Although there are many cities in Europe and the Netherlands with histories stretching much farther into the past, Amsterdam’s story is unique and unusual and worth discovering at this fascinating and eclectic museum. Follow the development of this powerful port through medieval artefacts and art from ancient shoes dating back to the 14th century and the oldest known map of the city by renowned cartographer Cornelis Antonisz, who brought the town and its 12,000-strong population to life in 1538, to period furniture and paintings collected by wealthy Amsterdammers of the Golden Age. You can also learn about the urban development of the city from its bold plans to dig canals to 20th-century modernisation projects as well as lots of fun exhibits that highlight popular culture from films about the Ajax football club and a model of Holland’s (and perhaps the world’s) first gay and lesbian bar, ‘t Mandje, to interesting facts about prostitution and the first coffeeshop, the Bulldog.