traveldk.com

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).

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).

If you are lucky, you might see the vast, streamlined sails of this 18th-century corn mill creak into motion. Built in 1725, the whole octagonal structure was painstakingly moved to its present site in 1814.

From 1690, gables fell out of vogue and decorative top mouldings came in: examples line the Herengracht.

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).

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).

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).

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).