Must confess we were pretty museum’d out by the time we visited but still enjoyed it. Entry included with our I Amsterdam card so we went. If you walk there, as you cross the bridge heading towards museum from centraal station direction, look across to the right and you can see the only windmill in Amsterdam city in the distance. The building is fabulous, make sure you go down to the bathrooms as the vaulted area down there is impressive. We didn’t look at everything. We took the audio guide on offer but found we read the info boards rather than listening to the guide. The replica sailing ship is well presented, quite tricky to move around if you’re not too mobile and as you’d expect, mind your head! Favourite museum displays were those related to navigation in a starlit section and the section on books/maps. Fascinating to see these early “travel guides” with their depictions of local scenes and people’s. Do sit in the courtyard area which is a lovely space, wait until there’s a burst of sunshine and see the effect of the roof line shadows across the walls because it’s beautiful.

Beautiful building. Exhibits are very interesting for adults. Varied exhibits about the city as a port, its growth, past and current use, and the broader Dutch maritime history. We learned a lot. Special exhibit on whaling was great for kids to understand that history. The audio guides are free with tickets and were helpful to understand more. Cafe had some good food and wasn’t too expensive. They have a kids menu.

A very large building with a stunning courtyard, very relaxed feel. Lots to see in various galleries but not overhwhelming, nicely curated exhibitions on various different aspects such as navigation history, where our food comes from, old maps, and the VOC as you'd expect. The day we arrived the large reconstructed ship was away, the steward at the desk very kindly told us BEFORE we bought our tickets, so we had the choice to return a day later and see it - really glad we did as it was quite stunning and gave you an inkling into what it might have been like as a sailor back in the day. Rather complicated lockers were the only downside!

The Maritime museum is located around a mile away from Amsterdam Centraal station on foot. Alternatively you can take bus 22 from Centraal to Kattenburgerplein which is a short walk from the museum. It is housed in a fine building with a courtyard in a dock area. Due to time constraints I had only an hour to look around but there was plenty of interesting content. I enjoyed the Rescuers at Sea exhibition which featured many interesting stories of volunteers working for KNRM (Dutch Lifeboat Service). There are many good nautical paintings on display covering the golden age when the Netherlands was a major seafaring force. The Food for Thought exhibition was informative and dealt with food production and waste. The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural produce (USA is the first). Unfortunately the old ships normally anchored in the dock were away for restoration so couldn’t be viewed. Overall, an enjoyable experience at a cost of €18.50.

Beautiful 14th, 15th and 16th century paintings of ships and battles. The map room was especially interesting. It was surprising to see that Dutch sailors trading with China and Japan in the 14th century. Take a tour of the replica of a ship; that’s probably the most interesting thing for kids. The courtyard has tables and chairs where you can rest and a restaurant to buy food and drinks.

I must admit this museum was much larger than I expected. Some sections were easy to anticipate, but others really astonished me. Probably the most attractive ones are about whales and waling, as well as the ship East Indiaman Amsterdam. There were three more ships to visit for an additional payment, but I skipped that and yet was exhausted after exploring all exhibitions. Plan to have more than 3 hours for a visit. A disclaimer: I was there in August, 2023, not September.