Amsterdam offers up a banquet of cultural highlights; tucked away boutique museums, iconic landmarks and institutions, and a diverse selection of art galleries line the canals and cobbled streets, each offering their own particular insight into Amsterdam and Dutch culture, or just a reflection on the world in general.
Among these can be found some especially unique, weird, and wonderful museums, showcasing something idiosyncratic, obscure, or just unexpected. It’s absolutely worth discovering some of them during a visit to the Dutch capital.
The Kattenkabinet Amsterdam
It’s fair to say few people in Amsterdam love their cat as much as Bob Meijer loved his cat, John Pierpoint Morgan. It’s fair to say, because in memory and honour of the aforementioned cat, Bob Meijer set up the Kattenkabinet – a museum dedicated to the feline figure in art through history – at his grand house on the street of the Herengracht canal. The beautifully decorated building is made even more special by its inhabitants which number five cats and Bob himself, who still resides on the upper floors.
Cheese Museum in Amsterdam
Edam, Maasdam, Leyden, Gouda – the Netherlands has a long and celebrated history as a cheese-making nation. It therefore comes as little surprise that Amsterdam has a dedicated Cheese Museum. Found on Prinsengracht and instantly identifiable by the cow statue sat outside, this charming little museum showcases the Dutch love-affair with cheese, tracking the history of this delicious industry through the ages. A series of cheese-based exhibitions educate visitors and best of all, you can sample some of the exhibits as you go, with free tastings of iconic Dutch cheeses.
Pipe Museum of Amsterdam
Stepping into the Pipe Museum of Amsterdam makes for an intriguing experience. Over 25,000 pipes, tobacco boxes and other paraphernalia from around the world greet those who choose to visit this charming institution. Some are over 2,000 years old and many are wonderfully decorated, and made from anything from ebony and ivory to clay and glass. One is even made from the claws of a crab! The pipe museum and its plethora of artefacts can be found on the banks of the Prinsengracht canal.
Electric Ladyland in Amsterdam
Things get colourful at Electric Ladyland, Amsterdam’s very own museum celebrating the surprisingly spectacular beauty of the fluorescent world. A host of dazzling exhibitions make up the halls here, each one featuring minerals and art pieces glowing under the gaze of ultra-violet lights, making for a superb surreal and dreamlike experience. Found north of Joordan, its name comes from the final album from the Jimi Hendrix Experience, in honour perhaps of the psychedelic nature of the fluorescent art strewn across the walls.
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is the place where everyone can discover and experience modern and contemporary visual art and design. It is the most important museum of modern and contemporary art and design in the Netherlands and an absolute must when visiting Amsterdam. The Stedelijk features top-quality works by the world’s greatest artists, including many works by 20th-century Dutch artists. In addition to the highlights, the Stedelijk also always presents temporary exhibitions by leading contemporary artists and designers.
Since 2017, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has a large new permanent exhibition of more than 750 iconic works from its own art collection. Throughout the ground floor and part of the first floor, these highlights show developments in modern art from the end of the 19th century to the present day. In a mixture of fine art and design known currents are treated, such. B. Bauhaus, De Stijl, CoBrA, and Pop Art, with works of great names in the arts, including Karel Appel, Paul Cezanne, Marc Chagall, Marlene Dumas, Wassili Kandinsky, Edward Kienholz, Willem De Kooning, Jeff Koons, Kazimir Malevich , Henri Matisse, Piet Mondriaan, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Gerrit Rietveld, Ettore Sottsass and Andy Warhol. This special lineup, a design by Rem Koolhaas, guides you through the development of modern and contemporary art and tells a logical story in which several cross-connections can be recognized. The ground floor of the Stedelijk is dedicated to thematic presentations of works from its own collection, with ever new and current perspectives. On the first floor there are temporary, constantly changing exhibitions.
The Moco Museum in Amsterdam
The Moco Museum in Amsterdam is a boutique museum with a wide range of inspiring modern and contemporary art. With artists like Banksy, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, we offer visitors an unparalleled collection of subversive art in which irony and humour are used to reflect on modern society. A one-of-a-kind experience aimed at a wide audience, a visit to Moco is a true eye-opener.
Banksy – A mysterious British artist known for his humorous and political street art. The Banksy exhibition at Moco contains several of his infamous street pieces, as well a large number of his indoor works, including work on canvas. One of these is his giant ‘Beanfield’ painting, a beautiful piece which is displayed on the ground floor. An impossible-to-miss eye-catcher as you enter the Banksy exhibition. Other highlights include ‘Girl with Balloon’, ‘Laugh Now’ and ‘Keep It Real’. The Banksy collection at Moco Museum: come check it out!
Daniel Arsham – Arsham’s work is full of the unexpected: solid surfaces appear to bend and buckle, high-tech equipment looks like it’s existed for thousands of years. Unexpected is just how Arsham likes it; he challenges our perceptions of the physical world and what is possible within. Arsham seems to enjoy a paradoxical, sometimes dystopian, view of the past, present and future.
Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
As well as being a national treasure in its own right, the Rijksmuseum’s internationally revered collection features some of the most famous national treasures in Amsterdamand the Netherlands, including historic art by Vermeer, Frans Hals, and perhaps most notably Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’, which takes pride of place in a beautifully lit hall allowing visitors to enjoy every tiny detail.
Visitors to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam can expect much more than just paintings by Dutch Masters from the Golden Age. The museum’s expansive, evocative collection also includes Delftware, sculptures, archaeological artefacts, clothing, Asian art, prints, items from Dutch maritime history and many other culturally significant objects, all combining to vividly explore 800 years of Dutch history within a global context. And naturally, the collection isn’t frozen in time – new items arrive to represent modern times, too, such as a Mondrian-inspired dress by Yves Saint Laurent dating from 1965.
Conservatorium Museum Package includes:
- Two night stay in one of our Deluxe Guestrooms or Junior Suites
- Daily breakfast at the Brasserie for two
- Two tickets to the Moco Museum or Stedelijk Museum or Rijksmuseum
- Complimentary access to our 1,000 square metres spa Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre
- Sweet tea break for two persons (daily chef selection of pastries and scones)
