Top 100 best museums in Amsterdam

The Anne Frank House is the house where the Jewish girl Anne Frank was hiding with seven others for more than two years in World War II. The museum owns the original diaries and writings of Anne Frank. An important part of the museum is the ‘Achterhuis’, the place where Anne Frank hid and wrote her

More than 860 paintings and nearly 1,200 works on paper by Vincent van Gogh have been preserved. The Van Gogh Museum owns the largest Van Gogh collection, consisting of 201 paintings, 437 drawings and 31 prints. In addition to works by Van Gogh, the museum exhibits a collection of works by other maj

The Rijksmuseum is located in a unique historical building from 1885 by architect PJH Cuypers. The museum is dedicated to Dutch art and Dutch history. The collection is exhibited in over two hundred rooms and includes works by Dutch masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals

The Rembrandt House Museum is housed in the former house of the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. This famous painter lived and worked in this house for nearly twenty years. The interior is restored to the style of the times in which Rembrandt lived. The museum displays paintings by artists who work

Artis is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands that opened its doors in 1838. The zoo features 27 historic buildings, of which most date from the 19th century. Because of this, Artis has a distinctive charm and a historical dimension that lacks in more modern zoos. The monumental aquarium contains tropi

The Dutch Resistance Museum illustrates the history of people in times of war. The visitor learns about the Holocaust, resistance and daily life. The exhibition consists of authentic objects, film and audio clips, documents and photos. In addition there is a permanent exhibition on the Dutch East In

The Heineken Experience is housed in the former Heineken brewery in 1876. The building has served as a Heineken brewery until 1988. Visitors are introduced to more than 150 years of craftsmanship. In a show, Heineken shows that it is the most international beer in the world. In a 4D experience visit

Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder is a former clandestine church. The building looks like an ordinary canal house. It is one of the oldest museums in the Netherlands. The 17th century church with an altar, corridors and approximately 150 seats is situated in the attic. After the Protestant Reformatio

The National Maritime Museum holds one of the world's largest and most notable maritime collections including paintings, ship models, navigation instruments and sea charts. Discover 500 years of Dutch maritime history and its strong link to society of today and tomorrow. Fun and educational for all

Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is a wax museum. The collection of wax sculptures includes famous pop stars, monarchs and famous Dutch painters, but also wax sculptures of movie stars and famous people like Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. In addition there are moving sculptures and vibr

Body Worlds: The Happiness Project is a permanent exhibition. The exhibition illustrates the story of the human body and the impact of happiness on health. More than 200 anatomical specimens of human bodies are exhibited that illustrate the complexity, resilience and vulnerability of the human body.

NEMO Science Museum is located on the foundations of the IJ-tunnel in a building from 1997 designed by Renzo Piano. It is the largest science museum in the Netherlands. The visitor can discover the world of science and technology, by doing experiments on scientific and technical developments related

Wereldmuseum Amsterdam is housed in an impressive national monument. It was built in 1926 and is located on the Oosterpark. The imposing central Light Hall offers a panoramic view of what the museum has to offer: three permanent exhibitions, multiple temporary exhibitions, and Wereldmuseum Junior. T

In the Jewish Historical Children Museum, children from 6 to 12 years are introduction to Jewish life and Jewish traditions.

The Amsterdam Dungeon is a unique blend of museum, theater, and attraction, offering visitors an immersive experience into the historical events of Amsterdam. The performances take place in eleven rooms, and visitors are accompanied by approximately seven actors. This unique combination provides a captivating way to learn about the city's past.

At the Houseboat Museum, you get the chance to experience first-hand what it’s like to live in a houseboat on an Amsterdam canal. The museum is located in the “Hendrika Maria”, a former cargo ship built in 1914. The cargo hold is now a cosy living space featuring all the conveniences and a surprisin

The H'ART Museum in Amsterdam is a captivating haven for art enthusiasts and cultural connoisseurs alike. Explore collections of famous art and stories from around the world in a unique blend of exhibitions spanning from antiquity to today, and connecting the art world in a whole new way. Located

The EYE Film museum is housed in the iconic white building at the IJ. Everything is film in EYE. This national museum of film manages more than forty thousand movies and features every genre: a representative selection of movie history, with classics blockbusters and cult movies. It is a museum of f

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is the must-see museum of modern and contemporary art and design. The collection is one of the most important collections of modern and contemporary art and design in the world. The most meaningful movements in both art and design are represented with (inter)national

Fabrique des Lumières brings art to life: the work of the greatest artists ever, combined with image and sound using new technology.

The Jewish Museum is housed in four synagogues. It is a modern museum about Judaism. Three exhibitions illustrate the culture and history of Jews in the Netherlands. The exhibitions consist of various utensils, paintings, drawings, films, photos and 3D presentations. Part of the museum is the Jewish

The Amsterdam Museum presents exhibitions on a wide range of urban issues. We share knowledge, show art and heritage, and tell relevant stories - past, present and future. Historical and contemporary stories that make the city what it is, in all its forms. We do this at our museum locations in the h

The Portuguese Synagogue, also called Esnoga, is a synagogue that dates to the 17th century. At the time of construction it was the largest synagogue in the world. The building is still used for worship by the Portuguese Jewish Community. The collection illustrates the four century history of the Po

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is the palace of the royal family where visitors are received. When the palace is not used by the royal family, the building is open to the public. It was built between 1648 and 1665 as a town hall, designed by Jacob van Campen. Several works by famous artists refer to

The Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, founded in 1638. The garden is about 3 acres in size and is home to 6,000 plants of over 4,000 species. In addition to an outdoor garden, the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam has a number of greenhouses which accommodate p

Museum of the Canals is housed in a monumental seventeenth-century canal house. The museum illustrates the Amsterdam city expansion that was caused by the construction of canals. In addition to an interactive tour, there is a temporary exhibition in our period rooms.

The Museum of Prostitution illustrates the life of prostitutes that work in the Red Light District, as well as illustrate the life of courtesans in brothels.

The Sex Museum Amsterdam is housed in a 17th century building. It is the first and oldest sex museum in the world. The museum features a maze of corridors and rooms. It covers everything that has to do with sensual love. The collection includes erotic objects, photographs, paintings, recordings, scu

Museum van Loon is located on the Keizersgracht in the house of the regent family Van Loon. Willem van Loon was the co-founder of The Dutch East India Company in 1602. One of the residents of this 17th century canal house was Dutch painter Ferdinand Bol, a pupil of Rembrandt. Portraits, silverware,

In the Amsterdam Cheese Museum visitors can relive the history of cheese making and experience the unique flavor of Dutch cheese.

Micropia is located in the historic ‘Ledenlokalen’ from 1870. In Micropia the invisible world of microorganisms is made visible and accessible for a broad audience. Micro-organisms such as fungi and bacteria are everywhere and define how our world looks like. Visitors are informed about current issu

The Willet-Holthuysen House is housed in a double mansion from 1687. In the 19th century it was the house of Abraham Willet and his wife Louisa Willet-Holthuysen. The museum consists of a dining room, a ballroom, a garden room and a corridor on the first floor that illustrate how wealthy people from

The Oude Kerk is the oldest building of Amsterdam and youngest place for contemporary art. Inside you can see site specific art exhibitions, period rooms and an impressive tombstone floor. The wife and muse of Rembrandt van Rijn, is one of the thousands of people who lies buried in the Oude Kerk

Electric Ladyland is a museum on fluorescent art. The museum consists of two parts. One part consists of a large fluorescent area. Visitors become a part of this fluorescent art area, and experience the so called ‘Participatory Art’. The other part features a permanent exhibition with fluorescent mi

The Amsterdam Pipe Museum is housed in a seventeenth-century canal house in Amsterdam. It offers the smoking culture in the world over 25 centuries, by exhibiting a collection of smoking pipes and tobacco-related paraphernalia. The collection consists of more than 30,000 objects, of which about thre

World-renowned expressionist building "Het Schip" ("the ship") is the most famous work by Amsterdam School architect Michel de Klerk, which was completed in 1921. The museum located in the building is dedicated to the Amsterdam School, an architecture style. The former post office designed by the a

In the Allard Pierson you can explore the collections of the University of Amsterdam. The world renowned collections range from archaeology, book history and cartography to graphic design, Jewish cultural history and performing arts. Walk through Egyptian antiquity and the Greek and Roman worlds i

The Erotic museum illustrates the art and history of seduction. The collection of the museum includes images, films and various other objects that give an overview of eroticism through the years. The first floor features an exhibition of erotic objects. One floor up features an exhibition with eroti

The Amsterdam Tulip Museum demonstrates the history of the tulip in the Netherlands. The museum gives information on the tulip mania and the economic power of the flower during the Golden Age in the seventeenth century. The museum also shows how bulbs served as food for people during wars and the or

The Diamond Museum Amsterdam illustrates the mining, the grinding and the processing of diamonds. The museum displays several famous diamonds, including the world's smallest diamond, which can be seen through a microscope. In addition, the visitor gets information about the diamond city Amsterdam, w

The Nieuwe Kerk is a church building from the early 15th century. It is one of the most important monuments of Amsterdam. It is the place where the Dutch head of state is inaugurated. Changing temporary exhibitions are organized in the building on, among other themes, religions, cultures and treasur

Learn more about the many uses of cannabis, visit the garden with real cannabis plants or try a vaporizer in the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum. The Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Amsterdam is the oldest and most important museum in the world dedicated to Cannabis sativa L., also known as hemp or

Do you want to discover contemporary photography? Or immerse yourself in the work of iconic photographers from the 20th century? Foam hosts up to four exhibitions at the same time that present a wide range of photography. Foam is located in a manor house along the beautiful canals, where the first

The Moco museum (Modern Contemporary) in Amsterdam wants to make a wide range of modern and contemporary art available to the general public and focuses on the so-called ‘Rock Stars of Art’. Don’t be suprised if you find works of Salvador Dali, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Damien Hir

The Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam commutes with old trams from the Haarlemmermeerstation in Amsterdam to Bovenkerk Station in Amstelveen. There are trips with various trams from the period 1904 - 1954, from various European cities.

Amsterdam’s 1st Museum for Photography. Two monumental canal houses to feel at home. Exhibiting the artistic nature of photography, fourteen exhibition spaces, bookshop, library and garden. Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography is housed in a monumental canal house from 1665. It is the first muse

The Pianola Museum is located in the Jordaan. It is one of the smaller museums of Amsterdam. The museum collection consists mainly of player pianos and different other types of pianos that can play automatically. In addition to the instruments, the Pianola museum also owns some 30,000 music rolls th

Museum Tot Zover shows how people dealt with death in the past, and how they deal with it now and in the future. Central topics in the museum are the body, rituals, memento mori and mourning and remembrance. The collection includes death masks, paintings, miniature hearses and urns and caskets. Chil

The Molen van Sloten – Kuiperijmuseum includes an original ‘poldermolen’ and a museum where visitors learn how barrels are made. The Molen van Sloten is a functioning ‘poldermolen’ and is the only mill in Amsterdam that is daily open to the public. It is a ‘stellingmolen’ with a backside that was re

Discover a mind-bending experience in the heart of Amsterdam at the Museum of Illusions Amsterdam! Step into a world where nothing is quite what it seems. With over 60 astonishing illusions, the Museum of Illusions Amsterdam is a playground for your senses — and your mind! Designed to be both edu

The Hollandsche Schouwburg is a war memorial for the Dutch Jews that were murdered in the Second World War. The permanent exhibition on the Holocaust in '40-'45 focusses on the deportation of the Jews. Videos, photos, models and various objects illustrate the discrimination, deportation and extermin

The Max Euwe Centrum illustrates the chess career of Max Euwe (1901-1981). The chess player was world champion in the period 1935-1937. The museum displays photos, objects and documents that illustrate the life and work of Max Euwe. In addition, the museum also covers the history of chess in general

Learn all about the Nazi persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands. The National Holocaust Museum tells the story of the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews of the Netherlands. Before the Second World War, Jews and non-Jews lived side by side. They had the same rights. But during the war, the

The Amsterdam City Archive is the historical documentation centre of Amsterdam. It has a total of 35 kilometers of archives. The core of the archives are the archives of the city and the city’s government institutions, businesses and services. In addition to archives of the government, the Amsterdam

Museum Vrolik is an anatomical museum that is part of the AMC. The museum illustrates diseases and what diseases do to a body. The collection of the museum includes normal anatomy of humans and animals, but also, pathological anatomy and birth defects. There are approximately 10,000 objects, anatomi

The Multatuli Museum is located in the Multatuli House, the birthplace of the 19th century Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker. The writer is also known as Multatuli, his pseudonym. The collection illustrates the work and life of Eduard Douwes Dekker and includes his desk, books, a globe, utensils and

House of Bols takes visitors on a journey through the "World of flavor". All the senses are stimulated in the Hall of Taste and Genever Room, and visitors discover the secrets of 38 Bols liqueurs and Bols Genever.

The Beurs van Berlage was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage. The building was constructed between 1896 and 1903 and now serves as a centre for exhibitions and conferences.

Museum of the Mind is fascinated by the work of art inside your head. Because nothing is as diverse, unique, powerful and yet so fragile as the human mind. Through its art and cultural programmes, the museum helps to bring mental health and neurodiversity into the open. Museum van de Geest | Outside

Step into another world! Wereldmuseum Junior is the children's museum of the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam. A dynamic design makes the exhibition area a completely different world. The children are immersed in it. The subjects come to life and children take an active part in the exhibition. Everyone’s curi

The Persmuseum is the repository for the Dutch journalistic heritage. The collection includes newspapers and magazines from 1600, political posters and drawings. The permanent exhibition illustrates four hundred years of news in the Netherlands. The exhibition features the creation of the press in t

Bijzondere Collecties is part of the University of Amsterdam. It includes the heritage of the University of Amsterdam. The collection consists of more than a thousand separate collections, including collections of rare and precious books, prints, photographs and manuscripts. Central topics are book

Huize Frankendael is the only remaining ‘buitenplaats’ in Watergraafsmeer. Huize Frankendael combines space, peace, culture, nature and gastronomy. It includes an English styled garden, an authentic carriage house and art exhibitions in ‘landhuis’ Frankendael. On Sunday, tours are organised to learn

Museum 't Kromhout Kromhout is a ‘working museum’ that features a collection of engines that are manufactured by Firma Kromhout. All engines that are on display are still functional and will be demonstrated. The museum also features an original forge from the nineteenth century and a film room with

The Cat Cabinet is housed in a canal house at the 'Golden Bend'. It features a collection of art objects that are related to cats. The museum shows how great painters of the past and present were or are inspired by cats. The collection consists of paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures in which

ABOUT THE MUSEUM Embark on a journey of discovery through 2,000 years of accumulated wisdom, inspired by the images and texts from the collection of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica. The Embassy of the Free Mind is a museum and offers a journey of discovery through a hidden, yet inspiring

The Luther Museum Amsterdam is located in the Wittenberg building in Amsterdam from 1772. The building with the regents' rooms, the corridor and the church hall is the most important piece in the collection. In addition, the museum exhbiits paintings by Breenbergh and Ruysdael, silverware and authen

Housing complex De Dageraad is the Amsterdam School in its purest form. Architects Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer were commissioned to design all facets of the streetscape. In addition to the street facades, they also designed the rear facades and house plans. This led to gesamtkunstwerk in which b

‘On The Inside’ is an independent and international platform for contemporary art situated within the cultural landscape of Amsterdam’s NDSM wharf, just 10 minutes from Central Station via the free ferry. It operates as a non-profit, artist-driven exhibition space. Housed in a converted warehouse wi

Enter the most beautiful canal house in Amsterdam. Discover the grandeur of this unique merchant's house on the Herengracht. When it was built at the beginning of the 17th century, it was already a landmark for many people, and it still is. Behind the imposing facade with many decorations, the int

Come and take a look at the stately Gemeenlandshuis. The house is surrounded by water and has a hall with beautiful stucco work, a monumental staircase and rooms with large fireplaces and a view of the surroundings. The Hoogheemraadschap was located here for almost 275 years. Discover the halls wher

Rembrandt is perhaps one of the most famous painters in the world. Rembrandt lived in bustling Amsterdam of the 17th century. He was able to become quite successful and his studio grew into a true 'painter's empire'. Rembrandt was also a collector, he bought many exotic things, brought by merchants

The Dutch Resistance Museum Junior is part of the Dutch Resistance Museum that focuses on children. Children go back to the beginning of World War 2 in a time machine. There they are introduced to four eye witnesses who were children at the time. Henk, Jan, Nelly and Eva tell the about their experie

The Van Eesteren Museum is dedicated to Dutch architect and urban planner Cornelis van Eesteren.

The Theo Thijssen Museum is dedicated to the Amsterdam writer, educator and politician Theo Thijssen (1879-1943). The museum is located in the place where he was born. Theo Tijssen is best known for the novel "Kees de Jongen". The collection of the museum includes manuscripts, first editions, photog

Museum Amsterdam Noord is located in the former Municipal Bathhouse of Vogeldorp, the first characteristic 'tuindorp' of Amsterdam. The museum illustrates the history of the north of Amsterdam.

Draaiorgelmuseum G. Perlee exhibits a changing collection of barrel organs. An expert gives a tour through several showpieces.

The Appel Arts Centre is an internationally oriented arts centre located in an 18th century building near the water. It exhibits contemporary art in all its forms, often by artists who are little known. Through changing exhibitions and performances of artists, directors and choreographers, De Appel

ARCAM is an information centre for architecture. It features a collection that includes leaflets, websites, architecture routes and maps. On the ground floor is an exhibition space where an exhibition is organized five times a year.

The Bijbels Museum makes temporary, travelling exhibitions which we present in collaboration with/at many different locations in The Netherlands, museums, churches or other public venues. All exhibitions have a connection to the Bible of biblical stories. Most of them reach out to other spiritual bo

At the Groote Museum you will discover where we come from, how we are connected and what we depend on. With these insights about yourself and your relationship to other life, the question "where are we going?" comes closer. But it starts with you. In the Groote Museum you go on a personal expeditio

Torture Museum Amsterdam is a museum dedicated to instruments of torture. The art of torture, and the history of torturing are illustrated. Images and objects used by torturers, including authentic instruments of torture illustrate the world of torture. The collection includes a guillotine, a ‘rekta

Street Art Museum Amsterdam organizes tours through the street art collection.

Our House Amsterdam is the first dance museum in the world.