Anne Frank House Amsterdam

Anne Frank House

Amsterdam

Anne Frank House Outside View

Prinsengracht 263-267, 1016 GV Amsterdam, Netherlands

So I would hope anyone reading this would know who Anne Frank is – if you don’t you need to pick up a book!

As most people already know Anne Frank was a German born, Jewish, diarist and writer who was killed during World War 2 in 1945. She is one of the most infamous and most spoken about victim of the Holocaust and she was killed with the rest of her family, with the exception of her father.

When I was on holiday in Amsterdam I visited Anne Franks house.

It is the actual house which has now been turned into a museum in dedication to herself, her family and the other families who hid there for over 2 years. The museum has been built around the house to preserve the building in its entirety.

It is really interesting to see and it is well worth a visit. The entrance to the annex is hidden behind a bookcase which was constructed to conceal the entrance. As part of the tour you walk through the entire house and see how everyone lived together.

There are quotes from Annes diary all through the house along with photographs, films, historical documents and original objects that belonged to those hiding. The people that helped the families stay hidden also by supplying them with food and news of the outside world are also discussed and they illustrate the events that took place within the house.



When we visited in January it wasn’t too bad, we only had to queue for a small amount of time before we got in though from others I have heard it gets crazy busy especially in summer so be prepared to wait. You do have to pay to get in but it isn’t too much roughly 9euro for an adult. 

However on the website it states that from the 1st of May 2016 they will be implementing a new entry system. 

From 9am – 3:30pm the museum will only be open to visitors with an online ticket for a particular slot that the ticket has been booked. After 3:30pm anyone else can visit and buy a ticket at the museum entrance only. So if visiting from May take this into consideration when planning ahead and don't get caught out.

The Singel Hotel – Amsterdam

The Singel Hotel – Amsterdam

Singel 13-17, 1012 VC Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The hotel itself was really nice and for the price we made really good value. When we arrived the male member of staff on reception was great. So friendly and helpful.

We were asked if we wanted a smoking or non-smoking room and advised us that only the rooms on the top floor are suitable for smokers, smoking on any other floor would incur a charge. He gave us a map, recommended places we should check and made notes on the map for us to refer back to later.


The room was really nice. Very clean, had a walk in shower and overall very comfortable for two people. The bed was absolutely massive! However there was one slight drawback with the bed and the layout and this was that the light switch was built in to the bed headboard so a couple of times whilst sleeping we (when I say we I actually mean me but I like to share the blame) accidentally turned on the big light either by hitting it with my pillow or my hand and so we got the fright of our lives in the middle of the night a couple of times.



Night staff covering the reception were a different story. The majority of them seemed bored and uninterested. Says room service is available at night if you pop down in person. When we asked about room service one night we were simply told no food was available. We weren't offered any alternatives or told if there was any takeaway places nearby that we could try.




Hotel location was great. Really close to the train station, maybe about a 5 minute walk, and only a short walk away from all other attractions so very convenient. I would stay here again. I would highly recommend it’s very nice and convenient.


Room Tip: Top floor for smokers, all other floors no smoking. Short walk from train station.

Artis Royal Zoo – Amsterdam Zoo

Artis Royal Zoo – Amsterdam Zoo

Located at – Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, 1018 CZ Amsterdam, Netherlands.

   

I visited Amsterdam for a week in January this year and I wanted a clean, family friendly day out after days of seeing many of the other activities Amsterdam had to offer.

My partner was very reluctant to go to the zoo as I think he felt it didn’t really fit in with the Amsterdam image or the trip he had in mind for a couple’s getaway. Plus he had never heard of the zoo and had no idea Amsterdam even had one.

When we told people we had visited the zoo on our trip most people laughed at us and were surprised to find out Amsterdam has a zoo.

But turned out to be a great day, my partner and I both loved it and he even apologised for being so negative regarding the idea to begin with. It was an excellent way to spend a couple of hours.

The zoo is located right in the centre of Amsterdam at the address given above. It can be reached easily by car (car park available at €9), by tram 9 from Amsterdam Central or by tram 14 from Dam or by train to Waterlooplein which is the nearest train station and is roughly a 10 minute walk away.

We paid €20.50 each to get in and then an additional €2 for a map. You have to pay if you want a map which is a bit unfair but we felt the map was beneficial as it allowed us to plan our route and ensure we had saw the majority of the zoo so I would recommend buying a map.

Was a great day. Lots of interesting, exciting things to see. Think the highlight of the day was the baby giraffe (that was still easily about 10 feet tall) which caused a lot of excitement.

The only negative aspect of the visit was with the aquarium. Although the zoo doesn’t close until 6pm the aquarium closes much earlier at roughly 4.30pm and so we never manged to see everything in here. If we had known it would be closing earlier than the rest of the zoo we would have altered our route and gone here first. When we bought our tickets it was not mentioned to us and it was not mentioned anywhere on the map – they should tell guests this so they can plan ahead and take this into consideration.