiment with it.
Location: Oosterdok 2
www.e-nemo.nl

Nieuwe Kerk – New Church

This late Gothic church is the home of several unique exhibitions throughout the year.
Each exhibition will show only masterpieces of a certain era or subject.
Location: Dam square

Madame Tussauds
No time to book a visit with princes Maxima? You can see her every day, right next to
Kylie Minogue, Bono and Bob Marley. A bit of culture perhaps? Watch Rembrandt at
work in his atelier. Life size and frighteningly lifelike.
Location: Dam square

FOAM – photography
Be inspired by the exhibitions in this museum for photography. Join the discussions,
study and mingle with the professionals. Your holiday snaps will never be the same
again.
Location: Keizersgracht 609

Bijbelsmuseum - Biblical museum

This museum shows visitors the world of the bible: religious objects, and even the
smells from the bible stories. Clay tablets, and archaeological findings tell the tale of
the origins of the Bible and it’s influence on Dutch society.
Location: Herengracht 366- 368
www.bijbelsmuseum.nl

Museum Het Schip – Amsterdam School of

architecture
This is an excellent example of the Amsterdam School of
Architecture from the beginning of the 20th century. “The
ship” as the block is called, was designed by M. de Klerk,
and it’s interior has now been carefully restored.
Location: Spaarndammerplantsoen 140
www.hetschip.nl

Verzetsmuseum - Resistance Museum – WWII

The main exhibition of this museum shows the work of the Dutch resistance during
WWII, but it also makes the visitor think about the things we take for granted
nowadays, like freedom.
Location: Plantage Kerklaan 61

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 6 of 8

www.verzetsmuseum.org

Hortus Botanicus - the Botanical Garden

This oasis in the centre of the city has always been called the jewel in the crown of
Amsterdam. It was established in 1638 as an herb garden for Amsterdam doctors and
chemists and has since developed into a living museum with plants from all
continents.
Location: Plantage Midddenlaan 2a
www.dehortus.nl

Theo Thijssen Museum

An old small house, typical for the Jordaan area of Amsterdam
accommodates on its ground floor a museum of the popular Dutch
writer, author of popular in the Netherlands books for children -
Theo Thijssen. The sympathetic, very small museum with a strong
local character. Location: Eerste Leliedwarsstraat 16 (in the
Jordaan).

Museum of Bags and Purses (Tassen Museum Hendrikje)

Tassen Museum Hendrikje or in English: Museum of Bags and
Purses is a private museum of ladies handbags. This may seem
not serious, but Hendrikje Ivo, an antique dealer from Amstelveen
who established the collection, has today more than 3000 handbags. All the big
designers’ names are beautifully presented, with Dior, Chanel and Versace, as well as
hundreds of bags from the past, with the ones from the late Middle ages as the oldest.
The museum has a café, with a lunchroom, perfectly maintained garden and a
museum shop with… yes; you guessed it right, hundreds of design handbags.
Location: Herengracht 573

Pianola Museum
A small museum of pianolas displays automatic pianos
form the beginning of the 20th century, which were
reproducing music using the carton rolls with a hole for
each music note. Pianolas were very popular until
1930's. They had seemed to be an invention of the
future. The later development of the phonographic
industry made the pianolas obsolete. The museum has
15 original instruments and 20 000 paper music rolls. The
Pianola Museum is located in the Jordaan, in a short walk distance from the Anne
Frank Museum.
Location: Westerstraat 106.

Stadsarchief Amsterdam - Municipal Archives of Amsterdam

In the archives and their collections you can find out everything about the history of
your relatives from Amsterdam, your house or the neighborhood you live in. The total
length of the archives is about 35 km. The Standsarchief organizes exhibitions and
screens documentary films about Amsterdam.
Location: Vijzelstraat 32

De Appel (The Apple) - Foundation for contemporary art

A prestigious foundation for contemporary art organizing exhibitions and
performances. De Appel aims to discover and present to a larger public the newest of
the new in modern art.
No permanent location. Office: Damrak 70
www.deappel.nl

ARCAM - Amsterdam Centre for Architecture

The ARCAM foundation aims to show the public all aspects of Amsterdam’s
architecture – future, present and historical. It is housed in a unique building designed

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 7 of 8

by René van Zuuk. You can find there different exhibitions throughout the year, and
once a month a distinguished architect is invited to talk about his or her work.
Location: Prins Hendrikkade 600 (just in front of Nemo, low on the quayside).

Huis Marseille – photography

Every three month this foundation for photography
organizes new exhibitions in this former house of a
wealthy French merchant. All imaginary forms of
photography are on display, with an emphasis on the
visual quality.
Location: Keizersgracht 401
www.huismarseille.nl

Vakbondsmuseum - Trade Unions Museum

Situated in one of the finest trade union buildings, called de Burcht (Stronghold) by a
Dutch claassic architect Hendrik Berlage, build in 1900 for the Dutch diamond
workers, the museum is documenting trade unions history in the Netherlands.
Location: Henri Polaklaan 9

Persmuseum – Press museum

This museum guards over four centuries of journalistic heritage and has a large
collection of newspapers and magazines, a unique collection of political images and
an extensive library of the Dutch printer press.
Location: Zeeburgerkade 10

Ajax Museum
This history of Ajax football club, images of 100 years of
football legends from these “Sons of the Gods”, one of
the best know teams in the Netherlands and across the
borders.
Location: Amsterdam ArenA, Arena Boulevard 29,
Amsterdam ZO
www.ajax.nl

Brilmuseum – National Museum of Spectacles

In an old town house (dating from 1620), at one of the narrow streets in the very
centre of Amsterdam, an interesting small museum has been located focused on just
one object: the spectacles. If you are interested in the history of fashion or the
spectacles in particular – this is your chance, because the collection is rich, the old
house impressive and the Brilmuseum presentation remarkable. Location:
Gasthiusmolensteeg 7

Sex museum
Another must when in Amsterdam: The Venustemple
houses an extensive collection of erotic paintings,
pictures, objects and recordings from different ages and
cultures all over the world.
Location: Damrak 18
www.sexmuseumamsterdam.nl

Torture museum
This small and dark museum shows some of the most horrid inventions to torture and
execute people. Complete with straps, spikes, weights and blades, these machines
will make you thankful that they are no longer used in modern times.
Location: Singel 449

Erotic Museum
Located right in the hart of the red-light district, this
museum reflects the history of the area. Five floors full of

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010
Amsterdam.info - Museums in Amsterdam, museums and galleries Page 8 of 8

erotic enjoyment and artwork.

Location: OZ. Achterburgwal 54

Heineken Experience
No visit is complete without taking a peek in the breweries of the worlds best beer.
Find out everything you wanted to know about the history of beer making and take a
bottleride to see the process of beer making from beginning until the end.
Location: Stadhouderskade 78
www.heinekenexperience.com

Diamond Museum
A small and elegant museum organized by an important Amsterdam trader in these
precious stones – Coster Diamonds. An interesting exhibit has been visualized by all
modern multimedia means. Diamond Museum is conveniently located in a direct
proximity of Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
Location: Paulus Potterstraat 8, The museum quarter.

De Kattenkabinet - The Cat Cabinet

A small private art museum, established by its founder William Meijer to memorize his
cat. It may seem a joke, but the exhibited art works, all with obligatory cats as their
subject, were chosen with a great care and are clearly out of the ordinary. Located in
an old patrician canal house with a fully restored, richly decorated interior. Location:
Herengracht 497

The Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum

This small museum located on two unattached venues at one of the old canals of the
Red Light District, is one of the Amsterdam best kept secrets. On the outside, one of
many attractions of the local tourist industry - inside an interesting collection of objects
and artifacts, paintings and photographs related to cannabis but also to its more
important cousin – the hemp plant and its multiple, non-hallucinogenic uses.

Remember: Museumkaart is designed to enter more than 400 museums in Holland!

Private Art Tours

Visit the Rijksmuseum and other Amsterdam's museums with your own Art Historian.

Contact | About us | Partners | Disclaimer

© 2003-2010 Amsterdam guide - Tourist information, accommodation, hotels, apartments.
For tourist information please call the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board: +31(0)20-2018800.
Amsterdam.info is not associated to any institutions subsidized by the government.
Language translations by Translations.biz

http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/ 10/2/2010