Amsterdam Museum

The Amsterdam Museum is the city museum of Amsterdam, and it tells the story of how a small settlement on the Amstel grew into one of the great trading cities of the world. It occupies the buildings of the former city orphanage, the Burgerweeshuis, a large complex between the Kalverstraat and the Sint Luciënsteeg that dates from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The orphanage was founded on the site of a medieval convent, and its courtyards and galleries give the museum an unusually atmospheric setting in the middle of the busiest shopping street in the city. The museum opened here in the 1970s, and it took its present name in 2011.

The collection covers eight centuries of the city's life and holds well over a hundred thousand objects. Paintings, prints, photographs, maps, models, furniture and everyday items show how Amsterdam changed from a fishing village behind a dam to a medieval trading town, then to the wealthy capital of the Golden Age, when it was home to the Dutch East India Company and a flourishing art market. The story continues through decline and renewal, industrialisation, the German occupation and the postwar years, to the multicultural, creative city of today. Multimedia displays and interactive elements help to make this history easy to follow, and the museum pays attention to the many different communities that have shaped the city.

One feature that is easy to miss is the Schuttersgalerij, the Civic Guards Gallery, a covered passage that runs through the complex and displays huge group portraits of the civic militia companies of the seventeenth century. These paintings, with their rows of well-dressed men posing with weapons and banners, are part of the same tradition as Rembrandt's Night Watch, and the gallery can often be walked through for free, since it is also a public thoroughfare between two streets. The courtyard cafe is a pleasant place for a break.

Visitors should check the current arrangements before going, since opening hours vary at holidays, the exhibitions change and the museum has gone through periods of renovation and renewal. Tickets can be booked online, and the museum accepts several cards. It is a short walk from Dam Square, the Begijnhof and the Spui, and it makes a good first stop in the city, since it explains the places you will see afterwards.

The museum suits first-time visitors to Amsterdam, families and history lovers. Allow two hours, and consider coming back to the Begijnhof, the Canal Belt and the Bloemenmarkt, all within walking distance.