Tourist attractions IJmuiden

Since 1913, this museum has occupied the former hospice for the elderly (1608). Devoted mainly to the work of Frans Hals, paintings of civic guards and regents give visitors a clear idea of his evolution as a painter. The museum also has many work..

Cut from 1586 onwards, these nobly-named canals (“Emperor’s”, “Prince’s”, “Patricians’”) have majestic quaysides, bordered by narrow gabled façades, opulent patrician residences, old warehouses and houseboats. Venture into the nearby Jordaan district..

This huge 15C church is topped by a superb 80m high lantern tower , made of wood covered with lead (where the nave and transept cross). Admire the cedar vault (nave and choir) inside. A number of famous people have been laid to rest here, among them..

The Prince's Canal is the longest and outermost of the canals girdling the centre of Amsterdam; it is also the least wealthy. Nevertheless, its numerous workshops and warehouses, its old churches, its house-boats and its proximity to the Jordaan make..

In this house Anne Frank and her family, German Jews who had fled to Holland, lived in hiding from the summer of 1942 to August 1944, when they were denounced and transported to the extermination camps. The museum organises exhibitions about the life..

In 1586, the authorities decided to dig a network of concentric canals (Grachtengordel) around the cramped historic centre. The Emperor’s Canal was christened in honour of Maximilian I, who granted the city the right to bear his arms in 1489. The pro..

The Great Church, the town hall and the old meat market line this square. Here you will find a statue of Laurens Coster (1405-1484), considered in the Netherlands to have invented printing before Gutenberg (around 1430).

Next to this 14C Gothic building is a turret. Among the many changes made to it since the 14C are, to the right, a projecting section above a gallery topped with a gable (15 C-17 C) and, to the left at the top of a flight of stairs, a Renaissance log..

This elegant Mannerist building was constructed between 1602 and 1604 by Lieven de Key. It is topped by richly decorated roof dormers, and its facade is ornamented with the heads of cattle and sheep that recall its former function. This former covere..

This museum, the oldest in the Low Countries (1779), was created thanks to the legacy of P. Teyler van der Hulst, a Haarlem manufacturer of broadcloth and silk goods (18 C) who devoted his fortune to promoting the sciences and the arts. Its beautiful..

Historically an industrial mill district (with around 600 in operation in 1760). The developments in woodworking brought about by sawmills meant huge leaps forward in shipbuilding. Many mills still remain. Sitting atop huge storerooms, most were invo..

This museum brings together 160 cars made by the famous Detroit company. This is the largest collection of Fords in the world. The cars on display date from the period 1905-1948. Admire in particular various models of the Model T Ford, a Lincoln 160 ..

The extraordinary neo-Renaissance brick buildings of this former gasworks (1883) were transformed in the early 1990s into a huge multipurpose cultural centre. Bars, restaurants, a cinema and art galleries now operate from within its walls, and many t..

An obvious area for development with the cutting of the four central canals, Jordaan sprang up in the 17C and was home to working people and immigrant groups. Regenerated in the second half of the 20C, it is today a delightful network of little stree..

Formerly the haunt of painters, dyers and paint-sellers, the quiet "flower canal" has achieved great recognition because of the high number of its houses that have been designated historic monuments. Particularly impressive is the trio of f..

This Renaissance church was built in 1631 by Pieter de Keyser , who followed plans drawn up by his brother Hendrick . Restoration work carried out between 1985 and 90 has returned the stone and brickwork to their original colours. This is the most i..

Three locks (sluizen) allow buildings weighing up to 80 000 t to make their way back up to Amsterdam. The northern lock (Noordersluis) is the most recent: it was begun in 1919 and finished in 1930. The 400m long lock is 40m wide and 15m deep.

This statue stands on one of the locks which punctuate the Spaarndam dyke. It is dedicated to Hans Brinker , a true hero of Spaarndam who, so the story goes, succeeded in saving the town from a flood having spent the whole night with his finger in a..

A path leads you on foot along the marina to reach the basin of Oost-en Westkolk. There you will see some pretty restored houses.

This is a 1250 hectare estate located in the large strip of dunes bordering the North Sea. This park is crisscrossed with cycle tracks and footpaths. Many birds come here to roost, near the small ponds.