Museum of the Canals, Amsterdam

Even though it's only a 45-minute experience, the Museum of the Canals provides tremendous insight into the physical building it occupies, as well as the construction techniques required to build in Amsterdam as its population grew. Housed in a four-story former luxury home on the Herengracht, it also provides an inside look at how the city's upper crust lived.

Delightfully informative, the exhibits explain why some houses lean sideways or forward, the city planning and associated negotiations, and the funding of America's revolution. Miniature models of the canal houses are of interest, but even better are the "voyeur" peepholes in the walls where visitors can peek into canal house interiors from different periods. A lot of thought had been put into this museum to make it interactive and fun.

Last but not least, since most of the canal houses in Amsterdam have beautiful gardens behind them that you cannot see from the road, it is quite a treat to get a view of the lovely garden behind this museum; a great example of hidden Amsterdam.

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 10am–5pm