5 Bizarre Museums in Amsterdam

Looking for something a little different in Amsterdam? Enjoy these unique and unusual museums

Amsterdam is famous for various things. Canals, responsible for the city’s nickname 'Venice of the north'. People on bicycles. Coffee shops. The red light district... Another thing that sets the capital of Netherlands apart, however, is its large amount of museums. The Netherlands hold about 70 museums, among which 40 alone are located in Amsterdam.

Of course, we could go on and on now, recommending museums like the Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank Huis or the Van Gogh Museum (which are absolutely worth a visit, mind you). Still, we would like to take a step further and mention some of the more exceptional Amsterdam museums. Thank god, Amsterdam has enough interesting museums to choose from!

1. Kattenkabinet

Cat freaks, don’t fall over yourselves, this museum might really excite you! People say that you either hate cats, or you love them – if you do love them, this is the place to be. Founded by Bob Meijer in dedication to his beloved cat called John Piermont Morgan, the Cat Cabinet, exhibits all kinds of feline-themed artwork. Paintings, drawings and sculptures from well-known and not-so-well-known artists, like Pablo Picasso, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Rembrandt or Théophile Steinlen (creator of the world-renowned “Le Chat Noir”) can be admired here by cat lovers. Fittingly, there are cats running around in the museum, the cute and cuddly illustrative models of the exhibition.

2. Vrolik Museum

Moving from cute to disturbing, this museum isn’t for tender-footed ones. The Vrolic Museum contains probably the biggest collection of human deformities and displays anomalous embryos, odd skulls and bones and other pathological examples. Named after its originators and professors of anatomy Gerardus and Willem Vrolik, the collection goes as far back as the end of the 18th century. The medical collection represents high scientific value today but also serves as a strange experience of the visitors of the museum.

3. Sex Museum & Erotic Museum

We thought it fits pretty well to name both the Sex Museum and the Erotic Museum at once. The Sex Museum is the first and oldest of its kind worldwide, showing different perspectives of eroticism and sensuality over the course of history. Here, you can have yourself photographed next to the Venus, Mata Hari and of course Marylin Monroe with her waving skirt.

If that isn’t enough, the Erotic Museum in the middle of Amsterdam’s red light district demonstrates the history of the red light district and the oldest profession of the world. Among others, the collection consists of frivolous pictures, books and films, like an alternative version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” that would make Walt Disney blush like a little girl, or a vending machine containing the most unusual condoms you’ll ever see. Quite humorous, and definitely not suited for family visits!

4. Tattoo Museum

Foto credits: @siviaggia.com

Nowadays, artistic expression using the human skin as a canvas is anything but extraordinary. However, the tradition of permanent skin painting is anything but new. The Tattoo Museum holds more than 40 000 objects, divided geographically (Africa, America, Oceania, Asia) and showing the history of tattooing in different countries and subcultures – in the army, among sailors, sex workers or in prisons.

5. Houseboat Museum

Concluding this list with something typical for Amsterdam, the Houseboat Museum seems like the right choice. Thankfully, Vincent van Loon transformed his boat into his domicile in the 1960’s, allowing today’s visitors to experience the unique way of living on a houseboat decorated in a typical Dutch style. In case you are wondering how life on a houseboat works, you should pay this museum a visit. If you can’t find out in Amsterdam, the city built on poles, then where else?