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All 475 Amsterdam Attractions »

Het Grachtenhuis

Herengracht 386, Amsterdam 1016 CJ, The Netherlands
+31-204211656
Ranked #38 of 243 attractions in Amsterdam
4.5 of 5 stars 12 Reviews
Type: Museums
Owner description: Museum Het Grachtenhuis (The Canal House) is the natural starting point for visitors to Amsterdam. It is located in one of the most beautiful...... more » Owner description: Museum Het Grachtenhuis (The Canal House) is the natural starting point for visitors to Amsterdam. It is located in one of the most beautiful canalside houses. Het Grachtenhuis introduces visitors to one of the best city development projects in the world: the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam. During your visit to the multimedia, interactive exhibition, you will travel in 40 minutes through 400 years of history. « less
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12 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 12, 2012

Wonderful museum showing how the city was built and developed. Particularly interesting was the room which showed how the city planners agreed how the city canals etc were to be expanded and financed. Much better than the central historical museum which has lots of temporary displays and too many school trips! (couple 50+) More

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Zurich, Switzerland
1 review
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 1, 2012
1
person found this review helpful

This is a great museum for kids and adults alike. It gives a fascinating explanation of the development of the city - the initial old town and then the planned expansion of the city in stages, with a focus on the canals. You go from room to room listening to headset audio (available in various languages) that is linked with... More

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Helsinki
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 24, 2012

Have to join the praise by the other posters! The rooms upstairs used new technology very well. I got surprised at every room, which made the visit even magical! I had with me a toddler who enjoyed the display as well and let me concentrate on the audioguide. Her doll house at home doesn't burst in flames, how cool is... More

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Israel
Senior Contributor
28 reviews 28 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 23, 2012

This little museum is a charming well thought out introduction to the history of Amsterdam and its canals, far better than the larger and rather muddled Amsterdam city museum, and making use of all the newest technologies . More

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See 11 more reviews by IsraelArchaeologist for Amsterdam
Bedfordshire
Senior Contributor
28 reviews 28 reviews
Reviews in 15 cities Reviews in 15 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 20, 2012

This was an excellent visit, our only issue was the audio tour didn't always pick up from the sensors but very informative history about the development of Amsterdam and very worthwhile. More

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See 8 more reviews by Hollysfriends for Amsterdam
simontod2000
Senior Contributor
30 reviews 30 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 11, 2012

Interesting, newer museum in a canal house. Tells the story thru multimedia displays to show the development of Amsterdam and the building of its canals. Neat introduction to the canals of Amsterdam. Is included in the I AMSTERDAM card. Not the first museum I would visit in Amsterdam (Ann Frank, Van Gogh, Tropenmuseum, Dutch Resistance, etc) but a worthwhile visit... More

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See 26 more reviews by simontod2000 for Amsterdam
Portland, Oregon
Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 8, 2012

This museum sets out to the tell the story of a very short, albeit important, segment of history - early expansion of the inner canal system in old town Amsterdam. Having no physical artifacts, they use high tech multimedia presentations to fill the voids (no pun intended) - including the use of holograms. Nice sense of humor throughout. More

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See 8 more reviews by PaulParks for Amsterdam
Somerset, NJ
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 28, 2011
4
people found this review helpful

This new museum opened in April 2011 so is not found in most US guidebooks about Amsterdam yet. It's hard to describe, but it is a fascinating multimedia portrayal of the history of Amsterdam itself as well as the canals and the building of the canal houses. I had read that it was compulsory to order tickets online and that... More

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See 3 more reviews by bedgehog for Amsterdam
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed September 4, 2011
2
people found this review helpful

Was a first time visit to an Amsterdam "canal-house". The museum gives a sound/video overview of the history of the old city, from the 17th until the 21st century, all supported by scale-models of the canals and canal-houses. Its also possible to visit 3 rooms on the 'bel-etage'. Nice to have seen it once, however we were not excited. Tickets... More

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Leeds, United Kingdom
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed August 9, 2011
3
people found this review helpful

I visited this new museum as I had read another Trip Advisor review. Having now been myself I can say that Rachel_B_Zurich’s review of July 2011 describes it perfectly. I also loved it. It was incredibly informative in a very unique way – with fascinating audio and visual displays, effectively using technology which I had never seen before to inform... More

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Johan Vanderpol, Public Relations Manager at Het Grachtenhuis, responded to this review
August 23, 2011

Dear DawnandPaulinLeeds, Thank you for your visit to our museum and your recommendation! More

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