Museums in Amsterdam

Amsterdam has plenty of museums and they cater to everyone. To be precise, there are around 75 museums in Amsterdam. They have unique museums like the Museum of torture and a museum of bags. Since I was here only for 3 to 4 days, I could not visit every single museum but I did visit four of the five museums listed below and I really enjoyed visiting them. For information on my itinerary, refer to 3 days in Amsterdam.

Tip: Ensure to book your tickets online and well in advance to avail discounts on the entry tickets. The Anne Frank museum gets sold out very quickly and one needs to plan a lot in order to get those tickets. Refer to Europe Travel Planner for more details on planning for a Europe trip.

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Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Museum is an art museum dedicated to the works of the famous Vincent Van Gogh. This museum was found in the year 1973 and is located at the Museum Square. Vincent Van Gogh was one of the most famous painters and influential figures in the history of Western Art.

According to Wikipedia, Vincent Van Gogh created around 2100 artworks in just over a decade.

If you are an art lover, then this museum is definitely for you. To know more about the Van Gogh museum, read the post, Vincent Van Gogh museum, Amsterdam.

Important Information

The tickets cost Euros 19 per adult and the tickets can be booked online on their website.
Timings: 9 AM to 6 PM every day.
I would suggest spending at least 3 hours in the museum.
For virtual tour of the museum, visit Art and Culture website.

How to get there?

Address: Museumplein 6, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Landmark: Museum Square.
The nearest tram station is Museumplein. For the up-to-date and latest information, refer iAmsterdam website.

Rijksmuseum

The biggest Dutch museum in Amsterdam dedicated to the art and history of the city. The museum was founded in the year 1798 in The Hague and was later moved to Amsterdam in 1808.

The museum has a collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200-2000.

Did you know that the song from the Bollywood movie Hum Tum was shot in front of Rijksmuseum?

Important Information

The tickets cost Euros 19 per adult and they can be booked on their website.
Timings: 9 AM to 5 PM every day.
I would suggest spending at least 5 hours in the museum as the museum is huge.
One can take photographs inside the museum without flash.

How to get there?

Address: Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Landmark: Museum Square.
The nearest tram/bus station is Rijksmuseum (tram and bus) or Spiegelgracht (tram). This museum is close to the Van Gogh Museum. For the up-to-date and latest information, refer to the 9292 website.

Anne Frank museum

The hiding place of Anne Frank during the Nazi attack has been converted into a museum, dedicated to Anne Frank. That house/hiding place is at Prinsengracht 263. And this house has been turned into a museum for the public to visit and see the real hiding place.

This was a very touchy and emotional museum and it showed how Anne Frank and 7 others went into hiding in a building. Her thoughts expressed and written all over were extremely strong. Honestly speaking, when I visited the Anne Frank house, I felt so claustrophobic as it was that small and I really could not imagine how 8 people lived in that space.

The floor space of the hiding place was only 450 square feet (42 metre square).

Important Information

The tickets cost Euros 10.50 per adult and they can be booked on their website.
Timings: 9 AM to 7 PM every day.
I would suggest spending at least 1.5 hours in the museum. Be prepared for a huge line at every exhibit.

How to get there?

Address: Westermarkt 20, 1016 GV Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Landmark: Westerkerk church.
The nearest tram station is Westermarkt. For the up-to-date and latest information, refer iAmsterdam website.

Cannabis museum

A very cool museum to understand all about Cannabis, in other words Marijuana. Cannabis is a psychoactive drug made from the plant of Cannabis. They are sold everywhere in cafes and supermarkets around Amsterdam.

This was a very interesting visit. One thing I learned was that ‘Bhang‘, a drink served on the Holi (the colourful) festival in India, is made from Cannabis. And Lord Shiva has a great relationship with Cannabis and the story is related to the Samudra Manthan. This was an awesome story to know.

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva keeps intoxicated by bhang so the world can remain safe from his anger. For a complete story, refer Why we offer bhang to Lord Shiva on the Daily Bhaskar website.

Important Information

The tickets cost Euros 10 per adult and they can be bought at the counter.
Timings: 10 AM to 10 PM every day.
I would suggest spending 1 hour in the museum as the museum is relatively small when compared to other museums.

How to get there?

Address: Damstraat 6, 1012 JM Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Landmark: Royal Palace of Amsterdam.
The nearest metro station is Nieuwmarkt. For the up-to-date and latest information, refer iAmsterdam website.

Museum of Prostitution

Yes, you heard it right. There is a museum of prostitution (Red light secrets) in Red Light District.

It was very interesting and yet disturbing to read about these girls who were forced into prostitution. Even knowing the facts about prostitution and what they go through made me appreciate them even more than what I used to before.

Important Information

The tickets cost Euros 12.5 per adult and they can be booked on their website.
Timings: 1 PM to 11 Pm every day.
I would suggest spending at least 1.5 hours in the museum. There are lots of real-life stories from sex workers.

How to get there?

Address: Oudezijds Achterburgwal 60h, 1012 DP Amsterdam.
Landmark: Red Light District.
The nearest train station is Amsterdam Central. It is about 8 minutes walk from the Central station. For the up-to-date and latest information, refer iAmsterdam website.

Is it safe for solo female travelers?

I traveled in Amsterdam solo and I found it very safe. I had no issues any time. I actually stayed in a hostel that was in the red Light district and in spite of it, I did not have problems. However, I would suggest to be cautious especially at night and to trust your instinct.

Closing notes

I loved all of these museums and learned a lot about various things. I wish I can visit Amsterdam again to explore the other museums. However, I would definitely recommend these 5 amazing and really cool museums.

If you have visited any other museum in Amsterdam, please drop a comment below or write to me on Solopassport@gmail.com.

Also, read

Netherlands diaries