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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).

Completely restored to look as it did in Rembrandt’s day, this handsome red-shuttered house was the artist’s home during his years of prosperity (1639–58). Entering the rooms is a little like stepping into a painting: they are typical Dutch interiors with black-and-white tiled floors, traditional box beds, and paintings by Rembrandt’s contemporaries. Perhaps the two most fascinating sights here are the recreation of his studio, and the room – in a new wing – devoted to his magical etchings, many of which show his compassion for the common people: quacksalver, pancake woman, beggars, street musicians. A video about the recent restoration work is shown in the basement (see Museum Het Rembrandthuis).

Major refurbishment has recreated the interior as it might have been in Rembrandt’s time. Of special interest are pictures by his master, Pieter Lastman. One room contains exotic collectibles of the day – busts of Roman emperors, spears and shells – as well as Rembrandt’s precious art books and an inventory of his effects (see Rembrandt and The Night Watch).

A chance to see inside a private canal house, whose grand yet approachable 18thcentury interior recreates a bygone age (see Museum Van Loon).

Behind Adriaan Dortsman’s grand façade, the Van Loon family residence has a calm, welcoming feel. Lose yourself in the intimate, elegantly furnished rooms, or in the charming rose garden with its 18th-century coach house disguised as a Neo-Classical temple (see Museum Van Loon).

Another canal-house-turned-museum, the Van Loon recreates high-society life in the 18th century.

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).

Though it lacks the lived-in feel of the Museum Van Loon, this 17th-century canal house has its own special atmosphere. An air of stiff formality tinged with melancholy pervades its stately rooms: the Ballroom; the Blue Room, reserved for the men of the house, with painted ceiling by Jacob de Wit; the glittering Dining Room; and the delicate Garden Room, with views over the formal garden. The collections of its last owners, Sandrina Holthuysen and her husband, Abraham Willet, are displayed throughout – paintings, glass, ceramics, silver. The top floors are used for temporary exhibitions. It was the widowed Sandrina who left the house and its contents to the city. She died a lonely death in 1885.

Like the Museum Van Loon, the Willet-Holthuysen affords a rare glimpse inside a grand canal house – and into the lives of the wealthy merchants who lived there. Built in 1685, the interior is decorated in 18th- century style. A mild sense of melancholy pervades the building(see Museum Willet-Holthuysen).

The city’s largest square was first landscaped in 1872, but it was ruined in 1953 when a hair-raising stretch of road – which locals nicknamed “the shortest motorway in Europe” – was built across it. Completely redesigned between 1990 and 1996, it is now a great swathe of green, still more functional than beautiful, but giving an uninterrupted view from the Rijksmuseum to the Concertgebouw. It has children’s play areas and a pond that is frozen over to form an ice-rink in winter. Various events are staged here – from circuses to political demonstrations – and it is the setting forHel van Vuur (Hell of Fire), a monument to all gypsies persecuted by the Nazis, as well as the Ravensbrück Memorial. The district is one of the wealthiest in Amsterdam, with broad streets lined by grand houses.