Anne Frank House?
 

I keep hearing / reading about the long lines and wait to get in. I will only have about a day to spend and am trying to avoid spending much time in lines, etc. Does anyone have some words of advice? Does it help to get there when it opens? How early does it open? How long does it take to go through the house/museum? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you're only in Amsterdam for a day and you really want to see the house then you need to get there when they open. (Check internet for times.) In my opinion it is not worth it. The first time I went I didn't go and I regretted it, the second time I decided to go and I spent several hours in line for a 10-15 minute tour of a small living space. <BR><BR>It is of great historical significance, but I'm afraid my imagination painted a more interesting and vivid imaqe than did the actual house. Of course, this is your call, but at the risk of sounding cold or unfeeling I would have rather spent the time at a lovely street cafe drinking coffee.<BR><BR>

Unlike the other poster, I found the experience very worthwhile and emotionally draining, as I lost family members in the Holocaust. I did not wait in a long line as I got to the Ann Frank House prior to it opening. I spent a few hours there, and spent time writing in the memory book and watching the films in the museum next door that is connected to the Ann Frank House. By the way, the steps are steep, and I was on crutches at the time but found the whole experience very worthwhile.

Andrea,<BR>I am sorry for my advice. I hope I did not offend you. On the same trip we went to Auschwitz (I don't know if I spelled that right) and a couple of other concentration camp sites and that part of the trip was TREMENDOUSLY draining, meaningful, saddening, heartwrenching, and painful. As I think back on it I am choked up. So, I am sorry if I have offended, but I guess in comparison Anne Frank's house was not quite as memorable.

If you have read the book, you definitely want to see the house. It will give new meaning to the story and is very moving. That said, it will take some time to go through the house and once in, there is no way to exit until the end. We didn't have to wait in line to get in (we were there in late March) but it still took over an hour to go through. If you are short on time, you will probably want to go very early in the day. If the line is more than 30 minutes long, skip it this time and go see other things in Amsterdam. It's a truly interesting city.

If you don't go to Anne Frank's house (the queue is a tourist attraction in itself) go to the monument at Waterlooplein (the market)This is the place where the Nazis used to corral the Jews before putting them on the trucks. There is also a Jewish historical museum.<BR>Anne Franks house seems to be a great attraction for Americans, probably due to the film.The sad truth is there are similar stories in many streets, railway stations etc.

When I went there I didnt have to queue. Extremely worthwhile, do it.

Go! Absolutely! And bring tissues. I had to leave after a short time, especially since people walked by while we were in it and I heard the clop, clop of shoes on the street. I could just imagine hearing the soldiers' boots outside. Unbelievably emotional.

dcp:<BR>I also think it is a worhtwhile place to visit. I was there in June 2000 about 11AM and we went right in. Very moving and amazingly small! Gives some great perspective of what these families endured. We were there for about two hours. There are films to view and a musuem that you should not miss. Enjoy your visit to Amsterdam.

We found the Anne Frank House to be one of the highlights of our trip to Amsterdam last summer. <BR><BR>Besides going first thing in the morning, you might want to try going in the evening (in the summer months it is open late, to 9pm I think). Our hotel was near the museum and we would always see long lines throughout the day. But one evening after dinner, we popped over there and there was no line -- just a handful of visitors. I think it took us about one hour to go through the museum. <BR><BR>The website is located at http://www.annefrank.nl/ if you want to check out hours of operation and other info.

A couple of years ago I saw the Broadway revival of Diary of Anne Frank (actually saw it in Boston, pre Broadway). Having been to the house in Amsterdam, I wanted to stand up in the middle of the show and start shouting, "this isn't what it was like!!" The set on stage was this huge room. When I saw the house it was amazing how tiny and cramped it was. <BR>I too found the visit to the house in Amsterdam very moving. We went early one morning before it opened and the lines snaked around the block, so didn't stay. We went back another day in the mid afternoon and got right in (well, within 15 minutes).

We too went later in the day and found no line. Go around 6:00pm and you'll probably walk right in. It is open until 9:00pm I believe.<BR>

Last June we went during dinnertime. No line and hardly anyone inside. No jostling to look in display cases, hardly anyone sharing those spaces. Very moving...particularly when the Westerkirk bells ring every quarter-hour and one can imagine the family living in silence, hearing those bells.