Amsterdam · Nieuwmarkt & Plantage

Het Scheepvaartmuseum

Netherlands' maritime history museum in a former naval storehouse displaying ship models, navigational instruments, and maritime paintings.

About Het Scheepvaartmuseum

Netherlands' maritime history museum in a former naval storehouse displaying ship models, navigational instruments, and maritime paintings. The full-scale replica of the 18th-century VOC ship Amsterdam is moored outside and open to explore. Interactive exhibits show how the Dutch became a global seafaring power.

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The place

Getting there

Address

Kattenburgerplein 1, 1018 KK Amsterdam, Netherlands

Neighborhood

Nieuwmarkt & Plantage →

Nearest Metro

Metro 51/53/54 to NieuwmarktTram 14 to Artis/Plantage

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Good to know

Tips, answered

The free ferry from Centraal Station to NDSM stops near the museum—take it for scenic harbor views before visiting.

Plan for about 2h 30m.

Het Scheepvaartmuseum is in the Nieuwmarkt & Plantage neighborhood of Amsterdam. The address is Kattenburgerplein 1, 1018 KK Amsterdam, Netherlands. The area is well-served by metro.

This works well at any time of day, though mornings tend to be quieter. Weekdays are less crowded than weekends.

Around the corner

Nearby in Nieuwmarkt & Plantage

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Museum

NEMO Science Museum

The green copper building shaped like a ship's hull on the eastern docklands is Amsterdam's hands-on science museum. Five floors of interactive exhibits cover energy, technology, the human body, and for some reason, a very popular "teenager exhibition" about puberty. Kids can touch everything. The rooftop terrace (free access, no ticket needed) has the best open view in Amsterdam: 360 degrees of canal ring, IJ waterway, and Central Station. EUR17.50 entry, free for under-4s.

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Park & Garden

Artis Royal Zoo

One of the oldest zoos in Europe, founded in 1838, set in landscaped grounds in the Plantage district. Artis is more than a zoo: the aquarium building dates from 1882, the planetarium runs daily shows, and the Micropia museum next door (separate ticket) is the world's only museum dedicated to microbes. The animal collection includes African elephants, giraffes, jaguars, and a walk-through butterfly house. Genuinely well-run, with visible conservation efforts.

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Cultural Site

Hortus Botanicus

One of the world's oldest botanical gardens, founded in 1638 with rare medicinal plants for doctors and apothecaries. The greenhouse complex houses a 2,000-year-old agave, tropical palms, and cacti from around the world. The butterfly house swarms with exotic species in the summer months.

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Museum

Hermitage Amsterdam

Branch of St. Petersburg's famous museum in a monumental 17th-century building that once housed elderly women. Two major exhibitions per year bring Russian masterpieces to Amsterdam, from imperial Fabergé eggs to avant-garde art. The permanent wing explores 300 years of Dutch-Russian cultural exchange.

2 hoursExplore

Museum

Verzetsmuseum

Dutch Resistance Museum chronicling civilian life during Nazi occupation from 1940-1945. Personal stories, photographs, and artifacts reveal how ordinary people resisted, collaborated, or simply survived the war years. The children's section uses a family's story to explain the occupation to younger visitors.

2 hoursExplore

Museum

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Four Ashkenazi synagogues connected to form a comprehensive museum of Jewish history and culture in the Netherlands. The Great Synagogue dating from 1671 houses religious objects, while other wings cover daily life, persecution, and post-war reconstruction. The children's museum offers interactive exhibits about Jewish traditions.

2 hoursExplore

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