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Amsterdam offers visitors some of the most beautiful sights in Europe. The numerous canals that flow through the city create it's wonderful character and style and the museums are world renowned. Two of the best known museums are located within walking distance of each other. The Van Gogh Museum is worth a visit for anyone interested in the artist's work. It houses some of his most famous masterpieces beginning with his time in Holland to the period of his death in France. The 250-room Rijksmuseum is nearby on the Museumplein . This museum contains among its treasures a few exquisite Vermeers and one of the best Rembrandt collections in the world. His "Night Watch" is exhibited in the Hall of Honour and it is definitely worth spending some time looking at this remarkable oil painting.
For insights into Amsterdam's complex history, the Museum Amstelkring, quite near Centraal Station, (also known as "Our Lord in the Attic") can be found in a 17th Century merchant's house. It contains a secret Catholic church on the top floor, previously used by believers who were not allowed to build their own places of worship in a Protestant country. The house still has its original furnishings giving a good idea of what life at that time was like.
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