Amsterdam 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 also display archaeological findings, historical artifacts, and religious relics. For a taste of all of the culture Amsterdam has to offer, a visit to the Nieuwe Zijd’s museums is a must.

Nieuwe Kerk. The New Church, the extravagant 15th-century brick-red cathedral at the heart of the Nieuwe Zijd, now serves a triple role as a religious edifice, historical monument, and art museum. The church is most significantly a cultural destination; changing exhibits fill the nooks and crannies of the sacred, cavernous space for several months. Take a moment to stray from the main exhibit and to discover the ornate hexagonal pulpit, with its intricate bas-reliefs depicting works of charity and parables from the New Testament. It was carved over 15 years by Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck. Jacob van Campen, architect of the Koninklijk Paleis, designed the stunning undulating organ case. The paintings on its doors depict scenes from the life of the biblical King David. Be sure to tilt your head upward to catch a glimpse of winged cherubs who appear to be bearing the weight of the vaulted ceiling. Commemorative windows are given to the church to honor royal inaugurations and other events; a particularly poignant one is to the right past the gift shop, put in place in 1995 to commemorate 50 years of freedom after WWII. This piece of contemporary art features plain opaque glass and prison bars that evoke the country’s struggles during the occupation and celebrate the eventual end of the oppression. Other stained-glass windows include the massive windows above the main entrance (honoring the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina) and those remembering Queen Beatrix’s silver jubilee in 2005. The church, which has been rebuilt several times after several fires, is still used for royal inaugurations and weddings. Queen Wilhelmina was crowned here in 1898, followed by her daughter Juliana in 1948 and granddaughter Beatrix in 1980. In February 2002, Prince Wilhelm Alexander, the heir to the Dutch throne, was married to Argentine belle Maxima in the Nieuwe Kerk’s hallowed sanctuary. Check the website before you go; the church closes for two weeks between exhibits. (Adjacent to Dam Sq., beside Koninklijk Paleis. ☎638 6909; www.nieuwekerk.nl. Open daily 10am-5pm. Organ recitals June-Sept. Th 12:30pm, Su 8pm. Call ahead for exact times. €8, ages 6-15 and seniors €6.)

Amsterdams Historisch Museum. Appropriately for the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the building itself oozes history: the house, constructed in the 17th century, used to be Amsterdam’s city orphanage. Even though nothing beats a walk around the city itself, this archival museum offers an eclectic introduction to Amsterdam’s historical development by way of ancient archaeological findings, medieval manuscripts, Baroque paintings, and multimedia displays. The collection of artifacts alone provides a useful introduction to the city’s importance as a center of trade and culture as well as its rise—and fall—and rise again—from a swampy marshland to a modern city. However, the layout is often needlessly labyrinthine, and the spare wall texts don’t provide a coherent narrative. The story is organized into a Grand Tour of Amsterdam’s history and culture, beginning on the ground floor with “The Young City, 1350-1550,” continuing through the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and finishing in “The Modern City, 1850-2000.” The section of the museum that features artistic accounts of gory Golden Age anatomy lessons (Rembrandt’s among them) is particularly interesting. The illustrations of Amsterdam’s maritime history narrate the curious struggles of the Dutch East India Company. Be sure to catch one of the Historical Museum’s hidden surprises: in the covered passageway between the museum and the Begijnhof, there is an extensive collection of large 17th-century paintings of Amsterdam’s civic guards. During Amsterdam’s Golden Age, these pictures were a genre unto themselves, commissioned by the governing boards of municipal bodies seeking painterly immortality. Beyond the passage, the remainder of the museum illustrates Amsterdam’s more contemporary history through photography, film, and creative displays. (Kalverstraat 92 and Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 357. Tram #4, 9, 14, 16, 24, or 25 to Spui or #1, 2, or 5 to Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. ☎523 1822; www.ahm.nl. Open M-F 10am-5pm, Sa-Su 11am-5pm; closed Queen’s Day. €7, ages 6-16 €3.50, seniors €5.25.)

Stedelijk Museum For Modern And Contemporary Art. As the Stedelijk’s building on Museumplein undergoes extensive renovations, its home until 2009 is a drab 11-story building to the east of Centraal Station overlooking the IJ. The museum has integrated its mission into the space admirably, filling two cavernous floors of the building with exhibits of contemporary art that rotate every three months. These pieces, none of which predate 1968, are sometimes interspersed with masterpieces from the museum’s extensive permanent collection of avant-garde and contemporary art. A cafe serves coffee and tea with a beautiful view of the harbor. (Oosterdokskade 5. ☎573 2745, recorded info 573 2911; www.stedelijk.nl. Open daily 11am-6pm. €9; ages 7-16, over 65, and groups of 15 or more €4.50; under 7 free; families €22.50.)

Allard Pierson Museum. Experience a classical blast from the past at the University of Amsterdam’s archaeological museum, named for a prominent archaeologist and professor at the university in the 19th century. While the well-balanced and handsome collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, Etruria, and Rome is not exactly world-class, it does have a surprising collection of Roman figurines, Egyptian reliefs, and Greek pottery—as well as some of the city’s classiest (albeit 2000-year-old) full-frontal nudes. The museum inhabits the former headquarters (1869-1967) of the Dutch central bank, and the building’s classical features, including columns and marble floors, complement the collection well. Although many of the individual captions to the artifacts are only available in Dutch, larger plaques and signs are written in both Dutch and English. The holdings—30,000 excavated objects, 10,000-year-old skulls, and a carefully restored mummy—are worthy attractions for fans of classical antiquity. (Oude Turfmarkt 127. Located across the Amstel from Rokin, less than 5min. from Dam Sq. ☎525 2556; www.allardpiersonmuseum.nl. Open Tu-F 10am-5pm, Sa-Su 1-5pm. €5; students, ages 4-16, and seniors €2.50; under 4 free.)

Amsterdam Sex Museum. This almost requisite museum will disappoint only those looking for a sophisticated examination of sexuality in all its cultural, economic, legal, regulatory, and generative dimensions. Those looking for a fun, if somewhat unrefined, caricature of sex will be in heaven. Only five minutes on foot from Centraal Station and with an incredibly low admission fee, the Sex Museum won’t leave you feeling burned if you find that walls plastered with pictures of bestiality and S&M are not your thing. The first of four floors features some amusing life-size mannequins of pimps, prostitutes, and even one immodest fellow who flashes you from behind his trench coat. With the many moans, whispers, and cackles emitting from these dolls, at times the experience feels more like a horror show than a sexual adventure. The museum features such ancient artifacts as a stone phallus from the Roman age, but the exhibits are hardly informative; the majority is composed of photograph after photograph of sexual acts, some more familiar than others. Watch out for the gallery of fetishes, though: the montage of horses, whips, and nipple clamps is not for the weak of stomach. (Damrak 18. ☎622 8376; www.sexmuseumamsterdam.nl. Open daily 10am-11:30pm. €3.)