Highlights

Rembrandt House Museum
The famous painter Rembrandt lived in this building between 1639 and 1658. Nowadays, it serves as a museum named Museum het Rembrandthuis or the Rembrandt House Museum. It was erected in 1607. However, this house was drastically remodeled nearly 1627, when it was given its current appearance.

The outstanding collections exhibited in this museum include applied arts, architecture, coins/medals, craft, glass art, drawing, interior design, painting, pottery, and workshop, among many other subjects.

The museum offers visitors audio-visuals (Dutch, English), brochures (Dutch, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish), guided tours (Dutch, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish), explanatory texts (Dutch, English) and educational services (Dutch, English).

Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is a national museum of the Netherlands. It was founded in 1800 in The Hague, but it was moved to its current location in 1885. Constructed by the Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers, this building combines gothic and renaissance features; further, it is decorated with references to the Dutch art history.

The Rijksmuseum is dedicated to applied arts, clocks, doll's houses, glass art, and many other topics. The collection of paintings includes works by Jacob van Ruysdael, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt and his pupils.

Since 2003 the museum has undergone a restoration process; however, masterpieces are continuously displayed for the public.

Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum exhibits works by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and some of his contemporaries, such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Pisarro, Gauguin, and Manet.

It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world, including The Potato Eaters, Bedroom in Arles, and one of the three Sunflowers paintings. In addition, it holds some pieces of sculpture.

Gerrit Rietveld designed the building, which was opened in 1973. In 1999, the Exhibition Wing was built under the direction of the architect Kisho Kurokawa.

Stedelijk Museum
The Stedelijk Museum, meaning City Museum, is one of the main European museums for modern and contemporary art. It holds a room painted by Karel Appel and a vast collection of paintings by Kazimir Malevich.

The museum has been temporarily relocated from its old Museumplein (Museum Square) venue to the Oosterdokskade 3–5 (which is a former office building) due to the fact that it has been subject to renovation. This building offers the most beautiful panoramic views of the city; during daytime, a restaurant is open, which turns into a nightclub at night.

Anne Frank House
This well-known museum constitutes the former hiding place, where Anne Frank wrote her diary during World War II. It was opened in 1960 and many exhibitions have been held since then. The collection includes original items such as the Anne Frank's diary, photographs, and personal belongings. The building maintains most of its original features; however, it houses a café and a museum store nowadays.

Visiting the Anne Frank House is an unforgettable and extremely touching experience.

Diamond Factories
Amsterdam offers a unique, special, and amazing attraction: visiting diamond factories. You will be able to see diamond cutters and diamond polishers at work. You will learn how diamonds are formed and mined. The process of turning a rough diamond into a cut diamond will be disclosed in detail. Further, determining the value and quality of diamonds will be explained to you clearly. Of course, you will have the opportunity to buy pieces of jewelry.

After this fascinating tour you will consider yourself a diamond expert.

Churches in Amsterdam
The Oude Kerk [Old Church] is the oldest church in Amsterdam. Covering an area of 3,300 sq. m, this church was built in the 14th C. After several renewals, the Oude Kerk holds different architectonic styles. The most remarkable feature is the magnificent collection of organs. Further, it holds outstanding stained-glass windows, marvelous choir stalls, and many tombs to visit.

The Nieuwe Kerk (Dutch for "New Church") is located on Dam Square, next to the royal palace. It was built in the late 14th C, when the bishop of Utrecht authorized its construction. The Nieuwe Kerk was consecrated to St. Mary and St. Catharine. Historically, the Nieuwe Kerk has played a major role since coronations and important burials take place here. Exhibitions, concerts, and presentation ceremonies are regularly held in this church in Gothic style.

Located on the bank of the Prinsengracht canal, the Westerkerk was built by Hendrick de Keyser in 1638. It is close to Anne Frank's House, where she hid from the Nazis. This church is mentioned frequently in her diary since its clock tower could be seen from the attic of the house. A memorial statue of Anne Frank arises outside the church. Further, the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn lies buried here in an unknown grave.

Dam Square and Royal Palace
Dam Square is located in the historical center of Amsterdam. It is dominated by the National Monument, which is a stone pillar erected in 1956 in order to commemorate the victims of World War II. The most remarkable buildings of the city stand around the square: the Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

In addition, the Royal Palace is placed on the west side of Dam Square. Designed by Jacob van Campen in 1648, this building served as the City Hall of Amsterdam. Under the request of King Louis Napoleon in 1808, the city hall was turned into a royal palace. The famous artist Rembrandt painted a major part of the interiors of this marvelous building in Neo-classical style. Further, it holds a large collection of Empire style furniture, chandeliers and clocks. Nowadays, her Majesty the Queen uses the palace mainly for official purposes.

Red-light District
Prostitution is legal in Holland, and in Amsterdam most of it is concentrated in the Red Light District. This area -known in Dutch as the Rosse Buurt- is not very big but it is plenty of red lights and neon signs; it constitutes a very amazing place at night, when the lights reflect on the canals’ waters. Erotic theaters, bordellos, dark and noisy bars, red-fringed window parlors, bookstores, video libraries, and dedicated apparel and appliance stores can be found in this interesting site of the city.

Begijnhof Area
The Begijnhof area constitutes the oldest inner courts in Amsterdam. It consists of a group of historic buildings, most of them are private dwellings. Originally, it was a Béguinage (small buildings used by Beguines, which were sisterhoods that sought to serve God without retiring from the world belonging to the Roman Catholic Church and founded in the 13th C in the Low Countries). Nowadays, it is also the site of the English Reformed Church.

The original building accommodated 140 dwellings — nearly 110 were single rooms and about 25 comprising two. In 1979, it was remodeled, thus enlarging the houses to two or three rooms.