Het Scheepvaartmuseum, The Netherlands

The National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam was one of the best parts of my trip to The Netherlands.

Located off the centre of Amsterdam, the National Maritime Museum sat at the old harbour and is housed in a former naval storehouse. Dedicated to the maritime history of the Netherlands, museum told several stories of voyages, life on ships, and even has a replica of the Amsterdam vessel berthed outside! You can get on the ship to check out the quarters too! 

The museum has four wings, each dedicated to a different experience related to the maritime history of the Netherlands. It was a wonderful experience for me, and the once-architectural wonder of building it on an artificial island in the harbour captivates me. Even though it isn’t widely promoted as a tourist place and not exactly along the tourist bus routes, don’t miss a visit to the Het Scheepvaartmuseum!

Amsterdam and its museums, The Netherlands

I stopped by Amsterdam briefly during the very same trip to France and Germany, and to my delight, I saw a huge variety of Dutch cheese all around!

But of course, typical of my travels, I decide to spend a fair bit of time at the Museum quarter of Amsterdam. The Rijksmuseum (State Museum), which had been recently renovated, showed an impressive collection of the nation’s famous works. It houses the popular Dutch Delftware, artefacts, paintings, fashion evolution and more. 
But the museum’s collections wasn’t the only impressive thing – its outdoors were equally beautiful. The gardens had various sculptures that told a story of its own. I liked the cold natural air and preferred to take my breaks outside. 

Within the vicinity was also the Van Gogh Museum, where one could admire the Dutch Master’s artworks as well as that of his contemporaries! I took a brief visit there; but again, in part due to time constraint and in part out of disinterest, I had to skip the nearby Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art.

Amsterdam’s Museumplein, with its major museums housed there, is definitely a must-visit for the art lovers! Just a note – there is also a Hermitage in Amsterdam; in my opinion, not comparable to the actual one in Russia, but out of ease of traveling and if you really wish to look at the Russian and French arts, drop by the one in Amsterdam! And for the history folks, keep a look out on my next post about the maritime museum!