The Atlas Obscura Guide To Amsterdam

86 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Updated May 17, 2026

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Unusual Attractions in Amsterdam

Electric Ladyland in full color.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Electric Ladyland: The Museum of Fluorescent Art

The world's only museum devoted to the wonders of fluorescence.

Speciality shop in scientific and pharmaceutical objects.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Nieuwe Spiegelstraat

An Amsterdam street lined with antique shops each one dedicated to a different obscure collection.

“The Cat Boat.”

Amsterdam, Netherlands

De Poezenboot (The Cat Boat)

A floating cat sanctuary on an Amsterdam canal.

Beautiful palms in an equally beautiful building.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

Established in 1638 to battle the Black Death, this botanical garden is a treasure trove of rare flora.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Torture Museum

Museum preserving torture methods from the past.

A statue at KattenKabinet

Amsterdam, Netherlands

KattenKabinet

Cat art as far as the eye can see.

Cuypers Library

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Cuypers Library

This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.

See All 86 Things To Do in Amsterdam

Upcoming Events in Amsterdam

A Tour of Zorgvlied

Tour

A Tour of Zorgvlied

Trace the meaning behind nineteenth-century funerary symbols as you wander among national monuments and monumental trees.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Amsterdam

In ‘t Aepjen

Amsterdam, Netherlands

In’t Aepjen

This historic Amsterdam bar used to accept sailor's monkeys as payment.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Café Papeneiland

Famed for its pie, this eatery has a hidden tunnel that allowed Catholics to secretly walk to church during the Reformation.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam Cheese Museum

This cheese shop also houses a museum devoted to Dutch dairy.

See all 8 Places to Eat in Amsterdam

In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Amsterdam

Forge your own path in this tourist magnet, toward places that are less crowded but no less wondrous.

Explore Amsterdam, Netherlands

Museums 16

Collections 14

Architecture 13

Architectural Oddities 8

Monuments 6

Hidden 6

Art 5

Sacred Spaces 5

Memorials 5

Holocaust 5

Canals 5

Books 4

Statues 4

Churches 4

History 4

Boats 4

Animals 4

Sculptures 4

Shops 4

World War Ii 4

Unique Restaurants & Bars 3

Places To Stay 2

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Recent Amsterdam Activity

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has been to Red Light Secrets
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has been to Brouwerij ’t IJ
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wants to go to Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

Stories About Amsterdam

Film selfie in London - the only surviving photo from the trip

The Moment Travel Changed My Life

Solo Travel, Confidence & Serendipity

by Matt Thomas, Community Contributor

A coffee shop in the city center. I wish I could remember what it was called!

Dawn in De Pijp

Seeing a city through the fog of sleep.

by Holyn Thigpen, Atlas Obscura

Fenway Park at night

How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?

When your new partner shows up without luggage, or, worse yet, turns out to be a morning person.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

Mafra Palace Library is home to a colony of itty-bitty bats that keep its many historic volumes safe from pests.

5 of Our Favorite Podcast Episodes About Wildlife in Unexpected Places

Life finds a way, from the bats that haunt and hunt in a majestic library to a bird sanctuary in one of the most dangerous places in the world.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

January 12, 2024

Podcast: Café 't Mandje

Learn about a woman who provided a safe haven during World War II via her quirky bar in Amsterdam's red light district.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

November 13, 2023

With about a third of the country below the current sea level, the Netherlands is embracing floating houses and other buildings that can adapt to rising waters.

The Future is Floating for the Netherlands and Other Low-Lying Countries

Houses and other buildings that rise and fall with water levels are becoming more common in Dutch cities.

by Shira Rubin, Atlas Obscura

January 3, 2022

Podcast: Micropia

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

November 30, 2021

This 1618 engraving by Matthaeus Merian the Elder depicts the alchemical universe with the Philosopher’s Stone at its center.

How Scholars Cracked a Medieval Alchemist’s Secret Code

Written in a puzzling Latin cipher, it contains his formula for eternal life.

by Sarah Durn, Atlas Obscura

November 11, 2021

Lists Featuring Amsterdam

Twinings tea shop on the Strand.

Sashimi on a stick.

Top 25 Food Places that Fed Your Curiosity in 2025

Discover the food destinations Atlas Obscura readers loved most this year—and get inspired for where to go (and eat) next.

Including Café in the Crypt, Twinings Tea Shop, and Omoide Yokocho

The nave has been repurposed to include the reception, restaurants, and guest spaces.

Cube House

8 of the Most Unusual Hotels in the Netherlands

Proof the Dutch can convert nearly anything into a place to stay the night.

Including Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren, Kruisherenhotel , and Cube Houses