ATTRACTIONS
Canal Houses   Old canal houses are very popular in Amsterdam. Some of these narrow buildings are 500 years old. They lean at very odd angles, adding a certain charm to the city. Once taxes were assessed by the size of the frontage, forcing the thrifty Dutch to build their homes very narrow. Some canal houses are barely wider than the front door! Amsterdam now has strict regulations prohibiting new construction in the historic area (practically the whole central city). So ongoing renovations keep the houses livable. Restored canal houses can be worth millions of dollars.
Rijksmuseum   Rijksmuseum is the country's premier art museum and an easy place to overdose on old masters. The museum contains Amsterdam's greatest art and historical collections . As well as works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals and Steen, there are dollhouses, delftware, Asiatic art, changing displays of prints and drawings and special travelling exhibitions. The museum is far too big to absorb in one visit- it pays to be selective and you can return as often as you like for free if you invest a Museumjaarkaart, or Museum Card.
Anne Frankhuis   Anne Frank was one of the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution during the second world war. After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, increasingly severe anti-Jewish measures began here as well. The Frank family tried to escape by going into hiding. On July 1942, Otto Frank, Edith Frank-Hollander and their daughters Margot and Anne hid in this building on the Prinsengracht. They where later joined by Mr. and Mrs Daan, their sun Peter and Mr. Dussel. The building consists of two parts : a front house and a back anex. Otto Frank's business was located in the front house. The uppermost floors of the back anexe became the hiding place. After more than two years the group was betrayed and deported. Anne and Margot died of typhes in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, only a few weeks before this concentration camp was liberated. Otto Frank, the only member of the group to survive, returned after the war. During the hiding period Anne Frank kept a diary. In it she described daily life in the back anexe, the isolation and the fear of discovery. Anne's diary survived the war: after the betrayal it was found by Miep Gies, one of the helpers. When it was confirmed that Anne would not be returning, Miep gave the manuscripts to Otto Frank. In 1947 the first Dutch edition appeared. Since then the diary has been published in more then 55 languages.
The Waterloo-square   The name "Waterlooplein", which translates as "Waterloo Square", was used for the first time in 1880, when the city filled in two canals, the "Leprozengracht" and the "Houtgracht", forming a new square. The original outdoor market dates from 1893 when the mostly Jewish market, then located on and around the "Jodenbreestraat"with other stalls on surrounding streets, was forced by the government to move on to Waterloo Square itself. The forced move aroused some strong feelings.   After World War II the streets surrounding Waterloo Square were empty and deserted. The1950's marked a new time of improving prosperity in Holland. People began to look for affordable furniture and other houshold items. This rebirth of the Waterloo Square Flea Market continued into the 1960's and 70's with increased American tourism, and rapidly changing social times. Amsterdam was a magnet for hippies and their flowerpower movement. They made "Waterlooplein"one of their main gathering places, and the market began to offer psychedelic clothing and other items of the times along with more and more antiques and collectibles.   In 1977 the "Waterlooplein" market was forced to temporarily relocate to permit construction of a new Townhall at Waterloo Square on the "Rapenburgerstraat". This caused an uproar among the market's merchants, but nonetheless the market was moved with the promise that it could return to new and improved quarters when the Town hall construction was completed. The present location of the Waterloo Square Flea Market is, as promised, located behind Amsterdam's Town Hall and is limited to 300 stalls offering an incredible variety of items from rare books to American blue jeans. The market is open six days a week, being closed on Sunday.

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