Must-Sees of Amsterdam
by Local Host
Van Gogh Museum
This elaborate collection of the troubled artist’s work is a true find. The museum houses some 200 paintings and 550 sketches exposing Van Gogh’s many moods. These works are combined with hundreds of letters from Van Gogh to Theo. Fascinating.
De Hortus Botanical Gardens
This expansive collection of more than 6,000 varieties of plants illustrates more than 350 years of Dutch horticultural history. From the “coffee plant that fathered all the coffee in Brazil” to a nursery created exclusively for tropical palms, the Du Hortes is a heavenly destination for plant-lovers the world over.
Arnhem’s Open-Air Dutch Museum
Head to Arnhem for The Netherlands’ oldest and largest folk museum, complete with wooden shoes, windmills and daily demonstrations of traditional crafts. For a complete immersion into Dutch culture, stop by the park’s rustic Pancake House and delve into a hearty stack of flapjacks.
Sampurna
A rijsttafel is a unique fusion of Indonesian and Dutch culinary traditions. Several tiny plates of food, arranged from mild to strongly spiced, literally fill the table. Try your hand at the formidable 17-dish rijsttafel served at this local favorite.
House of Hajenius
For the aficionado, it doesn’t get any better than this. This intricately designed Art Deco building houses a cathedral of cigars and some of the finest selections of pipe tobacco in the world.
Jordaan
In the 17th century, Amsterdam’s canal diggers, bridge builders and stonemasons called Jordaan home. Now this revitalized and restored area is where the beautiful people come for a night on the town. Eccentric shops, chic restaurants and painstakingly manicured courtyards make this hot spot one of a kind.
House of Corrie Ten Boom
This small museum dedicated to the Ten Boom family tells the you everything about their resistance during the Nazi occupation. The house became home to Jews and others hiding from the Gestapo in this period. Although caught and deported Corrie Ten Boom survived and wrote the family story.
Amsterdamse Bos
An escape from the hectic pace of Amsterdam, this little-known park on the edge of the city has something for everyone. Nature-lovers picnic on its huge, rolling green lawns, animal lovers visit the bison preserve and goat farm, and aviation fanatics lay back to watch low-flying aircraft glide overhead.
Kröller – Müller Musem
Situated in a national park this museum has a fascinating collection of 19th and 20th century art brought together by Hellen Kröller. The sculpture garden around the museum is one of the biggest in Europe with works from Moore, Rodin, Hepworth and others. Have a look at the family’s hunting lodge special build with all the moden facilities of the time. Transportation through the park is best done by bike which are parked everywhere and can be taken everywhere within the park.
Waterland Neeltje Jans
An exciting and wonderful way to discover the element that makes the Netherlands so special; water. Situated in the heart of the largest water management project in the world the Delta works in the province of Zeeland. This project was started after the devastating floods of 1953 killing 1,835 people. Experience the power of water in the Delta expo and stand on and inside the storm surge barrier. Experience the power of a storm in the Hurricane simulator.
Madurodam
The most prominent and significant buildings in the Netherlands have been collected the smallest town in the country called Madurodam. The difference, everything is 25 times smaller than in rela life. A true metropolis occupying no more than two hectares complete with airport, harbors and railway stations. The city is fully illuminated in the evening.
Palace “Het Loo”
This Little Versailles was built for Prince William III as a hunting lodge. Being King of England as William of Orange he hardly made use of it. His wife Queen Mary II did. Members of the royal family live here until 1975. Opened for the public since 1984 as a record of three centuries of the architectural and decorative taste of the house of Orange.
