Heard this was a great venue to see items / artifacts from The Hermitage in Russia. With the…read morecurrent world issues felt this could be our only option since future tourist travel to Russia has probably changed forever. We were misinformed. Paid 25 euros per person for a combined 3 museum access ticket. History of the Netherlands was interesting. Took about 30 minutes to cover. Modern section...I walked through it without knowing. So that was a bust. As for the Hermitage...had one Van Gogh painting and many repetitive aspects of the Van Gogh Museum. Nothing Russian related. We asked and the nice folks at tickets counter said everything was sent back as the Amsterdam location cut ties with St. Petersburg in March 2022 because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Suggested new arrivals in the fall. But I wouldn't bet on it. If interested, reach out to them in advance. "Trust but verify" ...no pun intended.

While searching for a restaurant, we stumbled upon this museum the other night…read more We heard Gregorian chants coming from the entrance, so we followed this beautiful hymn to the building We went in not realizing that they had a private party and viewing. Somehow we got in for free because nobody was checking admission tickets outside. So much for security! See my video here as we entered the premises: youtube.com... Once inside the building, my friends and I got separated. While they checked out the museum store and lavatories, I somehow ended up on the second floor to see the current exhibit. They were currently showing "Splendor and Glory", the art of the Russian Orthodox Church and the "Immortal Alexander the Great" exhibition. I got to see ancient artworks from the past dating back from the 15th to 19th century. Magnificent heirlooms are on display and over 350 religious artifacts from Medieval Russia. Art pieces of the Virgin Mary are preeminent here, but there are also some ancient sculptures and paintings of saints. I have read that Eastern Orthodox consider some of the saint's relics as very holy, and I wanted to see if any of them were in the exhibit. Many miracles have been reported throughout history connected with the saint's relics, often including healing from illness and injury. Because of holiness and purity of the lives of the saints, their bodies and physical items connected with them were regarded as sacred and magical. Unfortunately, I did not get to see if any of them were on display. My friend Israel grabbed me upstairs and hauled me outside because Sage and Roscoe left the building. They were waiting by the gate and could not go back in because, by that time, they started checking for tickets. I would love to see this place again. Maybe take another trip to Amsterdam sometime in the future. There is much more to see!

Toko MC is an interesting venue as it is both a concert hall and a restaurant. The ambience was…read morevery chill and relaxed. The food was decent. I recommend ordering the Tia's nachos for those who like to snack. The wait staff did mess up my party's orders and two of us waited for 40 minutes for their burgers, but the staff was accommodating and really polite about the incident.

5 starts for the location!!! Location location location!! On a nice afternoon / evening it is the…read moreright spot to hang out... drink and have a great time outside.... lot of benches facing the canal ... very very close to Westerpark. You can just stay there and sun bathe while sipping a beer or wine.... maybe get some finger food just to calm down the appetite :) Service is GREAT... everyone young and very very nice. Inside is a bit essential but looks very clean and nice. Anyway.. my comments are for the outside experience :)

I have been here twice now and had quite good experiences both times. However it is not so…read moreimportant but the bar doesn't seem equipt to handle large volumes of customers and we decided not to wait in the mad rush of hundreds of people trying to get served by 2 staff behind the bar. In my eyes this is a huge business failure as they could gain so much more profit by serving as many people drinks and snacks during the interval as they can and therefore making a huge amount of money. On our second visit we made sure we had already had drinks elsewhere before arriving and trying to use their bar. Another thing that I found strange was there is only one door into the seating area, this not only is a health and safety issue it is a major inconvenience with hundreds of people all trying to access their seats all at the same time as admission is only allowed once the announcement is made. Strange set up all round I say, but not a bad experience all round..

Cool place to stop in for a drink. They had a live band playing and beers were the normal price.read more

a restaurant, and an arty film house as well. very good food, easy atmosphere.read more

This theater puts on cute little renditions of classic stories for children, in Dutch. Even if your…read morechild isn't that fluent in Dutch they will probably enjoy the bright costumes and the strong emoting done by the actors. The lights stay on 'in the house' the entire time, so children can feel safe and don't have to sit in the dark. It's also fine if they talk or make noise, they're accustomed to that. There are also a few breaks during the play where the actors encourage the children in the audience to get up and dance or move around, so that is great for the fidgety-pantsed little ones in the audience. They put on a few different versions of the play for different age ranges, so the time and date of the play will vary based on how old your child is. They also have free cookies and limonade, and a clothes rack with little costumes the kids can wear before and during the play. Be sure to reserve your spot on the website before you show up. Downsides of this place are that it's expensive. It's about 19 euros for one adult and one child. There is no discount for the adult or anything. I also don't like that they only open 15 minutes before the show, and it's not even clear from their website when they actually open. So I find I am always trying to get there right on time, which means I am inevitably 10-15 minutes late, because I'm traveling with a toddler, and then I always miss the first few minutes of the play. That's kind of a lot to miss when the whole show is like 45-60 minutes long. They also push their dance lessons every time I am paying for my tickets, and the last time I was there I asked what the difference was between their dance lessons and the Amsterdam Dance Center, and they said "I don't know. Why don't you tell me." So, not helpful. That being said, they fill a niche for children's theater that is consistently available year-round, even during school holidays, so they're still worth checking out.