Amsterdam - museums, etc.?
 

My husband and I are an active recently-retired couple going to Amsterdam for the first time in mid-October. We'll be there a week and we love museums, history, etc. I am wondering if we should purchase the Museum Card? We've already reserved the Anne Frank House. Any other suggestions -- sites, restaurants, etc. -- would be welcome! Thank you!

The Museumjaarkart is now not nearly as good value as it used to be, since it's very complicated and time consuming to get one. Basically they restricted the use of the card for locals, but they didn't want to say this directly, so what they did is complicating what used to be a simple on the spot purchase of the card and making sure that short term visitors to the Netherlands won't be able to get one. You can now only get a temporary card on the spot, but this is valid only for something like 5 museums visits.

Since you have a week make sure to spend a few days outside of Amsterdam. Most of Holland is very close to Amsterdam, and even further regions of The Netherlands are well within a daytrip distance and Amsterdam is pretty much a transport hub.

For trips around Amsterdam use the Amsterdam and Region Travel Ticket, the 3 day version is very good value if you do more than just 1 simple return trip.

https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/plan-y...-travel-ticket

https://www.tropenmuseum.nl/en i found the Tropenmuseum very interesting. I wouldn't call it a must-do but it was a fun thing to do on a rainy day. Visiting Vondelpark was my other favorite thing. Wasn't so much a fan of the most central area (train station, RLD, the Dam) but did enjoy walking all around there one day. Leidseplein square at night where there were street performers.

I'm no expert but those were the highlights of my one visit to the city.

I'd call it a must do, along with the Scheepvaartmuseum(maritime musuem) since shipping, discoveries, trade, conquest, colonisation were integral part of Dutch history and shaped the country as we know it today. You can learn a lot more about the Netherlands in these museums than in the overrated, overpriced and overvisited Anne Frank House.

this is so helpful. many thanks....

That's good to know BDKR. I found it unusual and extremely interesting but I rarely see it mentioned when people are planning their trips and like I said I only have one trip's worth of experience. I walked there across the city that museum day so saw an entirely different area than the central core, that part was interesting as well.

As far as restaurant recommendations I just wandered I didn't do anything planned or special or particularly regional. The best meals I had were Italian and Greek, who knew? :-)

I can't visit Amsterdam without going to Het Loo to the Krüller-Müller Museum. I just love that place. It's a bit of a schlep, but a pretty one, and it doesn't take up a whole day.

Het Loo is presently closed for renovations.
The gardens are open.

For a "Kröller-Müller" experience that's in the western Netherlands:
Museum Voorlinden, near The Hague.

Is the Kruller-Muller accessible by public transportation? Would love to go if it is.

Pretty much any place in the Netherlands is accessible by public transit, including the Kröller-Müller Museum.

https://krollermuller.nl/en/address-and-route

Oooops! Typo! It's Kröller-Müller.

We took a bus from Amsterdam. It left us off at the side of the road, and a minivan came and picked us to to take us up to the museum grounds. I can probably dig up the info, but not for a couple of days.

Menachem, am I confused about where the museum is?

We also absolutely loved Den Bosch, BTW.

That's true, but it's rather involved travel. We know the system well and even we were caught out in Otterlo going back to "the West", last summer.

The usual route is: take train to Ede-Wageningen station, get on bus to Otterlo, change busses in Otterlo to get to the Hoge Veluwe park entrance (you need to buy an entrance ticket to the park and a museum ticket), borrow bike to get to the museum.

Alternatively, there's a minibus excursion from Amsterdam, costing €149 per person

Again, quite involved. I do recommend Voorlinden for a similar experience, although Voorlinden's focus is on contemporary art.

You're right, Menachem; that's what we did. I didn't find it too involved, and we walked to the museum, no bikes.

I didn't know about Voorlinden. Thanks!

Thanks, all...and still wondering if there is a museum pass you recommend our getting? Holland or Museum Card?

It's gorgeous and set in such a beautiful area, between The Hague and Wassenaar. The park surrounding it is wonderful for a stroll and the museum itself and its curatorial choices (by the former Director of the Rijksmuseum) are quite spectacular. Nice restaurant and cafe too.

Depends on the calculation. If you think you'll do 5 museums, then the Museum Card is a no-brainer. If you do the "big 3" only, then the Holland Card is better.

What about the Rijksmuseum? Loved it when we were there.

Two more museums we especially enjoyed in Amsterdam.

Dutch Resistance Museum. Here is a recent news article about it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...?noredirect=on

Amsterdam History Museum. Very contemporary presentation. Presented in chronological order. Be sure to allow enough time for the end which about contemporary life in Amsterdam. https://www.amsterdammuseum.nl/en

The English name Dutch Resistance Museum suggests it deals with organized underground fighting during WW2. Not so much, actually. The emphasis is on how ordinary citizens endured the Occupation, especially since so many men had been taken away into forced labour for Germany. The running theme asks how the viewer would have reacted, or what decisions would be taken, just to find food and survival.
Plus, when I was there a few years ago,l a section was devoted to resistance against the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies, the immense Dutch colon know called Indonesia. As a North American I knew little about this side of the war, destructive then and of great significance after the peace when the Dutch tried to take the colony back.