Jewish Historical Museum: Self-Guided Audio Tours

“Have I really been here for three hours?” - this might be the only question left unanswered after your visit to this attraction in the heart of Amsterdam. There’s so much to see and do that you’ll wish you had four eyes, like a certain Chinese gentleman you'll meet. Step into this delightful time sink - and good luck with that @#$%&! mystery gate!

Acquaint yourself with the history of Jews in Amsterdam and Anne Frank's fascinating yet tragic story. This 2-hour walking tour will lead you through the Jewish Quarter and the historical city center of Amsterdam. Walk past monuments and buildings still bearing scars from WWII. The tour will bring history to life, giving you a sense of how the city's citizens coped during the occupation and how they moved around in times of alarm, fear, and horror. Travel back in time to the dark days of WWII, learn what life was like during the occupation by the Germans from 1940-1945 and how Anne Frank became an iconic symbol of the brutality of suppression. Hear the story about her diary and how it came to be published by her father, Otto Frank. Discover locations the Dutch resistance offered as secret hiding places to families like the Franks. The tour ends at the Anne Frank House. Please note that the tour doesn't include tickets to the Anne Frank House.

Get to know the lives of people around the world at Wereldmuseum Leiden, an eye-opening museum of ethnology. Lovingly arranged by cultural region, thousands of objects tell the stories of human experience around the world. Now _that's_ a day well spent!

The Wereldmuseum Amsterdam is housed in an impressive national monument that has colonial roots. As such, colonialism and its repercussions are an important theme. Topics such as world trade, consumption, migration, climate change, and urbanization are also relevant to Amsterdam. The exhibitions in the museum always make a connection between the historical context and current global themes. Since 2023, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, along with Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and Wereldmuseum Leiden, has been part of the National Museum of World Cultures. This merger brings together nearly 450,000 objects, 260,000 photographic images, and approximately 350,000 documentary items, strengthening the museum's mission to inspire an open view of the world and contribute to global citizenship.

Experience the grandeur of "Van Gogh & Rembrandt in Amsterdam", the first-ever large-scale son-et-lumière (sound and light) show housed within a national monument. Despite living 180 years apart, you'll discover that the works of the Baroque master and the Post-impressionist painter are more similar than you might imagine. Explore the connection between the two artists at the exhibition. You'll find out how Van Gogh was captivated by Rembrandt's work and drew inspiration from it. The story will be brought to life by English-language readings of Van Gogh's letters to his brother as you take in work from both painters. Dutch newspaper, Het Parool says of the show: "Spectacular. The entire church is immersed in sunflowers or blossom bushes. Everything moves, flows, whirls, and whizzes over walls and vaults."

Death might not be the chirpiest subject, but as an unfortunate fact of life, it's something that all cultures deal with in unique and interesting ways. At Amsterdam's Museum Tot Zover, delve into the ways we make sense of mortality, with fascinating permanent and temporary exhibitions featuring hair paintings, death masks, post-mortem photography, coffins, urns, and other cultural-historical artifacts related to the passing of life. The museum creates stimulating exhibitions with social relevance and offers a podium to artists, designers and photographers alike. The museum dares to be boundless in its choice of themes, but always goes for content and relevance over sensationalism.

Welcome to Playhood! Leave your shoes and coats and get comfortable in a cozy lounge. When the play session starts, the cafe and play area open up for everyone. Enjoy coffee and croissants while the kids have fun. They can even make their own pizzas at Good Hood Pizza! The play area has 12 themed houses where kids can create their own stories. Playhood is a place for imagination and fun. Each session lasts 1.5 hours, starting and ending together for a shared, joyful experience.

Set sail for some Dutch maritime history! Enkhuizen's Zuiderzeemuseum tells the stories and shares the culture of the people who used to live on the shores of the south sea. With indoor and outdoor exhibitions, you can literally walk through a piece of history – full steam ahead!

The ARTIS Zoo contains a huge amount of different species including penguins, wolves, giraffes, and more. There's also an impressive art collection, a zoological library, a planetarium, and 27 monuments found throughout the area. There's an old-timey zoological library just behind the anteaters, and an excellent vegetarian restaurant with a terrace overlooking the aviary. Yet another crowd-pleaser is the Butterfly Garden, where you can see thousands of fluttering wings. Elephants, penguins, giraffes, jaguars – all the usual suspects and more can be found at the Netherlands' oldest zoo. Built in 1838, the ARTIS campus features several historic buildings (and even older trees), so you'll also get a fix of Dutch culture with your Amsterdam zoo tickets!

Getting around a city that's not your own can be tough. So, when you arrive in Amsterdam, you'll want a hassle-free travel ticket that gets you where you need to go. Not only does this Amsterdam travel ticket get you from Schiphol Airport to central Amsterdam, with unlimited transport around the city, but you can also use it to visit surrounding towns like Volendam, Zaanse Schans and Haarlem. Ideal, if you've found a great hotel deal outside the city!