padbrasher

sharkmom,
I really don't know what days & times are less crowded. I only know that Sunday late morning/early afternoon on March 19th was very crowded. However, with our online tickets in hand we entered the museums immediately and then slowly and patiently jockeyed around the crowds inside and saw everything that we wanted to see. You may find the crowds to be thinner around 5pm as that was certainly true at the Anne Frank House.

My advice: Go and enjoy...it's worth the hassle.

PamR

We just got back from Amsterdam and saw that exhibit on Wednesday around noon. Wasn't very crowded. We purchased a combo ticket for 30 euros each that included that exhibit, Van Gogh, and the Rijksmuseum. You have to see the Van Gogh and Rembrandt-Caravaggio on the same day but can return another day for the Rijks. I actually enjoyed the Van Gogh and Rijks more than the special exhibit. Although it wasn't crowded at the Rembrandt-Caravaggio when we were there, the pictures seemed spaced too closely together so that people bunched up. Also, we are not huge Caravaggio fans, so didn't appreciate the whole exhibit as much as other folks might. On the other hand, there was a stunning exhibit in the Rembrandt house -- a huge collection of his pictures, including many portraits. This setting is very small and does get crowded but it was worth waiting for some space in front of the pictures. I don't think this special exhibit will be there very long, but I highly recommend for Rembrandt fans. Hope this helps.

DonTopaz

The Hilton is a comfortable enough hotel, but it's well outside the city center. Although you can of course take a tram or taxi to get to the placfes where you'd want to go, I much prefer to stay within walking distance of at least some of the places that I'd enjoy visiting or exploring on foot.

For Amsterdam, my favorite areas are the Jordaan (for walking and exploring) and the Leidseplein (restaurants, nightlife). I'd suggest hotels in these areas -- many of which are as comfortable as the Hilton and likely within the same price range (Marriott, Hotel American, NH Amsterdam Centre -- but <b>not</b> NH City Centre -- are a few examples).

111op

Long lines at this show, so buy your tickets in advance if I want to go. I was there yesterday.

I could have used the Museumkaart to skip lines and to save 10 euros. Instead I prepaid on the net. Seperate ticket counter for show in the lower level of museum.
Long lines at this show, so buy your tickets in advance if I want to go. I was there yesterday.

I could have used the Museumkaart to skip lines and to save 10 euros. Instead I prepaid on the net. Seperate ticket counter for show in the lower level of museum.

111op

By the way, I also wanted to add that anyone who wants to see Rembrandt-Caravaggio should buy tickets from the official website. A few people with other reservation confirmations were sent to wait in line to convert their confirmations into actual tickets.

sharkmom

Am back from Amsterdam and want to report that the Rembrandt-Caravaggio Exhibit is FABULOUS! Equally wonderful is the book and audio guide. I am so glad we went and would encourage all interested not to miss this wonderful opportunity. The museum gets quite crowded so it is best to secure tickets ahead of time to avoid an unnecessary wait. We arrived at museum opening time and noticed that it got progressively more crowded as the morning went on. The Hilton package included the tickets so all we did was show up and get in line to enter. The Hilton was lovely, although not close to center city, and had the most amazing breakfasts. We got 3 day passes for the trams and had no trouble getting around so the hotel location was not a big problem. BTW, as an aside, the Rijksmuseum is open until 10 PM on Fridays and when we went at 7 PM, we got right in and had the place to ourselves.