These ten Amsterdam attractions receive the most visitors, year after year - and each one has excellent credentials to attract so many millions of visits.
- Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum saw a two-fold jump in visitor numbers in 2013, when it completed its renovation and retired its trusty "Masterworks" best-of exhibit to return to a full-scale museum. Its 200 rooms hold the most important art collection in the Netherlands.
- Van Gogh Museum
This shrine to the ill-fated Post-Impressionist artist usually tops the charts for the most popular Amsterdam attraction; while it's now a distant second to the above-mentioned Rijksmuseum, it remains a sentimental favorite of Amsterdam visitors.
- Artis Royal Zoo
Founded in 1838 as a members-only club, since Artis Royal Zoo opened its door to the public, it's become a destination that now attracts some 1.25 million visitors each year. Its vast 14 hectares (35 acres) harbor not only 900 different species, but also historic architecture from the period of its establishment. - Anne Frank Huis
The cramped and narrow spaces of the Anne Frank Huis sees upwards of a million visitors each year, who come to pay tribute to the diarist and her family who hid in an achterhuis (translated as "secret annex") to avoid capture by Nazi soldiers. - Stedelijk Museum
Another city art museum to be renovated in recent years, Amsterdam's museum of modern and contemporary art is now twice the size of its former self; its new wing, unveiled in late 2012, is extraordinary both its modern architecture and the art it contains.
- Madame Tussauds Amsterdam
This location of the multi-city wax-statue empire meets all the usual expectations - wax statues of celebrities, heads of state, and other public personalities - and affords a lovely panoramic view of Dam Square from its upper-level windows.
- Heineken Experience
This four-level temple to the country's most famous beer is located in the former Heineken brewery, which has been converted to offer an "experience" full of exhibits both conventional and interactive. It's widely cited in lists of tourist favorites.
- Sexmuseum Amsterdam (off-site link)
The self-proclaimed "first and oldest sex museum" features all manner of erotic art and artifacts, and is conveniently located in a 17th-century row house on the Damrak, a major tourist conduit that runs from Central Station to Dam Square.
- Science Center NEMO
Some of the best educational entertainment the city has to offer is spread across the five floors of NEMO, a museum contained inside an oversized ship hull that looms above the Oosterdok. Focused on visitors 6 to 16 years old, the center's mission is to allow kids to "explore, experiment and experience" the world and the science behind it.
- Hermitage Amsterdam
The iconic Russian art museum has had a popular satellite branch in Amsterdam since 2004, but it's only since 2009 that the museum has inhabited a majestic riverside complex - the classical-style 17th-century Amstelhof - that befits its world-class exhibits.
Source: NBTC Holland Marketing