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Wereldmuseum

Wereldmuseum (Willemskade 25, Rotterdam) – this museum celebrates multiculturalism, focusing on rituals, stories and sacred objects. The building that currently houses the Wereldmuseum was originally the Royal Yacht Club of Prince Hendrik. The club’s members (including merchants and scientists who travelled all over the world) brought back unusual objects which they shared with each other. They also held exhibitions of maritime and ethnographic objects. After Prince Hendrik died, the Yacht Club was disbanded and the building became a museum.

From its inception, the museum has received major donations from private collectors, from shipping companies, and from the Dutch Missionary Society. The Wereldmuseum continues to receive important collections (such as a collection of Buddhist art from the Bodhimanda Stichting). Admission: €7.50 (adult), €6 (children 4-18 years), free for children under 4 years. Hours: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily. See its website for more details: www.wereldmuseum.nl

Verzetsmuseum

Verzetsmuseum (Resistance Museum)( Plantage Kerklaan 61A, Amsterdam) — Permanent exhibit of the museum recreates the atmosphere of the streets of Amsterdam during the German occupation of the WWII. Big photographs, old posters, objects, films and sounds from that horrible time, help to recreate the scene. The background of the Holocaust is visualized to the visitor. This is an exhibition about the everyday life during that time, but also about exceptional historical events, resistance of the population against the Nazis and heroism. This is a worthy prelude (or follow-up) to visiting the Anne Frank Museum (a.k.a. Anne Frank House). Admission: €11 (adult), €6 (children ages 1-16), €26 (family). Hours: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (weekdays), 11:00 am – 5:00 pm (weekends & holidays). See its website for more info: www.verzetsmuseum.org

Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Museum (Amstel 51, Amsterdam) — Van Gogh lived in Amsterdam for a short while and there is a museum dedicated to his work. The museum is housed in one of the few modern buildings in this area of Amsterdam. The building was designed by Gerrit Rietveld. This building is where the permanent collection is displayed. A new building was added to the museum in 1999. This building, known as the performance wing, was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Its purpose is to house temporary exhibitions of the museum. Some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings, like the Aardappeleters (The Potato Eaters) and Zonnebloemen (Sunflowers), are present in the collection. The Van Gogh museum is the most visited museum in Amsterdam. Admission: €19 (adult), free for children under 18 years. Go to its website for latest schedule: www.vangoghmuseum.nl

Museo Stedelijk

Stedelijk Museum (Muesumplein 10, Amsterdam) — Next to the Van Gogh museum stands the Stedelijk Museum. This is Amsterdam’s largest museum dedicated to modern art. The museum opened its doors at around the same time the Museum Square was created. The permanent collection consists of works of art from artists like Piet Mondriaan, Karel Appel, and Kazimir Malevich. Admission: €18.50 (adult), €10 (students), free admission for children under 18 years. Hours: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (daily except Friday), 10:00 am – 10:00 pm (Friday).

Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum (Museumstraat 1, Amsterdam) — The Rijksmuseum possesses the largest and most important collection of classical Dutch art It opened in 1885. Its collection consists of nearly one million objects. The artist most associated with Amsterdam is Rembrandt, whose work, and the work of his pupils, is displayed in the Rijksmuseum. Rembrandt’s masterpiece De Nachtwacht (The Night Watch) is one of top pieces of art of the museum. It also houses paintings from artists like Van der Helst, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Ferdinand Bol, Albert Cuyp, Jacob van Ruisdael and Paulus Potter. Aside from paintings, the collection consists of a large variety of decorative art. This ranges from Delftware to giant dollhouses from the 17th century. The architect of the gothic revival building was P.J.H. Cuypers. At present, the museum is being expanded, renovated, and a new main entrance for the museum created. The Rijksmuseum was reopened to the public in April 2013, after a renovation that took five years longer than expected and cost nearly $500 million (tens of million over budget).
Admission: €19 (adult), free for children 18 and under. Hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm daily. See its website for more info: www.rijksmuseum.nl

Rembrandthuis

Rembrandthuis (Rembrandt House)( Jodenbreestraat 4, Amsterdam) – this is a house in the Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam not far from the new townhall, where Rembrandt lived and painted for a number of years. A few years ago the house was thoroughly reconstructed on the inside to show how the house would have looked in Rembrandt’s days. Adjoining (and linked to) the house is a modern building where work of Rembrandt is on display, mainly etchings and also a part of his collection of objects from all over the world.

Rembrandt purchased the house in 1639 and lived there until he went bankrupt in 1656, when all his belongings went on auction. The auction list enabled the reconstructions of all his belongings, which are also on display in the house. Admission: €14 (adult), €5 (children ages 6-17), free for children under 6 years. Hours: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm daily.

Oorlogs Verzets Museum

Oorlogs Verzets Museum (Coolhaven 375, Rotterdam) — Here at the Oorlogsverzetsmuseum (War and Resistance Museum), the sounds of German bombers greet you for exhibits that fittingly are sheltered under a bridge. Displays recount life in Rotterdam during WWII; the fear in the faces of people fleeing the bombing in a 1940 photo is raw. Displays of objects, memorabilia, photographs, posters and texts tell the story from beginning to end. Starting with the German propaganda and the mobilization, continuing with the raid of May 1940 and the resistance and ending with the winter starvation and liberation. Admission: €16 (adult & youth 13 & above), €11 (children 4-12 years), €45.50 (family of four / two adults + 2 children) free for WWII veterans. Hours: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (weekdays), 11:00 am – 5:00 pm (weekends). Visit their website for more info: www.oorlogsmuseum.nl

NEMO Science Museum

NEMO Science Museum (Oosterdok 2, Amsterdam) — is a science center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located at the Oosterdok in Amsterdam-Centrum, situated between the Oosterdokseiland and Kattenburg. The museum has its origins in 1923, and is housed in a building designed by Renzo Piano since 1997. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibitions and is the largest science center in the Netherlands. It attracts annually over 500,000 visitors, which makes it the fourth most visited museum in the Netherlands. Admission: €17.50 person (ages 4 year and over), free for children under 4 years. Hours: 10:00 am – 5:30 pm daily. See its website for more info: www.nemosciencemuseum.nl