Amsterdam 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 Instituut Nederlands can be found in their respective magnificent canal houses after a brief stroll.

Anne Frank Huis. Anne Frank was just 10 years old when WWII began in 1939, but her literary legacy has inspired many across the globe. In 1942, the Nazis began deporting all Jews to ghettos and concentration camps, forcing Anne’s family and four other Dutch Jews to hide in the achterhuis, or annex, of Otto Frank’s warehouse on the Prinsengracht. All eight refugees lived in this secret annex for two years, during which time Anne penned her diary, a moving chronicle of her life as a Jew in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Translated into over 60 languages, her journal continues to be one of the most widely read books in the world, revealing with its innocent sincerity the destructive consequences of prejudice and hate.

Displays of various household objects, text panels mounted with pages from the diary’s first and second copies, and video footage of the rooms as they looked during WWII give some sense of life in that tumultuous time. However, save Anne’s original magazine clippings and photos left plastered to the walls, the rooms are unfurnished; the cramped, exposed conditions and lack of privacy described in her writing are left to the visitor’s imagination. Footage of interviews with Otto Frank (Anne’s father), Miep Gies (an office worker who supplied the family with food and other necessities), and Anne’s best childhood friend provide further insights. The original bookcase used to hide the entrance to the secret annex remains, cracked open for visitors to pass through. Especially moving are pencil marks, still visible on the wall, which tracked the height of Anne and her sister Margot Frank while they were in hiding.

After walking through the house, be sure to check out the CD-ROM exhibit, which provides more information about WWII and a virtual tour of the furnished house. Nearby is an interactive display that strives to contextualize the Holocaust in relation to current human rights issues. In the exhibit, visitors watch a film documenting recent civil rights issues.

The endless line stretching around the corner attests to the popularity of the Anne Frank Huis. With extended hours in the summer, there is no reason to wait for an hour in order to get inside—the line is not as long before 10am and after 7pm. (Prinsengracht 267. Tram #6, 13, 14, or 17 to Westermarkt. ☎556 7100; www.annefrank.nl. Open daily Apr.-Aug. 9am-9pm; Sept.-Mar. 9am-7pm; closed on Yom Kippur. Last entry 30min. before closing. €6.50, ages 10-17 €3, under 10 free.)

Bijbels Museum. This informative and illustrative museum provides a fascinating examination of ancient biblical culture. Inside two canal houses built by 17th-century architect Philip Vingboons, the museum presents information on both the contents and history of the Bible and the cultural context in which it was written. Opened in 1851 with Leendert Schouten’s display of his ancient Israeli Tabernacle, it includes the first Bible ever printed in the Netherlands. Other highlights include a large model of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, with an exhibit on its significance to Jews, Muslims, and Christians, as well as an authentic Egyptian mummy from 304 BC.

The exhibits benefit from their surroundings; the house is a monument in itself, containing artistic designs that call forth biblical themes and demonstrate the Bible’s influence on culture and society. The bottom floor is devoted to the study of canal-house architecture, with emphasis on the ceiling paintings by Jacob de Wit and the elliptical English grand staircase. Make sure to examine the 17th-century kitchen, and don’t miss the two aroma cabinets that offer samplings of “exalted” fragrances—e.g., lotus and myrrh—and “everyday” scents from biblical times—e.g., fig and pomegranate. The large garden located at the back of the museum is an oasis of calm with its lily pond and arrangement of biblical sculptures. (Herengracht 366-368. Tram #1, 2, or 5 to Spui. ☎624 2436; www.bijbelsmuseum.nl. Open M-Sa 10am-5pm, Su 11am-5pm. €6, students and children 13-18 €3, under 13 free.)

Huis Marseille. This small museum houses a rotating collection of artistic photography. Every three months, a handful of new displays, ranging from 30 to as many as 300 photographs, grace Marseille, a canal house dating from 1665. Only a few prints are selected from each artist, but their works are invariably expressive, informative, and thoughtfully arranged. The museum has a permanent collection of contemporary works by international photographers whose pieces branch out into other forms of visual art. (Keizersgracht 401. ☎531 8989; www.huismarseille.nl. Open Tu-Su 11am-5pm. €5, students €3, under 18 free.)

Mutable Museums. If you’re dead-set on seeing a particular museum and are planning to make an extended trip out of it, make sure to call ahead. Particular artifacts or collections may be away on tour, and museums sometimes close when they are between exhibits.

Theater Instituut Nederland. Located in five majestic Herengracht canal houses, the Theater Instituut Nederland hosts continually changing exhibits related to all aspects of theater and dance. The main building of the Instituut is Herengracht 168, which architect Philip Vingboons transformed in 1638 from a bakery into a resplendent house with the city’s first neck-gable (an ornamentation that capped off thin canal houses). The museum also extends into the notable Bartolotti House, built in 1617 by Guillelmo Bartolotti. One highlighted permanent exhibit is an intact 17th-century chamber theater. If translations are not next to the exhibits, ask at the reception desk for a printed sheet with the English descriptions. The walls and ceilings of the front reception area are museum pieces in themselves. The landscapes depicted here, painted by artist Isaac de Moucheron, tell the legend of Jefta, the commander of the Israelite army, and the figures, by renowned painter Jacob de Wit, glorify Flora, the Roman goddess of the spring. The building also houses a comprehensive library specializing in Dutch theater. In the back, a well-lit cafe stocks snacks and drinks. (Herengracht 168-174. Tram #1, 2, or 5 to Dam, then walk up Raadhuisstraat away from the back of the palace. Turn left at Herengracht. ☎551 3300; www.tin.nl. Open M-F 11am-5pm, Sa-Su 1-5pm. €4.50, students €2.25, ages 7-16 €2.25, under 7 free.)

Multatuli Museum. “I am a coffee broker, and I live at No. 37 Lauriergracht, Amsterdam.” So begins Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company, one of the few 19th-century Dutch novels still popular with contemporary literati. Its author, Eduard Douwes Dekker, has been praised for his visionary political leadership and named the Netherlands’s most significant author. He penned Max Havelaar after a 20-year stay in Indonesia, during which he realized that the Dutch government’s exploitation of the Javanese wasn’t as harmless as people seemed to believe. Because the Netherlands profited greatly from colonial spoils, Dekker wavered on whether to publish his controversial beliefs; eventually, he wrote the work in 1860 under the pseudonym Multatuli, Latin for “I have endured many things.” The novel’s critique of colonialism and its sharp witticisms instantly made it a vivid classic, breathing life into the conventional world of mid-19th-century Dutch literature.

Today you can visit the museum dedicated to Dekker’s legacy—not on Lauriergracht in the Jordaan, but at the author’s birthplace on Korsjespoortsteeg. The museum is used mainly for scholarly research, but the upstairs room displays Dekker’s personal book collection, desk, and the sofa on which he died. A fantastically knowledgeable staff of volunteers will eagerly recount Dekker’s life. (Korsjespoortsteeg 20. Tram #1, 2, 5, 13, or 17 to Nieuwezijds Kolk, get off at the Herengracht stop, and walk toward the Shipping Quarter. ☎638 1938; www.multatuli-museum.nl/en. Open Tu and Sa-Su 10am-5pm. Free.)

Nationaal Brilmuseum (National Spectacles Museum) . By virtue of its location on one of Amsterdam’s quieter side streets, it is easy to overlook the Nationaal Brilmuseum, perched in the home of a family that has been collecting specs for over four generations. The four-story building, which dates all the way back to 1620, is a tribute to all things ocular. The museum displays everything from models of the eye to a multitude of eyewear in every style. The eye-popping exhibits take you through the history of optical science, craftsmanship, and fashion. While the museum might not catch everyone’s eye, the cheap admission fee and its novelty alone certainly make it worth a visit. Inside you’ll find famous frames from the past century—such as Schubert’s, Buddy Holly’s, and Dame Edna’s—that have not been worn since their owners bequeathed them to the museum. Visit the shop that occupies the ground floor of the museum if you find yourself squinting at the exhibits. (Gasthuismolensteeg 7. Take any tram to Dam Sq., walk around to the left of the Palace, turn left, walk block, and turn right onto Paleisstraat, which becomes Gasthuismolensteeg. Cross the Singel; the museum is on the left in the middle of the next block. ☎421 2414; www.brilmuseumamsterdam.nl. Open W-F 11:30am-5:30pm, Sa 11:30am-5pm. €4.50, under 12 €2.50.)

Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time-Based Arts. Founded in 1978, this former canal house functions as an exhibition space, video library, and educational institution devoted to the promotion of time-based media. The Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst, which also manages De Appel’s video holdings, currently has a collection of over 14,000 books and videos available for study in the Mediathèque downstairs. Their collection is one of the largest in the world. The center also curates three or four large exhibitions each year focusing on various aspects of media art. Montevideo organizes lectures, symposia, workshops, and educational programs. Foreigners can serve as interns, helping to manage the extensive video collection; check the website or call for details. (Keizersgracht 264. Tram #13, 14, or 17 to Westermarkt. ☎623 7101; www.montevideo.nl. Front desk open M-F 9am-5pm; gallery and exhibition space open Tu-Sa 1-6pm; Mediathèque open M-F 1-5pm. Exhibition €2.50, students and seniors €1.50. Mediathèque free.)