Hidden gems to visit with your I amsterdam City Card

Updated 24 June 2025 at 14:56

Make sure to visit some of Amsterdam’s offbeat museums, where you can learn about secret churches, Egyptian artefacts, the inner workings of windmills, and more. Many are located in historic buildings, offering you a chance to step behind the stunning facades along the canal belt.

Amsterdam is home to outstanding museums filled with beautiful works that will take your breath away, like The Potato Eaters by Vincent van Gogh and The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer. But many lesser-known museums are worth your time, too. Often less crowded than their world-famous counterparts, they showcase unique curiosities and special collections you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. And best of all, admission is free or discounted with your City Card!

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Allard Pierson

Image from Victor Wennekes

The Allard Pierson museum will take you all the way from the Amstel river to the Nile and beyond as you explore the exhibition spanning 10,000 years of cultural history. The heritage collections of the University of Amsterdam will be of particular interest to lovers of ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece.

Free with the City Card

Molen van Sloten

Image from Amie Galbraith

One of Amsterdam's only remaining working windmills, the Sloten Windmill, is the only functioning polder mill open for visitors and offers guided tours. Right next to the windmill, you will find the local brewery De 7 Deugden.

Free with the City Card

Our Lord in the Attic

Image from Arjan Bronkhorst

Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic) hails back to a period of religious persecution during which the Catholic worshippers were forced to hide their churches inside private homes or, in this case, the attic. Learn about the fascinating history as you explore a 17th-century canal house from the kitchens and living quarters all the way up to this unique place of worship.

Free with the City Card

Amsterdam Fortress Island Pampus

Pampus (Dutch is an artificial island and late 19th-century sea fort located in the IJmeer near Amsterdam.
It now belongs to the municipality of Muiden and is open to visitors.
Together with the artillery battery on the lighthouse island near Durgerdam and the battery at the Diemer seawall, Pampus protected the entrance to IJ Bay and the harbour of Amsterdam. It was part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam (Dutch: Stelling van Amsterdam). In 1996, UNESCO designated the entire Defence Line with its 42 forts a World Heritage Site.

Image from Tony Perez

Image from Tony Perez

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Grab the ferry from the Centraal Station and head to the historic UNESCO World Heritage island fortress of Pampus. Aside from the beautiful views and the boat ride over, this beautiful fort has an exceptional experience in store: a virtual balloon flight over the Defence Line of Amsterdam.

Free with the City Card

Boom Chicago

Image from Jeroen Roest

Get your daily dose of humour at one of Boom Chicago’s English language shows! This comedy theatre has an amazing lineup of performances, including improvisation nights. City Card holders get special treatment and discounts for the best seats in the house.

Free with the City Card

Klimbos Fun Forest

Image from Marie-Charlotte Pezé

If your idea of fun is showing off your physical prowess and conquering heights, come to the Fun Forest, a high rope adventure park fit for all ages. It has ten different courses with an altitude of up to 15 meters, perfect for every level.

Free with the City Card

Rembrandt Experience

Image from Erik Karst

Immerse yourself in a 5D version of 17th-century Amsterdam as you learn about Rembrandt’s life and work. You will get to know his family, his studio and the impact that he’s had on the city.

25% discount with the City Card

Discover all the I amsterdam City Card has to offer

Looking for more ideas? Read our article on Amsterdam’s most unusual museums to visit.