Amsterdam Museums

Amsterdam’s museums contain enough art and history to arouse even the most indifferent of curiosities. Whether you want to admire Rembrandts, observe cutting-edge photography, pay tribute to Anne Frank’s memory, or marvel at sexual oddities, Amsterdam has a museum geared toward every purpose. Above all, however, Amsterdam is an art lover’s paradise. The most popular art museums—including the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum—fill Museumplein with any and everyone even the slightest bit interested in art. Yet, other neighborhoods also shelter stellar, if somewhat smaller, collections. If you’re itching to have your finger on the contemporary pulse of the city’s cultural life—or want to take a piece of it home—you should consider spending a morning gallery-hopping .

Amsterdam has also witnessed thriving museum counter-culture, best exemplified by a swelling of so-called “alternative art spaces.” These extraordinarily compelling spaces, usually housed in formerly squatted buildings, explore a range of artistic expression that includes painting and installation art and goes beyond to performance pieces and innovative mixed media. They are a sometimes elusive part of Amsterdam’s artistic life but should not be missed. For more information and listings, see .

In an entirely different—and frequently non-artistic—vein, the city enjoys a smattering of specific collected artifacts and objects that cater to some truly obscure niche interests; for more information on these curious curators, see Bizarre Amsterdam, .

Oude Zijd

Amsterdam is a city of museums, but if you’re looking for Rembrandt, Van Gogh, or Rubens, the Oude Zijd will disappoint. The attractions in this neighborhood are less high culture than they are corporeal ...more

Red Light District

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Red Light District is not home to Amsterdam’s most cherished museums. For the most part, the exhibits here focus on predictable topics, considering the location: drugs and ...more

Nieuwe Zijd

The collection of museums in the Nieuwe Zijd give even those in Museumplein a run for their money. While the cultural institutions of the south of the city focus largely on art, those in the Nieuwe Zijd ...more

Canal Ring West

Any visit to the Canal Ring West must include the area’s magnificent array of museums. The Anne Frank Huis is mere steps away from Westermarkt and the Westerkerk, while the Bijbels Museum and the Theater ...more

Central Canal Ring

Visit the thoroughly modern De Appel Museum for a glance at the latest international art or get a taste of life in the Golden lane at the marvelous Van Loon and Willet-Holthuysen canal houses. Take a ...more

Jordaan

The Jordaan blends the bizarre with the classic in its fine selection of museums. Electric Ladyland’s fluorescent paradise is not to be missed; neither is the smaller but historically relevant Houseboat ...more

Museumplein And Vondelpark

Just look at the name of the neighborhood: two of the best art collections in the world lie within two blocks of each other here. ’Nuff said. Paulus Potterstraat 7. Tram #2 or 5 to Paulus Potterstraat ...more

Jodenbuurt And Plantage

What the Jodenbuurt and Plantage may lack in nightlife, they more than make up for in museums. This neighborhood has one of the highest concentrations of museums in the city, and almost all of them are ...more

Greater Amsterdam

Cobra Museum. The CoBrA Museum pays tribute to the Netherlands’s second great 20th-century art movement (after De Stijl): the name is an abbreviation of the capital cities of the group’s ...more

Galleries

The Jordaan and Canal Ring compete ferociously to be the best destination for top-quality contemporary art. In the former, the area bounded by Prinsengracht, Lijnbaansgracht, Elandsgracht, and Bloemgracht ...more

Alternative Art Spaces

Art lovers know Amsterdam for its museums and galleries. However, there are a cluster of institutions (mostly former squats) that host rotating exhibits by contemporary artists. In these “alternative ...more