Madame Tussauds Amsterdam

A wax museum on the Dam

Madame Tussauds Amsterdam sits right on Dam Square, near the Royal Palace. You go up into the floors above street level, and inside are life-size wax figures of people you know: kings and queens, film stars, footballers, musicians, painters.

It is a museum for people who like to stand next to a famous face and take a picture. Nobody will mind if you pose. The figures are grouped by theme, so you can go straight to the section you care about. Since the refit in January 2012 it also has interactive parts, not only figures behind a rope.

It is an indoor stop, so it works well on a wet day. Allow a relaxed hour or two.

The story of the place

The idea came from Josephine Tussaud, a businesswoman and great-great-granddaughter of Marie Tussaud, who founded the original wax museum. The Amsterdam museum was founded on 19 February 1970. It was the first Madame Tussauds on mainland Europe and the first one outside Britain.

About a year later it opened on the Kalverstraat, the main shopping street. In 1991 it moved to the Dam, into the upper floors of a building that housed a Peek & Cloppenburg clothing store.

The building has its own history. The architect A.J. Joling designed it in the Um 1800 style, and it was built between 1914 and 1917. It opened on 11 April 1917 as the second Peek & Cloppenburg store in the Netherlands. In 2001 it was made a rijksmonument, a national monument. So look up at the façade before you go in.

What to look for inside

The collection is split into groups. There is a Golden Age of Dutch history section, and the royal family: William of Orange, Queen Wilhelmina, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, and Lady Diana.

In the world leaders area you will find the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. The film section has Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Sean Connery and George Clooney, and even Hannibal Lecter.

The music section runs from Elvis Presley and Bob Marley to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. It also includes Dutch DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Tiësto and Martin Garrix, which is a nice local touch.

Do not skip the art and science corner. Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Dalí, Leonardo da Vinci and Einstein are all there. Rembrandt and Van Gogh are worth a look because you will meet their real traces all over the city. There are also sports stars, fashion names and the Marvel Avengers, so children usually find something they like.