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

Included in the Zaanse Schans Card is entry to the Zaans Historical museum--they require you to put…read moreyour things in free lockers and hang your coats in free racks. You can get a free audio guide in your preferred language. From the museum to the biscuit/chocolate factory experience (a separate building connected by bridge) it takes about an hour. We enjoyed learning about all the different industries that have thrived in the Zaanse area. The interactive displays are interesting for families with children as well (especially ages 6 and up). You get a free biscuit sample--I tried coffee and my husband tried chocolate. The mechanized biscuit factory machinery display was impressive. I played the game at the end that tests whether you are good enough to be a Verkade girl--fast enough to pack at least 15 biscuit tins with 3 stacks of 3 biscuits, but only perfect ones, and as you fill each tin, the conveyor belt moves faster. It's a touchscreen and you move the biscuits with one finger. I tried just right handed or alternating right and left, but it's harder than it sounds. If you let too many good ones break by falling off the conveyor belt, game over. It was strangely gratifying. At the gift shop I bought some Verkade chocolates to bring back for coworkers. Fun museum overall!

Save your Euro,this is a Good location, good site.Surrounded by the most beatiful water,and…read moreWindmills, The cheese is great, the jams are great we tasted quite a bit.Unfortunately the other people in there, acted like they were having dinner and would not leave the lines. So unfortunately, the staff had to continue to tell people, to move on as they would sit there and try five pieces of cheese and literally walk in circles to basically eat everything in one sitting. The building is actually nice on the inside, but not really worth the cost of entry. We had a free entry due to tripadvisor credit. THANKS TripAdvisor !! That is the only reason I went other than that, I personally would have saved my euro €.. Zaans Museum

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.

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!

A well laid out museum with a large collection of masterpieces from artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer…read moreand Ruebens. The famous Girl with the Pearl Earring is captivating but there are many others worth viewing. Check out the lower level and its presentation about how the museum dealt with occupation during WWII.

I'm not typically an art fan but as it houses some very famous paintings I decided it was a must…read moresee! It's well laid out and easy to move around even when it's busy. I recommend going when they open to avoid any crowds around the girl with the pearl earring. It was amazing to see The Bull in person. I never realised the scale of the paining but it's fast and incredible to see in person. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff and a fun gift shop if you're into trinkets and educational books. Well worth a visit, even if you're not a museum/art person.

A very unique experience, though a bit pricey at around $24 USD (€20-22). It's important to know…read morethat this isn't a traditional museum; it's a high-tech art storage center that happens to be open to the public. The focus is really on the "behind-the-scenes" of art preservation--how pieces are crated, cleaned, and stored in climate-controlled rooms. The building itself is a masterpiece. It spans several floors, and while the individual sections feel small, the central atrium with its zig-zagging staircases is massive. There's an elevator if you want to skip the stairs! They offer free 10-minute "walk-in" tours of the storage compartments, plus more detailed "behind-the-scenes" tours that are worth the extra look. The top floor has a great cafe/restaurant (Renilde) and an outdoor space with a forest of birch trees. The 360-degree view of Rotterdam is breathtaking. If you love architecture or are curious about how museums actually work, it's worth the price. If you just want to see a standard art gallery, you might find it a bit expensive.

The Boijmans is the main art museum in Rotterdam. It opened in 1847, originally with the collection…read moreof Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans. Since then, it has grown and now contains some of the preeminent works of art. Not just Dutch artists, the collection includes Rembrant, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, René Magritte and Salvador Dalí. And those are just the more famous. There are Rubens and Bosch and many more! A friend of mine had visited a few months ago and found the Rembrant/Dali wing was closed. That wing was open this time, but the Kandinsky wing was closed. I'm a big fan of Kandinsky and I have a few posters of his work and his contemporaries. I was bummed. Even bummed, I still enjoyed the Bruegel "Tower of Babel", one of the most famous paintings in Rotterdam. And the Rodin sculptures. Amazing artworks! The museum wasn't particularly crowded on this weekday and they had no issue with photographs, as long as the flash was disabled. An audio tour is available, which I strongly recommend. Note: The museum is a member of the Museumkaart system, so if you're planning on visiting more than three or four museums in the Netherlands, get the card!

What a wonderful tour. Took the train to Haarlem from Amsterdam and boy was it worth it. We didn't…read morehave a reservation however they said to come back in an hour and they would get us in the next English tour. Was not very familiar with the story and history of this family and home but I left filled with knowledge. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and you could tell she really loved what she was doing. This is a must visit if you're in the Netherlands. Did I mention it's free.

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This…read moreI declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him." Psalms 91:1-2 Corrie ten Boom and her family believed that God was their refuge and their faith propelled them to shield those facing Nazi persecution during World War II. They risked their lives to hide Jews, students refusing to cooperate with their oppressors, and members of the Dutch underground resistance movement. It is estimated that 200-300 people sought refuge under their roof. As described in Corrie's book "The Hiding Place", the ten Boom family built a false wall in her bedroom that created an approximately 3 by 8 foot secret room where those being hunted could hide during a Gestapo raid. On February 28, 1944, four Jews and two members of the Resistance hid there for two and half days without food or water. All of them avoided detection, but six members of Corrie's family were arrested and sent to prison. Although Corrie was sentenced to the Ravensbruck concentration camp, she was inexplicably released nearly a year later. Following the end of the war, Corrie visited 64 countries, over the course of 32 years, spreading the message of God's love and proclaiming that Jesus Christ is victorious over all and everything, even the misery of a concentration camp. Reservations are required, admission is free, no photography inside the home is permitted, and navigating a narrow series of stairs is required. Part presentation of the ten Boom home and part presentation of the Gospel message, the orientation takes place in the living room that hosted a Bible Study for 100 years until the family was arrested in 1944. During our visit an interesting group dynamic emerged. Near the end of the tour someone felt inspired to publicly tell a German tour member that she was accepted and that the group did not view her as being a Nazi. It was a disarming extension of grace that seemed in total concert with the message that Corrie exemplified. And that's...Henry's Take. #corrietenboom #grace #faith #refuge

Loved this museum. It's a small museum but very interesting. It captures storytelling of Escher's…read morelife and how it is portrayed in his art. Loved how the rooms are laid out for this purpose as well. Good labeling on the pieces and useful to have the free audio tour accessible via phone.

Fantastic museum for any one who appreciates interesting art or is an Escher lover. The museum has…read morea QR code that you can scan which provides a free overview of the most popular prints. You can read or listen to the guide. This was very helpful in getting the background story on the art and covers the top 12. There are 2 floors of prints from Escher and artists who were inspired by him. No parking.

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..

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!