State Museum (Rijksmuseum)

Counted as one Amsterdam's top museums (along with the Van Gogh and Anne Frank museums), the Rijksmuseum (or State Museum) features an impressive collection of artists, including Rembrandt and Vermeer. As befits a State Museum, the ornate building contains mostly Dutch works from the 15th to 17th centuries; and even though the museum is undergoing renovations (and the viewable collection has been drastically cut), some say the Philips Wing's "Golden Age highlights" are worth your time and money.

However, some travelers disagree, saying the reduced collections are not worth the Rijksmuseum's steep admission price. To visit, take Tram 2 or 5 to Hobbemastraat. You can visit the museum every day; ticket prices cost €12.50 EUR for adults (or about $17 USD), but 18-year-olds and younger can visit for free. For more information, visit the museum’s website.

The Rijksmuseum is currently undergoing renovations, which should be finished sometime in 2013.