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The museum's collections of art, includes famous paintings by Rembrandt (The
Night Watch), Vermeer (the Milkmaid) and other masters. Furniture, pottery,
statuary and numerous examples the beaux-arts from the many important
periods of Dutch history are all on display in an enchanting "new" venue.
Curiously, part of the museum has been constructed underground, so that the
construction did not detour an important route for bicycles. While the
Netherlands has had a life-long battle with sea level (most of the country
is below it), putting the treasures of the art world in potential peril
seems a bit risky to us.The Rijksmuseum is one of Europe's great museums
and is a must see if you visit Amsterdam.
Note that there are small, garden areas on each side of the Rijksmuseum and on sunny
days these are pleasant places to take a break and watch the world go by.
 Visitors
in wheelchairs may use the entrance located next to the main entrance at
Jan Luijkenstraat 1. All of the rooms in the museum are wheelchair
accessible.
See the Rijksmuseum
official website for information on visiting.
There is a branch of the Rijksmuseum at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport behind
passport control (between the E and F Piers). See it, if you have a long wait
between flights.
 The
Dam is a short walk from the train station. It is a large, unremarkable
square in front of a historic building that is now a Royal
Palace and was formerly the Town Hall.
The Dam is the designated "place to meet” in Amsterdam due to its size and
closeness to many of the city' attractions, bars and restaurants. It
is usually crowded, especially on weekends. Later in the day on weekdays and
most anytime on Saturday, street performers frequent the Dam. Some of
the acts are humorous and all are entertaining. In addition, a popular shopping area starts just south
of the Dam along Kalverstraat and extends for several blocks.
The Royal Palace is now open for touring, after having been closed for
several years for renovations. The Palace is supported by over
ten thousand wooden piers (pilings) that help distribute the
weight of the large structure over the soft, marshy landscape in this area
of the city. The building was originally the Amsterdam Town Hall (1655) and
became a palace in the 19th century. See the this
official website for more information on visiting.
The
Royal Palace is listed as having easy wheelchair access, including a
wheelchair-accessible lift and a wheel-chair accessible toilet.
The main road from the Centraal Station to the Dam is the Damrak. Between
the Damrak and the canal Achterburg, in an area surrounding the Oude Kerk,
you will find Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District. At night,
the area is a bastion of neon, bars, partying and crowds. It is one of the few
places you will visit where you might happen to look up and see what looks
like a department store window filled with compartments and women modeling
lingerie in them – well, that’s not actually what is being sold.
If you think you would like a walk on the seamy side, perhaps the red light
district is for you. As a matter of fact, almost every tourist who visits
Amsterdam take a brief walkthrough, just to see what it looks like. Avoid the Red Light District in the late,
late evening as druggies
and drunks seem to
dominate the area. If you are in town to party, late evenings here
seem to be very popular, but traveling with a group is recommended.
The Amsterdam city council is trying to clean up the image of the Red Light
District and has considered banning some of the more obvious displays
advertising prostitution. On the other hand, prostitution is considered by many to be one of the
area's
signature calling cards. It's not that most tourists are interested in
the services, but many seem to want to experience the
atmosphere of this over-the-top Red Light District.
While we are on
the subject, you can find one of Amsterdam's two sex museums (the Sexmuseum
Venus Temple) at Damrak 18,
just a block or so from the Centraal Train Station (BTW -Centraal is not a
spelling error, its that "mouthful of vowels" we mentioned previously). There is an
Erotic Museum in the Red Light District at Oudeezids Achterburgwal 54. Both
museums can be good for a laugh, but are, obviously, not for everyone.
 The
world-famous Heineken Beer was first brewed in Amsterdam in 1863 and
the city is the home-base of this iconic brand.
The Heineken Experience is not a
brewery tour in the formal sense, but closer to a Heineken theme park than
anything else. Clearly stating that the attraction is an "experience",
not a museum, Heineken has converted a former Heineken brewery into a multi-story "World of
Heineken."
Visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Alcoholic
beverages are not served to visitors under the age of 16.
The interactive tour takes about an hour and a half. Since the tour is
self-guided you can start whenever you arrive. Of course, you will get to sample some
brew, learn a few tidbits about the brewer's art, and have a great
time in the process. For more information and to make reservations, see
the Heineken
Experience website.
The Heineken Experience is located at Stadhouderskade 78 in Amsterdam.
If you choose, you can arrive by boat and disembark at the front of the
brewery. Alternatively, from the Central Station, take the tram (lines
16, 24, or 25) and exit at stop "Stadhouderskade."
The Heineken
Experience is accessible by wheelchair.
NextRead about Amsterdam's
Flower Market, Canal Boat Rides, the Stedelijk Museum, Nemo Science Center,
the Artis Royal Zoo, the Rembrandt House
and the Hermitage Amsterdam.
Or
Scan our section on Things Travelers Need to Know for
Visiting Amsterdam. It covers transportation, lodging, drinking age
(including the "smoking" age), dining
tips, lodging, shopping, weather, day trips and more.
More Photos
For more photos of the some of the sights in Amsterdam,
click here
Or
Return to the
Best Places to Visit in the Netherlands
If you need information about another travel destination, try
our
Destination Guide Index
or Googling ThereArePlaces.
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