traveldk.com

Amsterdam’s canals – in particular, the elegant ring of three 17th-century canals known as the Grachtengordel – are its defining feature (see Canals and Waterways).

The country’s largest national museum houses an unrivalled collection of 17th-century Dutch art, and much besides. Vermeer’sMilkmaid and Rembrandt’sNight Watch are among the star sights (see Rijksmuseum).

The Van Gogh Museum houses simply the most comprehensive collection of the artist’s work to be seen anywhere in the world – including some of his most famous paintings. The collection also includes works by other 19th-century artists (see Van Gogh Museum).

Things are not always what they seem, and that is certainly true of this gem of a 17th-century house set in the unlikely surroundings of the Red Light District: tucked away on its upper floors is a rare example of a perfectly preserved hidden Catholic church. The rest of the museum is fascinating, too – the interior has changed little since the Golden Age (see Museum Amstelkring).

A haven of peace, the Begijnhof was built as a refuge for the Beguines, a lay Catholic sisterhood. Amsterdam’s oldest house is here (see Begijnhof).

Housed in the old city orphanage, this vibrant collection traces the history of Amsterdam from the 12th century (see Amsterdams Historisch Museum).

This great Gothic basilica preserves a number of its treasures, despite being stripped of its paintings and statuary during the Iconoclasm (see Oude Kerk).

Visitors to the Van Loon family residence on the Keizersgracht, lovingly restored in the style of the mid-18th century, have a rare opportunity to see behind the façade of a grand canal house – and to wander freely about it (see Museum Van Loon).

The hiding place of Anne Frank and her family, before they were discovered, arrested and sent to their deaths, is today a deeply moving museum (see Anne Frankhuis).

This is where it all started: Amsterdam’s main square is on the site of the dam on the Amstel around which the city grew. Now it hosts markets, events and all shades of city life (see Dam Square).