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Anne Frank House
Anne Frank Huis · Amsterdam, Netherlands (Prinsengracht 263)
The secret annexe behind a bookcase where Anne Frank's family hid for two years and she wrote her diary.
Know before you go
- Don't make noise, laugh or take selfies in the annexe
- don't queue for long at the door blocking the canal-side pavement
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Stories & people
Stories & people
History
Two years behind a bookcase
On the morning of 6 July 1942 the Frank family moved into the secret annexe at the back of the building that housed Otto Frank's company, its entrance hidden behind a bookcase; several of Otto's most trusted employees became their helpers. On 4 August 1944 the hiding place was discovered and the whole family was arrested by the Gestapo. Anne and her sister Margot died at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945; their father Otto survived Auschwitz. He published his daughter's diary in 1947, and in 1960 the house opened as a museum.
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
During the German occupation of the Netherlands, the Jewish teenager Anne Frank, her family and four others hid in a secret annexe at the back of this 17th-century canal house on the Prinsengracht, its entrance concealed behind a bookcase. Anne did not survive the war; her diary was published in 1947. Ten years later the Anne Frank Foundation was set up to stop developers demolishing the houses; the museum opened on 3 May 1960, preserving the annexe and presenting exhibitions on persecution and discrimination of all kinds.
Local customs
- This is a memorial: the route is narrow and the stairs steep
- keep quiet in the annexe
Etiquette
Etiquette & taboos
Rules that apply here
Netherlands: don't swim in Amsterdam's canals
- Swim in designated swimming areas
- Jumping into a canal to swim
- Urinating by a canal
Swimming in a canal brings a €160 fine; urinating in a canal is also fined.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Netherlands travel advice
Netherlands: cannabis is tolerated only in designated places
- Understand that 'tolerated' does not mean legal
- Smoking cannabis in public places
- Buying or possessing drugs outside designated places
Using it in public is illegal; buying or possessing it outside designated places can mean prison.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Netherlands travel advice
Netherlands: everyone over 14 must be able to show ID
- Carry your passport
- Going out without any ID
€100 fine for those over 16, €50 for those aged 14–15.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Netherlands travel advice
Don’t DON'T
- Don't make noise, laugh or take selfies in the annexe
- don't queue for long at the door blocking the canal-side pavement
Locals appreciate DO
Amsterdammers appreciate visitors who come in a spirit of remembrance, having read the diary first.
Plan your visit
Practical info
| Best time | Your booked time slot |
|---|---|
| Time needed | 1–1.5 hours |
Travel tips
- Tickets are sold only online for fixed time slots, so book early in peak season
- next door is the Westerkerk, where Rembrandt is buried
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