8 Offbeat and Unique Museums in Netherlands You Must Visit

Amsterdam is a hub of Museums of Arts like Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and more. But if you are visiting during the peak season, chances are that you might end up in Long queue’s. Chuck the Long waiting hours and join me as I take you through an Offbeat and unusual list of Museums in Netherlands. Call me a Maniac, But I l absolutely loved these museums more than the conventional arts one’s.

Before I arrived here, My idea of Museums was only about arts and paintings. But now I have a broader perspective of Museums, As I’ve seen a Museum dedicated to Bags (Tassen Museum), Maritime Museum, Diamond Museum and many more.

1. Electric Ladyland: The Museum of Fluorescent Art

This is truly a one of a kind museum dedicated to the magic and wonders of fluorescence. Located in the Jordaan, just off the Prinsengracht,it is just 5 minutes walk from the “Anne Frank House” and the Westerkerk. The tour includes large collections of fluorescent minerals from all over the world – rocks which emit dazzling colors when seen under different wave-length of light. When the black light comes on, the home-made shapes spring to life as everything glows with a neon phosphorescence. You have to put soft slippers on your shoes, and walk down the stairs into the artistic cave-like space.It feels like you have entered into the world of Colors as the rocks react differently to different colors.

Ticket Price – € 5

Website – Electric ladyland

2. KattenKabinet

The Dutch are really big Fans of Cats. Hence, I wasn’t really surprised to know that there is a Museum dedicated to them. There is an interesting story behind this Museum, it is said that this Museum was started by Bob Meijer in 1990 as an act of remembrance for his own departed cat, John Pierpont Morgan.The death of a pet can be very painful, but rarely has anyone taken their grief and started a museum, as was the case with “The Katten Kabinet”.

They received birthday gifts from Meijer’s friends such as paintings, a bronze cat statue, and a recreated American dollar bill with Morgan in place of Washington which are all now a apart of the Museum. The Building is the beautiful canal house with a lovely old piano, beautiful chandeliers and stunning art-work on the ceiling (the only art that doesn’t include a cat!).

Ticket Price – € 7

Website – Kattenkabinet

3. National Maritime Museum

With a large part of the country situated below sea-level the Dutch have always had to fight the water and find creative solutions to live with it. This Museum shows how the sea has given the Dutch culture. It has a lot of artefacts relating to sailing and shipping. A great place for a person who is fascinated by Sailor’s age, as there are a lot of paintings, scale models, weapons and world maps to make you feel amused.

Ticket Price – € 15

Website – National Maritime Museum

4. The Torture Museum

As you enter, you see a few darkly lit corridors and prints displaying tortures throughout the past.This Museum shows the various practices and instruments used in the middle age to torture of punish people.Fans of Middle Age brutality can admire the agonizing “skull cracker,” the limb-dislocating rack, the needle chair and that most efficient of killing machines, the Guillotine.

Ticket Price – € 7,50

Website – Torturemuseum

5. Micropia

Ever heard of a zoo for microbes collecting the horrible and wonderful things living on and around us? I am Sure Not. Micropia is a first of its kind in the world. Opened in 2014 with a personal visit by the Queen Máxima of the Netherlands showing that she is not afraid to get her hands dirty, the zoo of tiny things sets out to show how interesting and beautiful the invisible world all around us can be. I particularly loved this place because of my interest in Microbiology. It can be a great learning experience for Kids.

I have a small Video too, But no spoilers. Just go and See.

Ticket Price – € 14, Students € 7.50

Website – Micropia

6. The Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum

This museum is dedicated to the rich history and varied applications of cannabis and hemp, as well as the many opportunities they offer for the future. Here, you get to experience the journey of the past,present and the future of Hash. It is also a Live garden where these are grown. The Audio guide helps you understand the social, financial, political, medicinal and spiritual effects it has had on the world. In Europe, there are only two of such Museums. One is Barcelona and other in Amsterdam.Overall, a brilliant experience and incredible value for 9 euros.

Ticket Price – € 9

Website – Hash museum

7. Witches’ Weigh House

Located in the town of Oudewater not far from the city of Utrecht, this museum is a bit spooky but fun at the same time. In the 16th Century scales were used to weigh people who were accused of practicing witchcraft. Since Witches are considered to be light weighted, anybody who weighs too low was considered to be a Witch.The reasoning behind this is the old belief that a witch has no soul and therefore weighs significantly less than an ordinary person; this distinction allows the witch to fly on a broomstick.The Museum also has an audiovisual presentation and exhibition about witch hunting.

Want to know whether or not you are a witch, light enough to fly on a broomstick? Find out for yourself, weighed on ancient scales, and get a certificate as a proof of not being a Witch ;P

Ticket Price – € 5

Website – Witches’ Weigh House Museum

8. Corpus Museum

In the outskirts of Leiden in the Netherlands, there is a giant, man colored in orange. Sitting on a two-story platform beside an eleven story glass building, this orange man welcomes you to the Corpus Museum, the world’s first museum to take visitors through the entire anatomy of the human body.

The Corpus Museum’s is an hour-long tour where every one gets a head set and you start all the way up in the human body. Begining with an escalator ride up the leg to the knee, where visitors will step inside an open wound. Next is the genital area, where visitors will put on 3D glasses to witness a sperm cell fertilizing an egg. Farther up the giant body come the intestines, where you can witness the digestion of a cheese sandwich before your eyes. Children can jump atop a giant tongue as a burping sound erupts from a speaker system.

Ticket Price – € 7,50

Website – Corpus Museum

Apart from the one’s I mentioned, there are a lot more Museums attracting people with different interests like The NEMO Science Museum, Body World for the Science lovers, The Museum of Bags and Purses for the Fashionista’s, Anne Frank’s House for the History Lovers and More.

As I said earlier, this city never ceases to amaze me. The first thing that comes to anybody’s mind when the word Amsterdam comes is Weed and other stuffs. But there is something for everybody. Isn’t it?

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