DK Travel : Amsterdam : Places of interest

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Madame Tussaud’s Scenerama

If you want to take a trip back into the days of the Golden Age, experience a moon landing, or meet Michael Jackson and a host of other stars, then this waxworks is the place. There’s a great view of Dam Square from the round window, too.
Marken

Just 16 km (10 miles) from Amsterdam, this former island fishing community, now reached by a narrow causeway, makes a refreshing day trip. Its distinctive wooden houses are charming, and the inhabitants wear traditional costume in summer.
Montelbaanstoren

A fortified tower, the Montelbaanstoren was built in 1512 on the eastern edge of Amsterdam, just outside the city wall. Its original purpose was to defend the Dutch fleet; now, more prosaically, it houses the Amsterdam water authority. The open-work steeple was added by the ubiquitous Hendrick de Keyser in 1606, when the city fathers felt that they could at last afford the icing on the cake. It overlooks the lovely Oude Schans, a canal that also dates from the early 16th century, dug to improve access for ships.
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).
NEMO

It’s worth going to Amsterdam’s science and technology centre just for the building alone – dubbed “Titanic” by locals – and for the superb views you can get from the roof. Inside, enquiring minds will be kept alert with scores of fun, thought-provoking demonstrations of the world around us(see NEMO).
Nieuwmarkt

This vast open square has been a marketplace since the 15th century, and is still the scene of a Sunday antiques market in summer. Alone in the middle stands the bulky Waag (1488), bristling with turrets. The eastern gate in the city’s defences, it was originally called St Antoniespoort. In the 17th century it became a weigh-house and home to numerous guilds, including the surgeons’. It was here that Rembrandt painted his famousAnatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp , now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague. There were few problems acquiring bodies for dissection, since public executions took place in the Nieuwmarkt.
Oude Kerk

The oldest church in Amsterdam has been altered and extended over the years, producing a heavenly jumble of architectural styles from medieval to Renaissance (see Oude Kerk).
Paleis Het Loo

Built in 1686 by Stadholder William III as a hunting lodge, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn, was a royal summer residence until the 1960s. Behind a sober façade lies a sumptuous interior, with rooms decorated to reflect the different eras of occupation, from the 1680s to the 1930s. There are also superb formal gardens to enjoy.
Portugees-Israëlitische Synagoge

The Sephardic Jews, who settled in Amsterdam from the late 16th century, celebrated their new lives in a tolerant society a century later by commissioning Elias Bouman to build this imposing synagogue. It follows a traditional design with the Hechal (Holy Ark), facing Jerusalem, opposite the tebah, from where the cantor leads the service (see Jewish Sights).
Puppet Shows

There has been a puppet theatre on Dam Square for over a hundred years. Puppet Theatre Misha Kluft performs every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons from May to October.