Do you know the Vondelpark's best kept secret? Well-hidden underneath the bridge there's an bomb…read moreshelter from the last century called de Vondelbunker. And the Nederlanders wouldn't be famous for their Dutchness, their pragmatical suchness, if they didn't find a new useful use for such a place. If you fancy an alternative evening with music, poetry, games or movies (check the website www.schijnheilig.org), this is the place to be. And because imho the first review for this place is actually supposed to be in Dutch I excel myself to at least write a decent summary: Geen zin in beschaafdheid en dikkedakken? Liever gezellig drankjes doen en lekker ouwehoeren met mensen van de Amsterdamsche alternatieve scène? Dus ga gewoon naar de Vondelbunker.

i visited De Vondelbunker on a trip to Amsterdam in 2016…read more if you can find this thing & enjoy a show here, let me tell you something: 1. you are one cool motherfucker 2. you're prolly the only tourist there it is HARD to find, even with the address, but so worth it. approach the bridge from inside Vondelpark. the entrance is along the NE foundation of the bridge. you won't hear shit - it's a bunker! - but look for people trickling in & out.

I cried. I cried the day before…read more I cried the moment the curator said "today we're going to discuss Anne Frank." There is a window that opens on a certain day and it'll cover the next 6 weeks. If you miss this window, you won't get tickets. I almost missed the window as I completely forgot my 9hour time difference. For me, it opens midnight on Monday! Keep that in mind. So we got the 30 minute presentation + the tour of the place. There are no cameras allowed - that's to preserve the integrity of Anne's diary. There was also a section dedicated to Margot. Margot would have been 100 years old if she was here today. May god rest her soul. Turns out, Margot also kept a diary but it was lost when the bad people came to take the family away. Additionally, there was an entire team of people dedicated to keeping the family safe during their difficult time. Walking through the staircase to the annex felt - eerie and heartbreaking, you can see and experience the tight conditions in which the family lived. I had to duck my head to get to through the bookshelf that lead to the annex. Lots of the areas were bare because the bad people destroyed mostly everything. Though Anne's actual posters and pictures remained. There were also anecdotes from the friends and helpers about Anne and Margot. And even Peter as well. This is something I think every human should experience at least once in their lives. If you haven't read her diary, please do. Because sadly history tends to repeat itself.

You must buy tickets in advance or you're unlikely to get in. I was wearing a small backpack that…read morethey let me keep on, as long as I wore it to the front. There's still a little line for the time you've booked, but that's just to stagger the entry a bit. The audio component was helpful to explain what we were seeing, but there was no audio for the living area for the Franks, et al. I suppose it was to make the mood more somber, but I think it would have been helpful. Knowing the story makes the place an overwhelming visit, but I agree with some other reviewers that some replica items in the living spaces could give the scene a more authentic feel for visitors. I also wish that they let fewer people enter at once so there was more time to really explore and reflect, rather than the 'keep it moving' feel that I had. That being said, it's still worth visiting.

I am so bummed!! After being there for 5 hours, I still failed to make it to the 1700-1800 and the…read more2000s zones!! This place is HUGE! I now understand why tourists would plan an entire day there. Unfortunately, I had 2 other stops that day that I couldn't miss, so I had no choice but left at 2pm. I am soo glad I made it to the main hall first to see Rembrandt's Night Watch (granted it was through a piece of glass due to the restoration process). I would've been devastated if I couldn't. Love the info cards for almost all of the major art pieces to explain in detail on how it was created. Some tips: Buy your ticket ahead of time. Get there 15 minutes before your entrance time to get in line and for bag check. No water inside the exhibits. The coat check is your only option if you don't show up right at when they open. The lockers filled up within minutes. Don't be fooled by the opened ones because that means the lock is broken. Definitely worth a stop at the gift shop. (Like I said above) Plan to spend the whole day there.

Beautiful museum... Incredible Rembrandt and other masters…read more Love the architecture... And the café

This is a cozy black box theater that hosts Improv, storytelling, and comedy shows throughout the…read moreweek. There's a nice sized bar, the prices are cheap and it's comfortable. Nice crowd. I really liked it!

I went to Mezrab to see a ply with a friend and I absolutely loved it! It was a 2-person,…read morestorytelling play (so to speak) called The Whistler of Dreams and it was so captivating that the entire room quiet as we listened attentively the whole time. They take creative/performance arts pretty seriously and are very nice to their patrons. You can buy drinks to have during the show and people tend to hang out before and after plays so you'll have people to talk to even if you go alone. It's not fancy by any means but you are guaranteed a good, thought-provoking time.

The Amsterdam Museum is a small museum that covers some portions of Amsterdam's history. I'd say no…read moremore than 2-3 hours of content. There is some good stuff there, but what the museum covers is somewhat arbitrary. One full room deals with a plane crash that happened in the 90s, while the museum has almost nothing about the canals. Half the museum is about slavery in Suriname and nearby areas. Almost everything is in English. The Amsterdam Museum has moved to a temporary location at Amstel 51. It's inside a building called "The Heritage", which also houses other museums. While walking to the museum, you'll see signs for "The Heritage", though you probably won't see any signs for "Amsterdam Museum".

We spent about 2 hours on a self-guided tour of this museum, with an audio guide…read more There were 3 floors to visit. We climbed many stairways during the tour. There is an elevator, but only in one section of the building. We used it to exit. The museum is divided by time period. Each time period is housed in 1 or more rooms. Taking your time to watch the videos, listen to the commentaries and read the placards will be the most immersive way to learn the most here.