Apart from dodging all the bicycles that seem to come at you from every angle, down every street, a must see place is the Anne Frank House.

We visited Amsterdam as one of the destinations on our cruise, so a map was provided and one gets a great feel for the place just walking through the streets. The house is immediately visible as there’s usually a huge queue outside, but it’s worth the wait.

It’s fascinating, haunting and sad all at once. There are photos and mementoes everywhere. I’ve certainly never forgotten it.

www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2

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Anne Frank's House is the most amazing experience in Amsterdam - a true piece of history. It is thought-provoking and emotive.

See where the family hid upstairs via a bookshelf, and even see their toilet - but get there early as there are always queues!

www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2

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Get to see the picturebook version of old Holland by visiting the Zaanse Schans, which is just 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Central.

This preserved village of windmills, old houses and workshops beside the river Zaan is an all-weather, all-year attraction. Admission is free, although there are entry charges to some buildings on the site.

www.zaanseschans.nl/

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This interesting and thought-provoking museum chronicles how the occupation of the Netherlands affected the populace and the different ways the population resisted this occupation.

Many of the exhibits take the form of personal testimony, written and verbal. There is a fascinating display of the ingenuity of people who hid radio transmitters in matchboxes or Vim containers and microfilm in a shaving razor.

The museum does not shy away from the difficult choices people had to, and did, make. Some chose to be actively involved, others helped when asked but didn’t volunteer their services, others refused. The museum makes no judgement on these decisions, rather it puts you in the position of thinking “what would I do were I in that situation” and asks you to imagine what it must have been like to try and carry on with a ‘normal’ life under an occupying force.

For a long time the question “What would I do?” stays in your thoughts.

Most of the exhibits have explanations in Dutch and English though some on the poster displays have not been translated from Dutch.

Entrance Fee: 4.50 euros
Open: 10.00am-5.00pm Tues-Fri
12.00-5.00pm Sat-Mon

Plantage kerklaan 61 a
620 25 35
www.verzetsmuseum.org

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With major renovation taking place at the moment (October 2005) and continuing until 2008 the main museum building is closed, however, a special exhibition entitled Masterpieces is on display in the Philips Wing.

This exhibition (containing over 400 exhibits – a fair amount for a lot of museums but hardly a scratch on the surface for the hundreds of thousands the Rijksmuseum contains) concentrates on the Golden Age of Dutch art – the 17th Century.

Exhibits include the amazingly detailed Dolls House owned and commissioned by Petronella Oortman – as well as representing a wonderful feat of artistry it is also a great historical record of life in a Dutch canal side house. There are pictures and artefacts illustrating Amsterdam and Holland’s standing as a world trading power (a very good accompaniment to many of the exhibits in the Amsterdam Historisch Museum) and paintings by Frans Hals, Vermeer and, of course Rembrandt including the magnificent “Night Watch”.
Beware that the galleries can get very busy, particularly at the weekend and you may find yourself avoiding tour groups and waiting, or jostling, to see some of the more well known paintings. It's worth it though.

Entry: 9 euro plus 4 euro or an audio guide
Opening Times: 9am-6pm daily
The website (www.rijksmuseum.nl) is a fantastic site and well worth a look.

The entrance is currently on Jan Luijkenstraat
The website (www.rijksmuseum.nl) is a fantastic site and well worth a look

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