Explore Amsterdam through its distinct themes: the fully preserved Canal Ring, the collections of the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frank House and ARTIS. When choosing a hotel, it helps to decide on your main focus in advance: will your trip concentrate primarily on art and history, or would you like to combine these with the animal and plant worlds? You can also take this focus into account when planning your visits.
Canal Ring: waterways and urban planning
Amsterdam’s Canal Ring within the Singelgracht was created at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century as a project for a new port city. Its concentric canals, radial waterways and historic building facades have been fully preserved. Together, these elements form an urban structure in which waterways, facades and city planning are interconnected.
The Canal Ring is an outstanding example of hydraulics, civil engineering, urban planning, construction and architectural expertise. Those interested in urban development can therefore focus not only on individual buildings, but also on how the preserved urban structures work together. The period in which it was built provides a historical context: the Canal Ring was laid out during the transition from the late 16th to the early 17th century as part of the development of a new port city.
Museums: different areas of focus
The original red-and-white-checkered diary of Anne Frank is on display at the Anne Frank House. Visitors experience the house through quotations, photographs, videos and original objects. The audio guide covers Anne Frank, the other people in hiding and their helpers, as well as the persecution of the Jews and the Second World War. Personal belongings and different forms of interpretation are thus presented alongside a broader historical context.
The Rijksmuseum presents more than 8,000 works of Dutch art and history; Rembrandt’s painting “The Night Watch” is also housed there. The Van Gogh Museum holds the world’s largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh. This creates a clear distinction when choosing what to see: the Rijksmuseum combines Dutch art with history and includes a specific work by Rembrandt; the Van Gogh Museum focuses on the work of a single artist. The Anne Frank House, in turn, has its own focus on Anne Frank, the people in hiding and the historical context of persecution and war.
ARTIS: animals, plants and history
ARTIS offers a different focus: at the zoo, visitors can experience animals and plants from around the world. The grounds also contain 26 national monuments that illustrate more than 185 years of history. Shows take place daily in the large domed building of the ARTIS Planetarium. This brings together animals and plants, historic monuments and planetarium shows in one place. If these themes interest you, ARTIS offers a different focus from the museums’ art and history collections.
Plan your accommodation and routes
When planning a stay, Amsterdam’s public transport network includes metros, buses, trams, ferries and trains. You can take this overview into account when planning your day trips and transport together. Whether your trip will focus on preserved urban design, art collections, the Anne Frank House or ARTIS is a good starting point for this decision.
For the broader travel overview: North Holland.
