The beautiful city of Amsterdam is world renown for its many great tourist attractions and the city’s many museums are among the most popular. In fact, Amsterdam boasts more than fifty museums that when combined, attract nearly two million visitors each year.
Although the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House and the Stedelijk Museum are the most popular, Amsterdam also has many other interesting small museums in categories that house collections far different than just classical works of art. Along with the famous classical art museums, there are also venues for exciting modern art, as well as press, film, theater and photography museums. There is also a houseboat museum along with some rather unconventional modern museums including the sex, erotic, hash and torture museums too. Along with the art museums there are also many art galleries to visit as well. Whatever your particular needs may be, there is probably a museum in Amsterdam that will accommodate your interest.
Here are just a few of the most popular Amsterdam museums to visit:
*The Rijksmuseum is one of the most famous destinations in Amsterdam and is one of the best art museums in the world today.
*The recently renovated Scheepvaart National Maritime Museum is a history museum that illustrates the history and character of the Netherlands.
*The Amsterdam Artis Zoo and Hortus Botanicus Nature Museum hosts one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world.
*The NEMO Electric Tram Line Museum is a fun technology museum destination for kids that documents the quickly changing technology of the world today.
*The World Peace Museum documents the history of the rise of the global peace movement and honors the peace initiatives and the leaders who worked toward the goal of world peace.
*The Tropenmuseum is a tropical museum belonging to the Royal Institute for the Tropics and is devoted to the study of the cultures in tropical areas around the world.
*The Pijpenkabinet Pipe Museum features thousands of pipes on display in a collection housed in a 17th century canal house. The display is recognized as the best collection of its kind by the Dutch Ministry of Culture.
*The Brilmuseum National Museum of Spectacles is an interesting small museum that is focused solely on the topic of spectacles, or eyeglasses.
*The Houseboat Museum is an interesting venue dedicated to the history of the house boats that travel the canals of Amsterdam.
*The Max Euwe Centrum Chess Museum features the unique history of the game of chess presented through photographs and memorabilia in a small museum that was once a former prison.
*The Diamond Museum is a small museum in the central museum quarter district hosted by the Amsterdam diamond trader Coster Diamonds, and presents an interesting historical diamond exhibit that uses modern multimedia to tell the story.
The list above represents just a sampling of the many fun museums and exhibits in and around Amsterdam. The Dutch reputation for being tolerant to new ideas and open to the outside world has enabled the city of Amsterdam to become a worldwide center for tourists who want to explore the many different venues, topics and themes of the best museums in the world today.
