aMStERdaM - In Your Pocket

34 centrum: sightseeing
Canal tours
Floating Dutchman A-1, Prins Hendrikkade opp. 25,
tel. (+31) 203 16 39 51, www.floatingdutchman.nl. For
an hour and 15 minutes this 'bus' tour covers some the city
centre's best sights, but unlike similar tours, the bus drives
into the water near the NEMO Science Centre and then
continues the route as an amphibious vehicle. You'll ride on
the canals and the Amstel river and see lots more sights
before the vehicle eventually arrives on dry land again. Tours
begin at the Van Gogh Café just opposite the Central Station.
Q Tours: 10:35, 13:35, 16:35 (no tours on Mondays). A
Lovers A-1, Prins Hendrikkade t.o.25, tel. (+31) 205 30
54 12, info@lovers.nl, www.lovers.nl. Lovers offers a wide
variety of canal cruises and candlelit boat tours of the Red Light
district as well as tours that end at popular attractions like the
Artis Zoo and the Van Gogh Museum. You can also take dinner
cruises, a craft and history cruise and many more options that
are simply too numerous to mention here. Check its website
for a full list of cruises. QOpen 09:00 - 19:00. A
VIP Watertaxi Amsterdam F-5, Stationsplein 8, tel.
(+31) 205 35 63 63, www.water-taxi.nl. Not to be confused
with the standard water taxis that ferry people about
from place to place, VIP Water Taxi offers luxurious canal tours
with a variety of themes from private dining or cocktail trips
with friends to special cruises that include stops at popular
pubs or restaurants. It also rents boats, but for a full guide
to all its services visit its website.
Essential Centrum
The Old Church (De Oude Kerk) B-1, Oudekerksplein
23, tel. (+31) 206 25 82 84, www.oudekerk.nl/infoeng.
htm. Although no one knows for certain, it's believed that
Amsterdam's oldest stone building, the Oude Kerk, was
erected at the end of the 13th or possibly the beginning of
the 14th century. The important edifice wasn't only used for
religious purposes and often served as a safe for precious
documents, a treasury and also a homeless shelter as the
city's indigent were allowed to spend the night here until the
Calvinists came to power in the 16th century. The church was
added onto over the centuries but eventually ran out of space
to grow and then it suffered a huge blow when protestant
demonstrators looted churches across the Netherlands in
1566 damaging priceless art works in the process. The historic
monument and its wooden ceiling were on the verge of
collapse in the 20th century and it was finally closed in 1951
for lengthy restoration. In 1979 it was again opened to the
public and is now one of the city's most visited attractions.
QOpen 11:00 - 17:00, Sun 13:00 - 17:00. Admission: adults
€5, children 12 and under free.
Sign up for a boat tour here M.Zaprauskis
Museums
Allard Pierson Museum A-3, Oude Turfmarkt 127,
tel. (+31) 205 25 25 56, www.allardpiersonmuseum.nl.
The archaeological museum of the University of Amsterdam
has an excellent collection of rare artefacts from the ancient
world of the Near East and the Mediterranean region from
4000 BC to 500 AD. Objects from Egypt include wooden
sarcophagi, Coptic art, funerary statues and pottery, not to
mention a room dedicated to mummies and the embalming
process. Upstairs you'll find exhibits dedicated to ancient
Greece, Persia and Mesopotamia as well as the Romans and
Etruscans. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00, Sat, Sun 13:00 - 17:00.
Closed Mon. Admission: adults €6.50, children 4 - 16 €3.25,
children 3 and under free. A
Amsterdam Museum A-3, Kalverstraat 92 / Nieuwezijds
Voorburgwal 357, tel. (+31) 205 23 18 22,
www.amsterdammuseum.nl. Although there are many
city's in Europe and the Netherlands with histories stretching
much farther into the past, Amsterdam's story is unique
and unusual and worth discovering at this fascinating and
eclectic museum. Follow the development of this powerful
port through medieval artefacts and art from ancient shoes
dating back to the 14th century and the oldest known map
of the city by renowned cartographer Cornelis Antonisz, who
brought the town and its 12,000-strong population to life in
1538, to period furniture and paintings collected by wealthy
Amsterdammers of the Golden Age. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00,
Sat, Sun 11:00 - 17:00. Admission: adults €10, children 6 - 18
years €5, children 5 and under free. BK
Amsterdam Tulip Museum E-5, Prinsengracht 116,
tel. (+31) 204 21 00 95, www.amsterdamtulipmuseum.
com. Discover how the word tulip was derived from a simple
misunderstanding and how the plant was smuggled to Europe
from the Turkish sultan's royal court in 1555. Learn how tulips
made their journey to the Netherlands in 1598 where they were
cultivated and eventually fetched prices on par with Amsterdam
canal houses before the bubble burst ruining many a flower
merchant. The evolution of modern tulip farming is also on
display. Although the museum isn't very big and is essentially
a small exhibit in a shop cellar, it isn't expensive and its owner,
who also sells bulbs upstairs, is passionate about the tulip and
provides a much-needed history of one of the nation's most
profitable commodities. QOpen 10:00 - 18:00. Admission:
adults €4, children free.
Anne Frank House E-5, Prinsengracht 263 - 267, tel.
(+31) 205 56 71 05, www.annefrank.org. There are very
few people who aren't acquainted with the tragic story of Anne
Frank . The diary of her time spent in the secret annex was
published in 1947 and later translated in over 65 languages.
The popularity of her work is reflected in the huge queues
outside this museum that has been teaching Amsterdam's
visitor's about the Holocaust, the story of the Frank family
and their desperate struggle to survive and the evils of anti-
Semitism and racism since 1960. Inside you'll walk through
the warehouse where workers attended to their business
every day completely unaware that several people were hiding
upstairs. After winding your way through rooms adorned with
quotes from Anne's diary you eventually reach the bookcase
that hid the entrance to the annex where the Frank's lived.
You can view the original red plaid diary and watch videos, but
the most touching exhibits are the pencil marks indicating the
growth of the children, the magazine clippings that were used
to decorate the walls and Otto Frank's moving account of first
reading his daughter's life's work. QOpen 09:00 - 21:00, Sat
09:00 - 22:00. Admission: adults €9, children 10 - 17 years
€4.50, children nine and under free. AKW
Amsterdam In Your Pocket www.amsterdam.inyourpocket.com