1.A trip down the canalsAmsterdam has been called the Venice of the North, on account of having over 100 kilometres of canals. There are four main waterways—the Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht canals—which form concentric semi-circles around Amsterdam, and are the result of meticulous city planning in the 17th century. About 1,500 pretty bridgescross those canals, and roughly the same number of monumental buildings can be seen from them.
Taking a canal boat tour is a good way to get your bearings (for instance, Amsterdam Canal Cruises' tours pass the Wester Church, Anne Frank's House, the Central Station, the Rembrandt House, City Hall, Dam Square and the Rijksmuseum). If you decide to take to the water, you'll be in good company: 3 million people take canal trips every year (including, in years gone by, Churchill, the Beatles and Nelson Mandela).
where? Trips organised by Amsterdam Canal Cruises depart from Stadhouderskade 550 (opposite Heineken Experience) T: +31 (0)20 679 13 70, E: reservations@blueboat.nl.
when? Amsterdam Canal Cruises tours last for 75 minutes and depart every 30 mins from 10 am between Apr and Sept, and every hour from Oct to Mar.
2.The Van Gogh MuseumSelf-taught impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) lived for a short time in Amsterdam. The city's eponymous museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world, together with selected pieces by other nineteenth century masters. Housed in one of Amsterdam's few modern buildings, designed by De Stijl architect Gerrit Rietveld and opened in 1973, the Van Gogh Museum is Amsterdam's most popular tourist destination, attracting over 1.3 million visitors a year.
The collection is arranged into five sections—early woks (to 1886), Paris (works from 1886 to 1888), Arles (1888-1889), St Remy (1889) and Auvers (1890)—each representing a different period of van Gogh's painting life. The works on permanent display include eight van-Gogh self-portraits,Banks of the Seine, The Yellow House, The Bedroom, Wheatfield with Crows, The Potato Eaters (pictured), Vincent’s Bedroom in Arles,Gaugin's Chair, three versions of Sunflowers, and Irises. Other artists represented at the Museum include Gaugin, Manet, Monet and Pissarro.
where? The Van Gogh Museum is on Museumplein in Amsterdam, between the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum. T +31 (0)20 570 5200. E info@vangoghmuseum.nl.
when? The museum is open seven days a week, 10 am to 6 pm (late opening on Fri until 10 pm). Closed 1 Jan.
3.Anne Frank's HouseThe part-Jewish Anne Frank was born in Germany in 1929 and moved with her parents to Holland in the mid-1930s after Hitler had come to power. Holland was invaded in 1940, and in 1942 Anne Frank and her family received a 'call-up' to the German concentration camps. Fearing that this day would arrive, Frank's family had made preparations to go into hiding in the empty rear section of a building owned by Frank's father's company. The building was converted into the Anne Frank Museum in 1960. Visitors can explore the secret annex, cleverly concealed by a moveable bookcase, in which Frank spent her days and learn about the German occupation.
Sadly, Frank's is not a story with a happy ending. After two years in hiding, Frank and seven others were discovered, arrested and deported to Auschwitz. Frank was later transferred to the Bergen-Belsen camp, where she died from Typhus shortly before the camp was liberated in 1945. She maintained a meticulous diary of her time in hiding, which has been published in several languages and adapted into a play and a film.
where? Anne Frank House, Prinsengracht 267. Tel: +31 (0)20 - 5567100. Take trams 13 or 17 or buses 170, 171 or 172 from Amsterdam's central station. Alight at the 'Westermarkt' stop, and walk to your right onto the Prinsengracht.
when? Jan 1: 12 am to 7 pm; 2 Jan to 14 Mar: 9 am to 7 pm (late opening on Sats to 10 pm); 15 Mar to 30 Jun: 9 am to 9 pm (10 pm on Sats); Jul and Aug: 9 am to 10 pm; 1 to 14 Sept: 9 am to 9 pm; 15 Sept to 30 Dec: 9 am to 7 pm (but closes at 5 pm on 25 Dec).
4.The RijksmusuemFounded in 1800, the Rijksmuseum is dedicated to arts, crafts and history. Housed in a grand Pierre Cuypers designed gothic and renaissance building on the Museumplein (pictured), it is best known for its paintings from the Dutch Golden Age (ie the period in the 17th century when Dutch commerce and art were the most acclaimed in the world). Those works include a number of Rembrandt masterpieces, including The Night Watch (often described as the altarpiece of the museum), Self Portrait as the Apostle Paul, and Portrait of Titus in a Monk Habit.
Other Dutch masters represented in the museum include Vermeer, with his famous The Kitchen Maid on permanent display, Frans Hals (including the Wedding Portrait), Jan Steen (including Woman at her Toilet) and Lucasvan Leyden (whose Triptych Adoration of the Golden Calf shows debauchery and partying in the foreground with a biblical scene behind). The museum also holds substantial sculpture, costume and furniture collections, together with the stern of HMS Royal Charles (an English ship captured by the Dutch in the 1667 Raid on Medway). Also take time to explore the striking Rijksmuseum library, now open to the public; this balconied four-floor space is navigated by steep spiral staircases!
where? Rijksmuseum, Jan Luijkenstraat 1, Amsterdam. Directions:- From Central Station: tram 2 or 5 (to Hobbemastraat); From Zuid/WTC Station: tram 5 (to Hobbemastraat); From Sloterdijk Station: tram 12 (to Concertgebouw); or From Amstel Station: Metro to Weesperplein, from there tram 6, 7 or 10 (to Spiegelgracht).
when? 7 days a week from 9 am to 6 pm (late opening on Fri until 8.30 pm). Closed on 1 Jan.
5. Amsterdam Museum
Housed in the converted Convent of St Lucien, the Amsterdam Museum (until 2011 called the Amsterdams Historisch Museum) charts the development of Amsterdam from a small fishing village at the mouth of the Amstel, to one of the world’s great trading cities during the Golden Age, to a modern 21st century metropolis. The collection is arranged into three main exhibitions.
The Young City (1350-1550) describes Amsterdam’s rise to prominence, displaying items used in everyday life, religious paintings and weapons (such as a bronze dagger from c. 1500).
The Mighty City (1550-1815) describes Amsterdam’s population explosion of the first half of the 16th century, the construction of Amsterdam’s canal network, and the rise of commerce and overseas trade (and the problems that came with it). Don’t miss Rembrant’s The Anatomy Lesson of De Jan Deijman (1656, showing the dissection of an executed criminal), Berckheijde’s The Flower Market and the Town Hall and two silver keys presented to Napoleon on his invasion of Amsterdam in 1811.
The Modern City (1815 onwards) addresses Amsterdam’s decline as a major trading city, the world wars and great depression, an the emergence of Amsterdam as a cultural, tourist and finance centre.
where? The Amsterdam Museum, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 359, 1012 RM Amsterdam, Netherlands. T. 020 523 1822.
when? 10am to 5pm, seven days a week. Closed 1 Jan, 30 April, 25 Dec.