Museum of the Canals: Amsterdam's Historic Waterways
4.3
21 Ratings
Amsterdam

Discover Amsterdam’s canal history at the Museum of the Canals. Enjoy a captivating audiovisual tour through 400 years of heritage. Book your ticket now.

Duration: 1 hour
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Museum of the Canals - Discover the history of Amsterdam and its iconic canals. Situated in a 17th-century canal house in the heart of the city, the Museum of the Canals features classical period rooms, a permanent multimedia tour, a stunning garden, and rotating exhibitions. Enjoyable for visitors of all ages!
What's Included
  • Audio guide in 9 languages
  • Admission to the Museum of the Canals
Additional Information

Discover the history of Amsterdam’s canals at the Museum of the Canals (Grachtenmuseum) in Amsterdam. An impressive audiovisual exhibition will guide you through 400 years of the city’s history, showing how Amsterdam evolved from a tiny fishing village into a bustling metropolis. You’ll also learn about the significance of the canals, which were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010.

Location
Herengracht 386
Herengracht
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(21 Ratings)
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Karen
Apr 14, 2025
Worth the visit - Worth the visit. Explains history of Amsterdam & how the canals were created & the stages of creating Amsterdam. Very happy I spent the time & money for this visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adventure444819
Mar 25, 2025
A unique museum to visit! - You can never go wrong going to a museum focused on its place/specialty, and in Amsterdam that is definitely the canals! My husband and I both thought that it was so creatively done and a nice break from churches and larger museums. It was bit expensive for its size, but I think it was a small premium to pay for such a well done presentation of the city and its history. Another bonus was that there weren’t huge crowds to fight against either! If Amsterdam’s history interests you, or if you just need a reprieve from all the tourists everywhere else, I recommend a visit!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yes-no-hulst
Dec 29, 2024
This is a must! - This is another example of how perfectly many Dutch museums have been set up!!! Really great, cool audio tour, nice building and very informative. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kevin_s
Dec 29, 2024
Definitely worth it! Great history of Amsterdam. - Wonderful history of Amsterdam - amazing how this city was built and remains standing. Great facility and value.
Review provided by Viator
Wanderer604282
Dec 8, 2024
Very interesting - A great introducrtion to Amsterdam, maybe the best available. You get a short and very effecient presentation of the city and its soul. Engineering, architecture and regular life all gets its share. Some secrets and surprises as well. Very nice way to present everything.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Moniquen389
Dec 4, 2024
Valuable and educational museum - What a very nice museum about the canals and houses in Amsterdam. Really fantastic and accessible done. Absolutely suitable for children. Don't look boring pictures but the exhibition is brought alive. I am so happy with my museum annual pass.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
195victoirem
Mar 23, 2025
Interactive museum on canal history, interesting - Interactive museum with 5 rooms + audio guide. For all ages. Super instructive. Just taking into account the price for a duration of 50 minutes, it's a bit expensive.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Abamagal
Mar 7, 2025
A Nice Audio-Guided Tour. - We enjoyed this tour, the provided audio guide was very informative and easy to use. Not a must do, but a good solid to-do if time allows.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elkw
Feb 26, 2025
hidden gem in the area - the museum is not very big, but the exhibit is interactive, and educational, I enjoy the visit. You walk through each room following the audio guide, you no need to rush, you can stay for longer time, as long as you want in the rooms to explore every thing, no need to rush to next room. I recommend going there first, then you will know what building you are interested to look at or visit in the subsequent days when you stay in Amsterdam. The admission is not cheap, but worth to visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Edwinby1677ic
Jan 11, 2025
Go to see the other Amsterdam highlights first, before taking time to go to here. this museum. this canal museum. - Explained as a Sound and Light show, but disappoints. Information should have been better presented. The animations are very old-style clips made by joining still photographs of small models. Surprising to still find this outdated technique in an audio-visual creativity and technology center like Amsterdam. What little information is presented is generally not reinforced or complemented by the primitive visuals. The canals as a subject is a very good story to tell, but this museum's low-quality visuals fall far short of what could normally be expected in Amsterdam. Especially considering the price of admission. A waste of time with no 'wow' effect.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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From $20
From $20
up to 12 guests
1 - Adult
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Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).