The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is King Willem-Alexander’s official reception palace, used for important official events and is one of three palaces used by the Dutch Royal Family. It was originally Amsterdam’s town hall rather than a palace and was designed by Jan Van Campen in the 17th century.
The National Monument in Amsterdam was built in 1956 as a memorial to those killed and injured in World War II.
The National Maritime Museum has been housed in The Arsenal building since 1973. It was built in 1656 as a storehouse for the Admiralty of Amsterdam and when I visited had this large ship rather spoiling the view.
The Dutch Resistance Museum, or Verzetsmuseum, is directly opposite Amsterdam Zoo which made it very convenient to visit. It focuses on the Netherlands in World War II exploring briefly what life was like before the war and then on to the different ways the Dutch people survived and fought back whilst under Nazi occupation.
ARTIS Royal Zoo is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands, founded in 1838 for members only and then opened to the public in 1851. The zoo is in the centre of Amsterdam, in a nice quiet leafy neighbourhood and far larger than I had been expecting.
You can’t really go to Amsterdam without taking a cruise along the canals and I picked the 100 Highlights Cruise as it was included in the I amsterdam card and would allow me to see parts of the city I wouldn’t be visiting on this trip.
This museum in Amsterdam is in the house where Rembrandt lived for nearly twenty years from 1639 to 1656. The collection at the house does include some of Rembrandt’s etchings and paintings but the interior is reconstructed rather than original and the belongings in the house are also reconstructions based on what Rembrandt had to auction when he went bankrupt in 1656.
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is another place that was on my must visit list (also included in the I amsterdam card) and I ended up visiting it straight after the Van Gogh Museum (they are located very close together). Originally I’d planned to visit the Rijksmuseum later in the day as the museum states that lunchtime is the busiest time of day but seeing as it was very hot but raining buckets I decided to go in at lunchtime anyways so as to be out of the rain and found that I could walk straight in without having to queue after all.
I headed out to Amsterdam in June for a three night stay and as usual managed to take in a lot of interesting places. All of the museums etc. I visited I did with the I amsterdam city card which I would recommend if you’re the kind of person who likes to fit a lot in when they travel. The Van Gogh Museum was my first stop and was probably my favourite of the museums. (It’s worth noting that even with the I amsterdam City Card you have to book timed tickets in advance and as you get towards the summer months the harder it is to find a good time slot). I went first thing in the morning which worked out very well for me.
