For
a relatively small city, Amsterdam is home to a delightful
abundance of world-class museums. Amsterdam's
museums contain an astonishing number of the worlds' greatest works of art, attracting over 4 million of visitors every year. Some countries in Europe don't get that many visitors, and our museums can be credited for drawing many of them to our city.
For children there is the fascinating museum NEMO, A hands-on, science and technology museum housed in an Avant-garde, boat-shaped building (appropriately located at the harbor).
For many museum and arts lovers, ..for tourists wishing to stay in Amsterdam longer, or even those planning on visiting museums in other Dutch cities The Museum Cardis an ideal solution. In addition to all the well known and not so well known museums, there are a large number of art galleries in Amsterdam to start or add to your own great collection.
A small museum above the charming old shop selling freshly roasted coffee as well as tea, run for almost 150 years by the Geels family. Located in a busy street on the very edge of the Red Light District. This dusty collection of old coffee trade artifacts has been organized by truly passionate coffee and tea lovers. Because the Coffee and Tea Museum is run by the volunteers, it is open only on Saturday afternoon. Interesting to see, and a real treet especially for the coffee fanatics.
Qpon entering you will experience the rich smell of roasted coffee and you will be enchanted with this special shop, which could has been in business here almost unchanged for eighty years. Five generations the Geels family has traded in coffee and tea here. The company was established in 1864, Mrs. Esther Geels remains involved in the company workings.
In the vast attic above the Geels & Co. shop, which at one time was used for an owner’s office, you will find an incredible collection of interesting objects and memorabilia and thus the Coffee and Tea Museum has been organized. You will always discover things you did not know about coffee or tea. An incredible collection of coffee trade machinery, roasters, mills, grinders, pots, packaging, old tins, and even cups are on display. Many other objects connected to the habit of drinking coffee and tea, tea importing, and from plantations. Not to be missed, especially if you are a coffee lover.
Open:
Each Saturday afternoon, from 2 pm till 4.30 pm. Closed: January 1st, April 30th, May 5th and December 25th
Admission: Free
Special guided tours of the museum may be organized for small groups of visitors.
How to get there:
- walking: from Dam square and the Central Station – 5 minutes
- by public transport: tram lines 4, 9, 16, 24, 25; exit on a stop Dam
- by car: park your car in the Bijenkorf Garage, walk 3 minutes
Extensive
collection of modern and contemporary art.
Not to be missed if you enjoy the modern classics.
Housing the civic collection of modern art, the museum also stages contemporary art exhibitions.
The Stedelijk Museum has closed its doors on October 9, 2011, for the final phase of construction. The museum expects the grand reopening to be in 2012, after the completion of the renovation and expansion project.
Until the reopening, the museum presents Temporary Stedelijk 3: Stedelijk @, a program that includes performances, film screenings, lectures, discussions, music, book launches, interactive happenings and other events. Stedelijk @ is being developed in close collaboration with various cultural institutions in Amsterdam, such as the Concertgebouw, the Appel arts centre, the Rijksakademie, the Ateliers, SKOR, SMBA and many others.
For details of the full program, see: www.stedelijk.nlEver since its opening in 1895 The "Stedelijk" has often drawn controversy for its artistic choices, its policies and its financial decisions.
The Buildings: The Old and The New
The Stedelijk´s main building was built during the years 1891-1895. Located at Paulus Potterstraat, a short walking distance from the Rijksmuseum, it was intended to house the collection of art and antiques left to the city by Sophia Augusta Lopez Suasso de Bruyn. The designer of the Stedelijk building was A.W.Weissman, an Amsterdam city architect at that time. It was during a period when Dutch architecture was searching for its values in the historical past. The Stedelijk´s neo renaissance facade, decorated with figurative sculptures, has been modernized and simplified during subsequent renovations, losing much of its rich decorum.
In 1938 the Stedelijk became the state museum of modern art. In 1973, from the vast collection of van Gogh works in its collection, the Van Gogh Museum was created next door, in a modern building designed by Gerrit Rietveld.
The old Weissman building is beloved for its old world apearence, as many say, it's because of the contrast it creates with the modern collections exhibited inside.
Present renovations will double the exhibition space of the museum by adding a big and new modern building behind. The NEW Stedelijk has been designed by an Amsterdam firm "Benthem Crouwel Architects", in the intriguing shape of the immense bath standing on its legs and is being constructed directly on the Museumplein
The Stedelijk Collection
The Stedelijk Museum has one of the richest modern art collections in the world. Along with all big names of modern painting movements as Impressionists, Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism and it has a unique collection of 29 paintings by Casimir Malevich, equally exceptional collection of De Stijl and Cobra movement, superb Dutch photography collection, a very good collection of design and furniture, and interesting collection of European and American trends in art since 1950 as works of Matisse, Picasso, Newman en Rauschenberg, Warhol completed with Italian Arte Povera and German modern painting.
* Stedelijk in the City - the temporary exhibits According to most recent plans, the renovation of The Stedelijk Museum will be completed in December of 2009 and the museum will reopen to the visitors in spring of 2010. Until that time, the Museum tries to participate in the Amsterdam cultural life through interesting temporary exhibits, which are organized in different public spaces across the city. This series of exhibits of modern art is called Stedelijk in de Stad – Stedelijk in the City.
Artis
Zoo - Geographical Museum
- Zoological Museum - Planetarium
Artis
Zoo is ..yes a zoo, but it is really so much more. A wide selection
of speciees minus the human animal.
A popular and relaxing experience for the child
in all of us.
The five elements that make up present day ARTIS are each represented in the logo: Artis as a Zoo and Aquarium, Botanical gardens, Zoological Museum, Geological Museum and Planetarium. This unique combination meets Artis's primary objective: offering educational material to broad segments of the population. Material that deals with our planet Earth as a unique place in the universe, worthy of the greatest care and respect.
ARTIS, the Royal Zoological Society 'Natura Artis Magistra', was founded on 1 May 1838, at the initiative of the book dealer G.F.Westerman. Its purpose was: 'to promote the knowledge of Natural History, in a clear and agreeable way; both by assembling an extensive collection of living animals and by displaying mounted exhibits from the animal kingdom.' In the first half of the 19th century, the combination of a zoo, scientific collections, a Zoological Laboratory and Museum as well as the academically exceptional Artis Library, was quite unique.
Since 1988 visitors to ARTIS have free access to the Zoological Museum's exhibition halls. The addition of the Planetarium (1988) and the Geological Museum (1992) completes Artis's story on life. The presentations in the Planetarium take audiences on a fascinating trip through time, right back to the birth of the universe itself. The Geological Museum shows how the Earth has developed and provides insights into the ancient ancestors of present day life forms.
Artists' inspired by ARTIS
Numerous generations of artists have been inspired by ARTIS, and to this very day students from various art colleges can be found honing their skills at the animals. One of the greatest of these was Jaap Kaas (1898-1972), whose life-size Pot-bellied pig can be found at the Children's farm. It is under the watchful eye of the bronze Keeper (1988) by Arie Teeuwisse, Kaas's best-known student, himself the mentor of Hetty Heyster, who created the enormous Gorilla with young (1993) and the two cheetahs near the African Savannah. Other sculptors have created a deer, a snake, sea lions, a bonobo, even dinosaurs. In addition, wild, captivating statues created by African sculptors from Tengenenge, Zimbabwe, take the form of glistening shapes rendered in dark serpentine. In short, besides a garden of animals, plants, rocks and stars, there is an entire zoological garden of ceramics, stone and bronze.
How to get there by train and Canal boat! The best way to visit Artis Royal Zoo in the heart of Amsterdam is by NS' train (Dutch Railways), tram, metro or canal boat.
Advice to potential car drivers
We would advise you to avoid coming by car to Amsterdam. The Artis Car Park has a permit for a only a limited amount of cars. Parking rates elsewhere in Amsterdam are extremely high, and cars are towed away or wheel clamped if your ticket is overdue. Driving a car in Amsterdam is not adviseable as the streets of Amsterdam are narrow and crowded.
Open:
Artis is open every day of the year, from 09.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.; during the period of 'summer time' Artis closes at 6.00 p.m. On Saterdays in June, July and August, Artis closes at sunset.
Enterance:
The entrance fee in 2009 for adults is € 18,50, for senior (65+) € 17,00 and for children from 3 to 9 years € 15,00. Groups exceeding 20 people get a discount of € 1,50 per person. An entry ticket for Artis also provides admission to the Planetarium, the Geological Museum, the Aquarium and the Zoological Museum. Dogs are not allowed in the zoo.
New:Guided tours in English are given every Sunday morning, 11.00 uur, Monkey Rock ('Apenrots'.)
ARTIS ZOO Entrance Address:
Plantage Kerklaan 38-40
1018 CZ Amsterdam
Postal Address: ARTIS, P.O. Box 20164
1000 HD Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
The history of Our Lord in the Attic begins in 1661. That is when the wealthy merchant Jan Hartman (1619-1668) bought a prestigious property on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, known popularly as Velvet Burgwal.
The attic of this bourgeois house conceals a secret Catholic church, known as Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Dear Lord in the Attic), originally built in 1663, when Catholics lost their right to workship in their own way. Among other artefacts the museum house contains heavy Dutch furniture, tableclocks and two kitchens with Delft tiles.
The property, today's museum, comprises a house on the canal and two rear houses, with the third floor of the front house forming a single extended attic with the top floors of the two back houses. The new owner decided to start rebuilding immediately. On the ground floor and basement Jan Hartman built a shop and storage room. On the first floor he added a lavish reception room to show off his status and receive guests.
This salon is among the best preserved living rooms of the Dutch Golden Age, a copy of which can be seen in Japan.
Religious Tolerance:
Hartman was Catholic, and his son was training for the priesthood. In Protestant Amsterdam Catholics were prevented from openly practising their religion. Within years of the Alteration (the transfer of power in Amsterdam to Protestants in 1578) an official prohibition on the celebration of the Catholic mass was issued. Hartman therefore decided to convert the top three floors of his house into a secret Catholic church. For over two hundred years Hartman's attic served as a parish church for Catholics in the city centre. Of course the Protestant authorities knew about the hidden church, but they turned a blind eye. Amsterdam's policy was to tolerate the diversity of faiths that flourished in the city.
In the attic:
In 1739 the priest Ludovicus Reiniers bought the house. He lived in the foremost house and improved access to the church by inserting a new staircase in the middle house.
It was probably during the rebuilding of the front facade in the 19th century that the statue of a stag that surmounted it disappeared. Instead of the Hart ('Stag'), the church now became known as 'Our Lord in the Attic'.
Museum:
When the large St Nicolas's church opposite Central Station was dedicated in 1887, Our Lord in the Attic was superseded as the local parish church. In that same year a group of Catholics in Amsterdam bought the property on the corner of Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Heintje Hoekssteeg, thus saving it from demolition. A year later, on 28 April 1888, Our Lord in the Attic was opened to the public on weekdays. After the Rijksmuseum it is the city's oldest museum.
The lower floors of the building became a museumin 1888 and today contain refurbished rooms, as well as a collection of church silver, various religious artifacts and paintings.
Our Lord in the Attic is involved in various areas of research relating to the museum building. The object is to achieve a balance between conservation of a historical monument and its appreciation by the public.
The future of Our Lord in the Attic:
The future strategy of the museum - based on several research projects - is documented in the report A well kept secret. You can download this report as a pdf >>
Historical research:
Historical research involving specialists on architectural history, residential history and the use made over the years of the building at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40 forms the basis for the restoration, refurbishing, education and programming agenda. By refurnishing the various rooms the museum hopes to restore each section as close as possible to its original status. Future projects include the reconstruction of the 17th-century priest's quarters and the 19th-century library of the last priest to live in the front house.
Impact of visitors and collection management:
Since 2003 the museum has tried to register and chart the physical impact on the building and the collection caused by the influx of visitors. This research is being carried out by a multi-disciplinary team drawn from the following institutions:
- Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN)
- Canadian Conservation Institute
- Getty Conservation Institute
- TUEindhoven
Visitor experience:
The museum and various experts are looking at ways to improve the experience for visitors. This project, involving ICN, Getty Conservation Institute and National Trust researchers, draws on the recommendations of the National Trust Manual of Housekeeping report. Together with Act2 - Storytelling the museum is examining new routing possibilities, as well as ways of enhancing the experience and educational presentation in the new, larger refurbished museum.
Visitors' wishes:
An innovative form of visitor research was conducted in 2004 when the contribution of personal stories for an exhibition was tied to visitor assessment. The result was a far higher approval rate.
Institutions involved:
- Waag Society (development of Story Altar)
- Act2-Storytelling (concept)
- SCO-Kohnstamm Institute (research into approval and experience)
- Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (Prof. Folkert Haanstra, advisory committee)
- Meertens Institute (Dr Peter-Jan Margry, advisory committee).
On the edge of the Red Light District, the museum is housed in the restored 17th-century canal house with two smaller houses to the rear. The lower floors of the building became a museum in 1888 and today contain refurbished rooms, as well as a collection of church silver, religious artifacts and paintings.
Location:
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40.
Guided tours:
A guided tour (max. 25 persons) takes about one hour and costs from € 32,00. The tours must be booked in advance. Special tours for children are available. The reservations are accepted by phone or in person at least one week in advance.
We highly reccommend the "Musemkaart for Amsterdam and Museums in Holland" This is a NOT FOR PROFIT card and helps support Museums in Holland.
The card represents a personal pass to enter more than 400 Museums in the Netherlands! It is valid one year and costs € 39.95 ( € 22.45 up to 24 years of age): A cheaper way to explore many Dutch museums, all over The Netherlands.
It is quite easy to purchase, you simply have only to fill out a form and the card is immediately yours, together with a leaflet explaining the card's advantages and the museums you can enter for free categorized by province.
The museum card is sold in selected museums and can be purchased also at Uitburo at Leidseplein:
Uitburo (AUB)
Leidseplein 26
Opening times: from Monday to Saturday: 10:00 / 18:00; Thursday: until 21:00; Sundays and Public Holidays: 12:00 / 18.00. http;//www.aub.nl
This card is a commercial enterprise card and listed here for the convenience of our visitors only and a NON PAID ANOUNCEMENT in accordance with our advertising policy
I amsterdam Card
The “I amsterdam” card (previously known as the 'Amsterdam pass') is a discount card, which gives you free access to several Amsterdam museums, free tickets on public transport within the city, free canal cruise, 50% discount on P+R parking, and several other small gifts and offers including the 25% discount at several Amsterdam restaurants, car and bike rental, gifts, cheese and haring shops and multiple other tourist attractions.
The “I amsterdam” card package
The card comes in a sealed package, which also includes a separate public Transport Ticket valid for the same amount of hours as the card. The period for which you have bought these passes is clearly marked. Please check both cards at the moment of purchase. You also receive a guide helping you to use the card with the vouchers to multiple attractions.
Prices and conditions of use
You may buy the “I amsterdam” card for: 24 hours € 38,- 48 hours € 48,- 72 hours € 58,-
The period of time in which you may use the “I amsterdam” card begins at the moment you have used it for the first time.
When you begin to use the Transport Ticket, you have to stamp it at the first use. This begins the period of time within which you may use it on all municipal trams, busses and metro trains run by GVB – city Transport Company.
Please note that the Transport Ticket is not valid on NS (Dutch Railways) trains, thus you may not use it to get to or from the airport by train, nor for other travels by train in the vicinity of Amsterdam.
With the card you can
Use public transport in Amsterdam, as buses, trams and metro in Amsterdam.
Visit many museums for free
Enjoy a free canal cruise tour
Receive 25 % discount in selected attractions, shops and service
Suggestion: Especially for visiting museums in Amsterdam and in all the Netherlands, there is another card available in AUB office and selected museums: The Museum Card.
Not to be missed, especially if you are a coffee lover.
According to most recent plans, the renovation of The Stedelijk Museum will be completed in December of 2009 and the museum will reopen to the visitors in spring of 2010. Until that time, the Museum tries to participate in the Amsterdam cultural life through interesting temporary exhibits, which are organized in different public spaces across the city. This series of exhibits of modern art is called Stedelijk in de Stad – Stedelijk in the City. 
How to get there by train and Canal boat! 
24 hours € 38,- 
