Amsterdam Museums, Galleries and Art Exhibitions

Most people, when Amsterdam is mentioned immediately think of the “Red Light District” where prostitution and recreational drugs are legal and encouraged. Fortunately for those uninterested in these pursuits, it is easy to find just what to do in Amsterdam. Museums in Amsterdam are a good place to start.

Amsterdam museum attract many tourists looking to get acquainted with the works of their favorite artists. Although there are more than 50 museums, the Anne Frank house, Stedelijk Museum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum are the most notable. Amsterdam attracts almost two million visitors annually allowing them to experience Golden age paintings, modern art, press, film, photography museums and many other unique Dutch treats.
Here are some of the major Amsterdam museums and what they offer:

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Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum which translated into English means the state museum, has existed for more than 200 years. In 1890 a building made from the fragments of demolished buildings in Amsterdam was added to the Rijksmuseum. These buildings when assembled gave the museum an overview of Dutch architectural legacy. The museum itself has one million pieces in the collection, but the four hundred most famous pieces are collected in the fragmented section (also called the Philips wing) of the Rijksmuseum under the exhibition name “The Masterpieces”. As one of the most breathtaking museums, it hosts collections paintings of famous Dutch and World artists such as Rembrandt's 'Night Watch' and other several paintings by Jan Steen and Van Dyck.

Open daily from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. Open until March 17th, 2013, the museum will close on the 18th for a month and open for the grand ceremony to celebrate its 10 year renovation on April 13, 2013. The Rijksmuseum receives about a million visitors a year.

Stedelijk Museum

Reopened in September 2012, after modernization and enlargement, the Stedelijk Museum consists of more than 90 thousand of modern paintings, photographs, graphics, design objects, video artifacts, sculptures and more. Stedelijk or municipal museum is an innovative and interesting, starting as a modern art museum from the 1970's. Stedelijk Museum hosts modern art collections of the world from notable events from across the world such as Cubism, fauvism, the impressionists, expressionism and a unique collection of the 29 paintings of Casimir Malevich. Visitors to the museum also enjoy a very good collection of European and American trends since the 1950s with works of Matisse, Picasso, Newman and Warhol displayed.

Ann Frank House

The Ann Frank House is a hidden annex in an Amsterdam canal house that two Jewish families used to hide from persecution by the Nazis in July of 1942 through to the fall of 1944. A very popular place for many, it is also the place where Anne Frank, who was only 15 at the time of her death wrote her famous diary. The doorway of the annex where they hid was concealed behind a moveable bookcase constructed especially for the purpose of hiding the annex doorway. Although the rooms are now empty, they still carry the atmosphere of the 1940s with the original diary and other items on display including historical documents, photographs, film images and the original objects that’s belonged to those who were in hiding in the annex.

Van Gogh Museum

Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands, and most of his paintings can be found in the Rijksmuseum (called State Museum in English). The museum itself was established in 1800 and was established to properly collect the works of famous painters from the Netherlands. Tourists often ask where Van Gogh museum is located.

The Van Gogh museum is close to the Rijksmuseum and receives over one and a half million visitors per year. This is the largest collection of works by Vincent Van Gogh in the world. The museum contains 200 paintings, 400 drawings and 700 letters by Van Gogh. A tour of this museum can bring a tourist closer to the heart of what made Van Gogh tick. The building is four stories high, each floor showing a different aspect of Van Gogh’s work and the work of his contemporaries. The museum itself was established in 1973, 83 years after Van Gogh’s death, as commissioned by the Dutch government.
Museum Square Amsterdam.

Skip the long lines for entrance to the famous Vincent van Gogh museum
Price: 15 Euro  (free audioguide)
Duration: 1,5 hours

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Museumplein

The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum are found on the Museumplein (Museum Square in English) in Amsterdam. The Museumplein was established on the location of the International Colonial and Export Exhbition in 1883. This square plays host to a number of other artistic attractions in Amsterdam, including Stedeljik Museum, the Diamond Museum, the Concertgebouw concert hall, as well as a United States consulate. Outdoor events are held year round in the square and the surrounding fields. Festivals, demonstrations and celebrations are organized here. Perfect when tourists want to know what to do in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, once a small settlement on the Amstel River. Today, a colourful metropolis with a unique appearance tell the compelling story of the growth and prosperity of this exceptional city.

Situated in a building that used to be a civil orphanage, the American Historical Museum aims to keep the history of Amsterdam alive and accessible to a wide public.

Anyone who comes to Amsterdam, whether they be lovers of all things green or not, should consider taking the opportunity to visit the famous Hash Marihuana Hemp Museum. in the heart of The Red-light District. The museum provides everything you could even want to know about the cannabis plant and its uses through the ages...

Amsterdam is famed for it's vast array of museums. The Torture Museum is really worth a visit...

Nowadays, crimes and sins such as adultery and petty theft can go by unpunished, but that wasn't the case during medieval times and Amsterdam's Torture Museum offers hard proof of this through the various weapons and instruments of torture on display.

The methods used to punish adulterating males and females are particularly interesting and you can almost feel the pain just by seeing and touching the various instruments, which included the Torture Chair, the guillotine and the rack to name a few.The Museum also offers detailed explanations in six different languages about the different instruments and methods of torture which were used in medieval days.

The decor and lay-out of the two octagonal rooms added to the sense of eeriness you experience during a walk through the museum and allows your mind to further adjust to the fear that the victims of the various tortures must have experienced all those years ago. The museum is open daily from 10am to 10pm.

The Vodka Museum is on of the newest attractions in Amsterdam and it is rapidly gaining a reputation of being one of the most entertaining places to visit in the the city. Located in one of the oldest buildings on the famous Damrak Street, 250 away from Central Station, the museum is the only one of its kind in Europe.

Visitors are offered the chance to experience a spectaclar adventure in history, as they are invited to see, hear and experience the glamorous World of Vodka! Short guided tours through the 3-story museum are available and an interesting movie can also be viewed in the chic and comfortable Vodkamuseum Lounge.

At the Vodka Museum Bar you can make your own move and send it to your firends and at the end of your tour you will receive a delicious Vodka Museum gift. After the totur you are welcome to stop by the Vodka Shop where you will find an amazing selection of Vodkas and huge variety of the best Dutch souvenirs. The museum is open daily from 9am to 10pm.

Looking for a good way to explore Amsterdam for a good price?? Combine your entrance ticket for the Vodka Museum with a bustour through Amsterdam. For € 15,- you can get a good discount on both.... Order here

Being one of the oldest and historically richest cities in the world, Amsterdam also has some erotic history to offer you.

Be welcomed by a typical Dutch girl on a very special bicycle and be transported from pleasure objects to paintings, prints and hilarious cartoons. Improve your history and art knowledge on a fun theme, take a peek on the floor dedicated to Sado Masochism only and check out La Galerie Provocatrice or Sexy Art Gallery that has been recently added.

The Sexy Art Gallery is a unique concept that links artists, new media, press and people from all over the world that have an interest in common: erotica and its artistic expression. Pay a visit to the erotic museum, watch and learn about everything that has to do with erotica and that you might not know yet... And if you cannot get enough of it all, you can buy yourself a souvenir in the store downstairs or a piece of art from the Sexy Art Gallery.

At Prinsengracht 263, located 150 meters (500 feet) from the Westerkerk, is the house where Anne Frank and her family were in hiding during World War II. Hoping to escape deportation the the concentration camps, they created a construction that made use of the typical shape of the merchant houses in Amsterdam, which was not very broad but extremely.

Actually consisting of two houses, the fron and the back part are often separated by a small coutryard, and only connected by a small corridor. When the Frank family decided to go into hiding in the back part of the house, they painted the windows at the rear end of the front white and covered up the entrance with a bookcase. When standing in the front house, it was impossible to see that there was another house behind it.

The diary which Anne Frank kept describes in detail the family's life underground. Tragically, their hiding place was discovered after two years, and the family was deported. Anne died in March 1945 in the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen. Only Anne's father survived.

Just behind the Rijksmuseum is the Vincent van Gogh Museum. The collection of this museum mostly originated from the heritage of Vincent's brother Theo. Vincent van Gogh studied Greek an Latin in Amsterdam for a year, in order to prepare for an education in theology which he never even started. Eventually, he devoted himself completely to painting.

As a painter, he was far ahead of his time; he managed to sell only painting during his lifetime. His brother Theo sent him money from time to time, so that Vincent could survive. In 1890 he put an end to his short and turbulent life. He was 37 years old.

One of the most impressive painting from van Gogh's early period is "The Potato Eaters", showing a peasant family from the peat district east of Eindhoven. They made a poor living as peat cutters, and their meal consisted mainly of potatoes. Van Gogh brilliantly sketched their gnarled faces and the harshness of the lives of the poor in the country.When you want to take a visit to the Van Gogh Museum, the best thing to do is to order an entrance ticket in advantage. Because of the popularity its better to buy a ticket, so you can skip the line (which can be really long). It's a waste of time to get behind in the que.

17,50 Euro

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