Echoes of World War II & Rembrandt - Amsterdam Art & Culture Walking Tour

Under the friendly cover of a quiet neighborhood with parks, exotic plant gardens and a beautiful zoo, lies history that tells not only about world famous paintings, rich religious heritage and a flowering jewish culture, but also of the horrors of five years of destruction under nazi-occupation (World War II). How did the Amsterdam people cope with that and what remains of these very opposite parts of human behavior today? I'll be showing you the buildings and places that will give me the best opportunities to tell you some history that Amsterdam is still struggling with: a city where people are capable of the most beautiful creativity, innovative painting and tolerance, but they remain always very fragile. I will guide you past the biggest 17th century synagoges in the world, a special place where some of the world's most famous paintings were made, a lovely green zoo and garden and, in good atmosphere, lift the curtain with respect to my own family background.

-We will start our tour at Beursplein Square. -From here, we will dive directly into both 17th Century and WWII history. -We will continue by exploring the neighborhood where painter Rembrandt would take his daily walks for inspiration in, for example, the Montelbaanstoren. -Then we will head towards the centre of the old Jewish neighborhood, where Jewish people went to the market, visited the magnificent Portugese Synagoge and built a large community. -Next we will walk past several memorial places such as the Hollandsche Schouwburg in the green area the Plantage, that will tell the story of not only betrayal, but also immense bravery and great resistance. -On the Plantage, we will also sit down for a drink. -Finally, after a lush stroll past the zoo and green parks and gardens, we will pass by the biggest memorial in the area and end at Amstel river. This itinerary could be customized to best meet your specific needs.