One of the main attractions I had to see in Amsterdam was The Anne Frank House. I believe I read Anne Franks diary in middle or high school (I must have right?!?), and the idea of visiting her actual house was always something that really interested me. It’s also right smack in the middle of a cool, less touristy area of Amsterdam, so it’s kind of a no brainer!
© Anne Frank House / Photographer: Cris Toala Olivares
Pictures/video are not allowed inside the actual museum, so please don’t mind the stock photos from The Anne Frank House Museum 🙂
Do Buy Your Tickets In Advance
© Anne Frank House / Photographer: Cris Toala Olivares
First things first – make sure to buy your tickets online, in advanced! Tickets sell out quick, and there is always a line wrapped around the building. *Until May 2018, it is now required to purchase tickets online in advanced.
Don’t Expect Too Much From The Intro Program
When buying your tickets online, there are options to purchase a 30 minute introductory program that tells more of a comprehensive background on Anne Frank and her life before the war. If you go with this option, you are taught classroom style in a group of about 15 or so. We had a screaming baby in our classroom for literally the entire duration of the presentation, so needless to say we didn’t have a good experience. Aside from that, I didn’t think the information presented was worth the extra 6 euro – you can get a complete and thorough history without the introductory classroom lecture.
© Anne Frank House / Photographer: Cris Toala Olivares
With the start of the regular tour, you get an audio guide that you can scan at every exhibit. I liked the info. from the audio guides – it was concise and extremely interesting, and complemented the visual displays well. Room by room we explored the Anne Frank House at our own pace, reveling at the history of it all.
© Anne Frank House / Photographer: Cris Toala Olivares
During the tour you will climb up narrow staircases and arrive at the secret annex – it was so surreal to see the infamous bookcase right in front of us! Once inside we saw the tiny area that Anne and her family lived in for 2+ years; truly such a heartbreaking and humbling experience.
At the end of the tour, there is a giant room that has multiple screens giving interviews in relation to Anne and her legacy. The gift shop also sells tons of editions of her diary of course, a long with other types of memorabilia.
© Anne Frank House / Photographer: Cris Toala Olivares
We definitely were grateful to have visited such a monumental piece of history. We learned so much from the tour, and it is definitely something that we would recommend for anyone visiting Amsterdam!
Anne Frank Museum
Prinsengracht 267
Amsterdam
Telephone: +31 (0)20-5567105
