Top 4 Museums in Amsterdam

The Amsterdam museums are home to vast artistic wonders and historic treasures and very tourist should try to visit at least a few of them. They are among the prime tourist attractions. There are more than fifty museums in Amsterdam and they attract millions of visitors each year. With a varied range of museums dedicated to art, film, press, sex, torture, science and technology or kids, Amsterdam is sure quench everybody’s thirst. During the colder months in Amsterdam, visitors are likely to spend more time indoors and museums are the best places to go. But long queues for ticket outside these museums can be boring, particularly in weekends and summer. Buying a ticket online from the museums’ respective website would be a smart move. According to some reports, even where there is no need to buy a ticket, tourists still may have to wait long if they have a free access card like “Museumkaart” or “Iamsterdam Card”. Almost all museums expect ‘Anna Frank House’ accept these cards.

The Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is located at Paulus Potterstraat 7 and it is right next to the Rijksmuseum. This museum gives a tough competition to Rijksmuseum as the most significant museum of Amsterdam, if not of Netherlands. This museum owns nearly 260 original paintings of Van Gogh and a large number of these works is donated by Theo Van Gogh, the younger brother of the great painter. Van Gogh was influenced by different art genre and the museum holds sample of them all. His works influenced by ‘Expressionism’, ‘Post-impressionism’ and other genres are all present here. One of his famous early works, ‘Potato Eaters’, can be seen in this museum. Here you can also find the paintings created during the last few days of his life when he went insane and started using more and more dots in the primary colors of blue, red and yellow. Along with Van Gogh, the museum also exhibits works of some of the greatest impressionist painters like Jozef Israëls, Paul Gauguin, Maurice Denis and Claude Monet. The visitors can book tickets online to visit this museum.

The Rijksmuseum

If you want to know about the culture and history of Netherlands, a visit to The Rijksmuseum, the national museum of Netherlands is a must. The museum exhibits the famous 17th century paintings by the “Dutch Masters”, Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Vermeer, along with a few exhibits from the 16th and 18^th century artworks. The museum is going through a massive renovation process and the museum, therefore, is partly opened these days. But all the highlights of the museum are exhibited in a very sophisticated manner. The Rijksmuseum exhibits 20 artworks by Rembrandt, which includes famous works like ‘The Jewish Bride’ and ‘The Night Watch’. The museum also showcases Vermeer’s finest paintings like ‘The Love Letter’ and ‘The Kitchen Maid’. There are 4 paintings of Vermeer in this museum. You will find great creations of other painters on the display like Frans Hals’ ‘The Merry Drinker’ or Ferdinand Bol’s ‘Portrait of Elizabeth Bas’. Silverware, furniture and paintings from 17th century artists are also in display here. The museum is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. on Fridays.

Anne Frank House

With nearly a million visitors each year, Anne Frank House is one of Netherlands most popular museums. Located at Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, the museum is dedicated to Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who maintained a diary when she along with her family hid from Nazi persecution. This is the house where Anne wrote her famous diary which is on permanent display in this house. There are temporary exhibitions on Anti-Semitism, Anti-Racism that caused greatest tragedies to the human race. Waiting behind long queues are almost confirm while visiting this museum. Tourists should buy online tickets or need to go early. This museum doesn’t accept the ‘Museumkaart’ or ‘Iamsterdam Card’.

Sex Museum (Venustempel)

One of the most exciting museums in Netherlands is surely the “Venustempel” or the Sex Museum in Amsterdam. Founded in 1985, it is the first and oldest museum of this kind on earth. Located at the Damrak, this museum offers some food for thought and is rather serious in approach than the Erotic Museum in the Red Light District. Based on the theme of love, the museum exhibits a huge collection of erotic paintings, pictures, objects, photographs, recordings and even attractions. The exhibits are gathered personally by the owners of the museum. The collections are displayed in two separate houses; one on the back of the building and one on the front, both connected by a specially designed stairwell. Tourists need to be at least 16 years of age. The museum is open every day from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m.

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