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

Cheese museum, you say? Well, I say heck yeah! Free admission? Even better. Free samples? Give them…read moreall to me. Educational and historical information on cheese? Yes! Interesting and awesome. We learned about Gouda, the tools used to make cheese now and in the days of olde. Tons of fun photo ops and props. And once again, the tastings. I swear we tried at least 15 different cheeses. Had the cheesiest time! A+.

I'll cut to the cheese and get straight to the gouda part, where the smells in this store are…read moredelicious (and slightly funky, as cheese can be) and there are plentiful cheese samples to try. Groow-yere cheese knowledge at the mini cheese museum downstairs or really just a small room decked out with cheese-making equipment and some plaques describing the production process. Edam if I go back to Amsterdam, I might make emmental note to drop by and try some cheese and grab a small block or two to go(at). They pack in prep for shipping in airport luggage too. Aye-siago before I hava-arti-me living these puns down :)

If you want to see windmills in Amsterdam, this is the place to go…read more Beautiful scenery in the surrounding area around the windmills. Kind of a small village town. Some of the buildings are living quarters and some are shops such as cheese, clogs, and chocolate. We were able to go inside one of the working windmills and see how it all worked. There are small steep set of stairs, so be prepared. They're not high, but space it tight. Nice experience and worth taking a trip out to see the windmill

I would give this experience 6 stars if I could! It was only a few metro stops away from Amsterdam…read moreCentraal with a 10-minute walk. The whole day there could actually have been free, but I paid in advance online for extra experience, like going up to the balcony of the windmills! I was so amazed by how close I was with the blade! The clog "museum" was so cool with alternating English and Dutch demo every 10 minutes. The cheese zone was fascinating. The hot cocoa hut was a fun experience. Honestly, I felt like I was in a dream just by walking along the curvy paths. Can't say I'll be back soon, and the photos I took simply don't do justice to how beautiful this place is. Oh, I miss this place already!

I am beyond amazed that I get to see the actual Sunflower painting!! O.M.G!…read more I'm not posting any artwork here, because I don't want to take away anyone's experience. If I could go back to Amsterdam, I would definitely go back to this museum again. Yellow is such a joyful color. After visiting the museum, it has a deeper meaning to me. I went through entire museum floor by floor, showroom by showroom. Every corner has something that amazes me. I also got a chance to see how Van Gogh actually looked like! My goodness. I couldn't believe my eyes. A few tips: 1- you must make a reservation online ahead of time. I saw many people got turned away while I was waiting in line for security check. 1b- it's okay to be in line 15 minutes before your supposed arrival time. 2-it's best to buy the audio tour ticket along with the entrance fee instead of buying it on site. It was sold out when I got there. 3-there is a book store on the top floor, and you can actually take home a blank Sunflower coloring sheet for free! It's on an easel at the corner by the window.

TIP - order tickets ahead in time online to make sure you can get in on the day/time you want…read more A beautiful looking museum. Lots of Van Gogh art works to view and take in. Self guided tour comes with a player with headphones to that you can learn about the different Van Gogh art periods and works of art. Overall the museum was okay. You see a lot of Van Gogh art but not much about his life and world around him. I preferred the Rembrandt House as it showed his home and living arrangements - it gave you glimpse of his life at that time. I think the Rijks Museum would be a better choice to see a variety of artists.

A must do if visiting Amsterdam…read more ***If you plan to go, you must order tickets ahead of time. Based on where you live, you will have to make sure you purchase tickets immediately as the "window" opens for the day/time that you want to go. I had to wake up at 1am west coast time to make sure I got my tickets before they sell out. Tickets are available EXACTLY 6 weeks at 10am Amsterdam time for the day/time you want. Plan ahead! There are two tickets, one for the general tour and one that adds a presentation before the self guided tour. If you can get it, I recommend getting tickets for the presentation. It's a good intro before doing the self guided tour. But if you can't get these tickets, the general self guided tour is fine and well done. For the self guided tour you get a translator (many languages available) to guide you through the tour. You point the translator at the small round numbered placard in the wall to trigger the translator for the room/exhibit. There is a lot of walking, stairs, and standing around so be prepared. Plan for about 1.5-2 hours to do the while tour. There also a gift shop and cafe at the end of the tour. The exhibit/museum itself is very well done. It's an informative and moving experience. Be respectful as it is a memorial. Highly recommend visiting. Be prepared and plan ahead when ordering tickets online 6 weeks ahead.

A must see if you're in Amsterdam, especially if you like history! Seeing and reading everything…read moreabout the experiences that Anne and her family (along with the others hiding with her) was moving in many ways. Standing in the same room where she wrote so much of her diary brought tears to my eyes. There were also other areas that had testimonies from various people and it really brought things to life for me. IMPORTANT: You need to reserve/buy tickets online well before you go. I don't think you can just walk up and buy. We woke up at in the middle of the night (our time in the U.S.) to buy tickets when it opened online in Amsterdam. You don't have to HAVE to see the presentation to explore the house/museum because everyone gets an audio device (which was well done), but I found it interesting and the presentation and presenter helped to answer some questions I had. You're not allowed to take photos inside the actual house because it's a memorial, but that was okay with me since the focus was more concentrated on taking everything in. Online it says no backpacks or large bags because there are no lockers/storage, so we left our backpacks at our hotel. But they actually did have an area for people to check backpacks/bags. So if you can't avoid having a backpack when you go, you can get it checked and stored. I'm so glad we went and now have a true visual for things when reading her diary.

Not a traditional "museum" by any stretch, but with Amsterdam being the city boasting the world's…read moremost museums, I can see how the claim is made with places like this. It's a really nice spot, and the guy who runs it is extremely open and friendly with a wealth of information. He truly lives for this! If you arrive before it opens, you'll see people gathered around the door entrance, and you're there wondering what kind of place this really is. Doesn't look big from the outside at all, and looks like a shop more than a museum. Once you get inside the small space, you're greeted with black lighting above which illuminates all of the fluorescent artwork. There are paintings and sculptures with bright colors across the spectrum. Then you walk down these steps into the dark basement and see his special rock collection with the makeup of the rocks highlighted under the black lighting. Reminded me of geology class. Cool place, quick 30 minute experience.

If you are interested in learning about florescent minerals, history, and art then this place is…read moreenjoyable. Nick is a nice artist who invites you to learn more about the interesting glowing minerals. I really enjoyed this place and can't wait to put up my piece of art I bought from here!

Lucky for us this museum was also opened on Monday. There's lot to see here. It's the first and…read moreoldest museum in the Netherlands. It's a museum of scientific data, manuscripts, fossils, minerals as well the home that the Museum was named after. We just meandered on our own there wasn't an official tour guide but there was lots to see. The museum is a homage to Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, who was a wealthy cloth merchant and banker of Scottish descent, who bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of religion, art, and science. It was the center for enlightenment study and education.

Very interesting and a multitude of displays, vintage instruments, paintings, coinage/medallions…read moreand many, many fossils and minerals. One could spend a whole day perusing the various collections.. Audio assist personalized speakers available in multi languages. Also has a nice, quiet inner courtyard with a small lunch menu available, very tasty sandwiches and more..

I was informed by several travel blogs that this is a tourist trap, but honestly, SO WHAT IF IT…read moreIS?? In my opinion, t's absolutely worth the time and money for a 90-minute Heineken experience! Not to mention, my husband and I each got 2 beers for free!! We had to wait a little bit to get in, even though it was a weekday. The lockers were almost full, but I heard that there was a coat check area. The tour guide was very interactive with the audience and we also had moments to sit down and watch a 360 degree video in an elevator. I didn't pay for the roof top extra access, because I wanted to spend more on souvenirs and customized beer bottles. Next time if I ever go back to Amsterdam, I would absolutely go back again just for the gift shop and the beer.

This is a classic experience that just have to do when you go to Amsterdam. Tickets are available…read moreonline as well as in person and there's plenty of tickets available for each time slots. The staff was friendly and after listening to something in the beginning you go through your own pace through the rest of the experience. You do get a small beer halfway through as well as one in their taproom. They also have a gift shop and rooftop bar!

If you want to do something in red light district and not party, I recommend coming to this museum…read more It is self guided and very educational on the history of the world's oldest profession. It is very detailed and informative on what the workers go through by showing POV visuals and hearing their stories. The museum took about 1-2 hours

I really enjoyed this museum and learning about the red light district and its prostitutes. Far…read moremore interesting than I thought it would be. I learned way more than I thought I would, especially because the tour has audio included. My favorite section was the confessions. I really loved all the interesting facts you learn as you walk through. The only thing I didn't like is the terribly annoying voice of the woman who narrated all the audio for the tour.