Not to miss

Van Gogh Museum

Next to the Stedelijk Museum building is the Van Gogh Museum, one of Amsterdam's must-sees. Opened in 1973 to house the collection of Vincent's younger brother Theo, it consists of about 200 paintings and 500 drawings by Vincent and his friends and contemporaries (Gauguin, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Bernard), as well as many of the artist's personal effects.

Through his paintings, the museum chronicles his journey from Holland (where his work was dark and sombre) to Paris where, under the influence of the Impressionists, he discovered vivid colour. From there he moved to Arles, where he was incredibly productive, often completing a canvas every day.

Astoundingly, Van Gogh was self-taught as a painter and had a career that spanned less than a decade. A volatile character liable to mood swings, he famously cut off his ear after an argument with Gauguin. In 1890, while in the depths of depression, he finally committed suicide. He would come to be regarded as a giant among artists but during his lifetime Van Gogh sold only a single painting.

Famous works on display include The Potato Eaters (1885), The Yellow House in Arles (1888) and The Bedroom (1888). One of his last paintings, Wheatfield with Crows (1890), is an ominous work finished shortly before his suicide.

Anne Frank Huis

It is one of the 20th century's most compelling stories: a young Jewish girl forced into hiding with her family and their friends to escape deportation by the Nazis. The house they used as a hideaway should be a highlight of any visit to Amsterdam; indeed, it gets nearly a million visitors a year. The house itself is now contained within a modern, square shell. Come early or late in the day to avoid the crowds.

It took the German army just five days to occupy all of the Netherlands, along with Belgium and much of France. Anne's famous diary describes how restrictions were gradually imposed on Dutch Jews: from being forbidden to ride streetcars to being forced to turn in their bicycles and not being allowed to visit Christian friends. These, of course, were only some of the mildest examples.

The focus of the museum is the achterhuis (rear house), also known as the secret annexe. It was in this dark, airless space that the Franks observed complete silence during the day, outgrew their clothes, and read Dickens, before being mysteriously betrayed and sent to their deaths.

The House does not accept the Amsterdam Pass or the Museumkaart, and queues can be quite long at peak times. To save time, buy your tickets online, print them out and use the separate entrance for advance ticket holders.

Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum (National Museum) is the premier art museum of the Netherlands, and no self-respecting visitor to Amsterdam can afford to miss it. Though most of the building is closed for renovations until early 2010, there is an excellent collection of around 200 masterpieces exhibited in a side section, the Philips wing. Still, over a million people visit every year, so come early to avoid the queues or buy your (printable) tickets online.

The Rijksmuseum was conceived as a repository for several national collections, including art owned by the royal family. The collection includes some 5000 paintings, most importantly those by Dutch and Flemish masters from the 15th to 19th centuries. The emphasis, naturally, is on the Golden Age.

Pride of place is taken by Rembrandt's Nightwatch (1650), showing the militia led by Frans Banningh Cocq, a future mayor of the city. The painting only acquired its name over time with a layer of grime (it's nice and clean now). Other 17th-century Dutch masters include Jan Vermeer (The Milkmaid, and Woman in Blue Reading a Letter), Frans Hals (The Merry Drinker) and Jan Steen (The Merry Family).

Other good sections are Sculpture and Applied Art (delftware, dolls' houses, porcelain, furniture), Dutch History and Asiatic Art, including the famous 12th-century Dancing Shiva. The museum's famous print archives have some 800,000 prints and drawings.