Is the Anne Frank House Worth Visiting? What to Expect Inside

We recently visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and it’s one of those places that stays with you long after you leave. The house is worth visiting, especially if you want a powerful reminder of what war and prejudice cost real families. Walking through the Secret Annex where Anne, her family, and four others hid for two years brought her story to life in a way that reading her diary alone never could.

Visiting the Anne Frank House takes more planning than most Amsterdam sights, though. Tickets are sold online only, they go on sale six weeks ahead, and they disappear fast. I almost missed out because I didn’t know that. Here’s everything we learned: how to get tickets, what they cost, how long the visit takes, what’s inside, and a few recent changes that trip people up (including a missing tram stop).

What hit me hardest was the size. It’s hard to imagine eight people living in rooms this small for two years, and from the street the building looks so ordinary you could walk right past it.

Is the Anne Frank House Worth It? Our Honest Verdict

Yes, and I’d put it near the top of any Amsterdam list. It’s not a “fun” museum and it doesn’t try to be. But it’s one of the few places where history stops feeling like a textbook and starts feeling personal. Here’s why it’s worth your time:

1. It’s the real place. You walk through the actual rooms where the Frank family hid, including the hinged bookcase that covered the entrance to the Annex.
2. You see Anne’s own diary. The original red-checked diary she got for her 13th birthday is on display, along with her other notebooks.
3. You get the bigger picture. The museum puts Anne’s story in the context of Nazi persecution and what was happening outside while eight people hid.
4. It’s short. Most people need about an hour, so it fits into a busy Amsterdam day.
5. It makes you think. It’s hard to leave without reflecting on freedom, equal rights, and what ordinary people can do when it counts.

A few people should think twice. The steep stairs make the historic part tough for anyone with mobility issues, the museum says it isn’t suitable for children under 10, and sold-out dates really are sold out. If you strike out on tickets, I share some solid alternatives below.

What Is the Anne Frank House?

The Anne Frank House is the museum at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam, in the canal house where Anne Frank, her family, and four others hid from the Nazis. The Franks had fled Germany for Amsterdam in the early 1930s, and Anne’s father, Otto, ran his business from this building. The family went into hiding here on July 6, 1942. The Anne Frank Museum, as it’s also called, opened to the public in 1960 after the building was saved from demolition.

Is the Anne Frank House the Real House?

Yes, and that’s what makes it hit so hard. The Anne Frank House museum isn’t a replica or a re-creation. You’re walking through the original building: the front house where Otto’s business operated, and the Annex behind it where eight people hid. So if you’re wondering whether the Anne Frank museum and the Anne Frank House are two different things, they’re not. The house is the museum.

Two things surprised me. First, you don’t enter through the old front door. The museum entrance is around the corner at Westermarkt 20, in a modern section of the building. Second, the Annex is empty. When the museum opened, Otto asked that the rooms stay unfurnished, so instead of period furniture you get photos, quotes, and small original traces to help you picture it.

Life in the Secret Annex

Picture this: it’s 1942, the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands is in full swing, and Otto Frank has quietly prepared a hiding place in the back of his office building. Soon the Annex becomes home to eight people trying to escape deportation: the Frank family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer.

For two years they lived behind a hinged bookcase, following strict rules about noise and visibility. Can you imagine the constant fear of being discovered? Cut off from the outside world, they relied on a small group of loyal helpers who risked their own lives to bring food, supplies, and news.

A Diary That Changed the World

It was here that Anne wrote the diary that made her famous. She got it for her 13th birthday, just weeks before the family went into hiding, and filled it with the hopes, fears, and small everyday moments of life in the Annex. After hearing a speech by Gerrit Bolkestein, she began rewriting her diary for possible publication, never imagining the impact it would have.

On August 4, 1944, the group was discovered and arrested. Thanks to the bravery of helper Miep Gies, Anne’s writing survived the war. Otto Frank, the only one of the eight to survive, published the diary in 1947, and Anne’s voice has reached readers around the world ever since.

Visiting the Anne Frank House: Tickets, Hours and Booking Tips

Here’s the most important thing to know about visiting the Anne Frank House: you can’t just show up. The museum only admits people with a pre-booked, timed ticket, and there are no ticket sales at the door. A little planning goes a long way.

How to Get Anne Frank House Tickets

New tickets go on sale every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Amsterdam time for visits six weeks later. That’s 4 a.m. Eastern for most of the year, so set an alarm. They sell out fast, and there’s no waiting list. If your date is sold out, it’s sold out.

You can only buy tickets on the official Anne Frank House website, and only with a bank or credit card. Beware of lookalike sites. The museum warns about fraudulent websites selling invalid tickets, and companies that offer Anne Frank House “tours” can’t get you inside. Book everyone in your group in one go, because you can’t add tickets to a booking later. Tickets can’t be exchanged, refunded, or transferred, so double-check your date and time slot before you pay.

Anne Frank House Ticket Prices and Discounts

Here’s what tickets cost at the time of writing. All prices include a €1 booking fee.

Discount cards don’t let you skip the booking step. Even with a Museumkaart you have to reserve a time slot on the official site, and you just pay the booking fee.

Is the Anne Frank House Introductory Program Worth It?

The museum offers an optional 30-minute introductory program in English, for ages 10 and up, for €7 extra per ticket. It covers Anne’s story in the context of World War II and the persecution of the Jews, and then you head straight into the museum. The program ticket includes your museum visit, but you can’t add the program to a ticket you’ve already bought, so decide before you book.

So is the Anne Frank introductory program worth it? If you don’t know much about Anne or the war, I’d say yes. We’d already watched plenty of documentaries and movies on the subject over the years, so we skipped it. It also takes place in one of the museum’s educational spaces, which is a useful option for visitors who can’t manage the stairs.

Opening Hours and the Best Time to Visit

The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and I found evening visits ideal. In our experience, later slots were easier to snag, even when we weren’t glued to the website the moment tickets dropped, and you can use the daytime for other Amsterdam sights. Weekday slots tend to be easier than weekends, so a Tuesday or Wednesday evening is a good bet.

Hours change on a few days. The museum opens at noon on January 1, closes early on King’s Day (April 27), May 4, December 25, and December 31, and closes completely for Yom Kippur. Check the exceptions list on the official site when you book.

How to Get to the Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House sits at Prinsengracht 263-267 in the charming Jordaan neighborhood, but the museum entrance is around the corner at Westermarkt 20, right by the Westerkerk church.

Heads up if you’re using an older guide: the Westermarkt tram stop is out of service. From February 15, 2025 to February 2028, no trams run up to Westermarkt, so the old “take tram 13 or 17” advice no longer works. Here’s what to do instead:

1. Walk from Amsterdam Centraal: about 20 minutes through the canal belt.
2. Take a tram to Dam Square, then walk: it’s about a 10-minute walk from there.

I’d walk the whole way if you can. It’s a very pleasant stroll, and it lets you ease into the neighborhood before the visit.

Inside the Anne Frank House: What You’ll See

The route winds through the front house and into the Annex, and it’s a quiet, moving experience that brings history to life.

Entering and Moving Through the House

Arrive at your time slot and you’ll get in promptly once your ticket is checked. Your ticket sets only your start time, so you can stay as long as you like. If you booked the introductory program, you’ll do that in a separate area first and then enter the museum.

Leave the big bag behind. Only bags smaller than an A4 sheet of paper are allowed inside, and the free cloakroom can’t take large backpacks or suitcases, so drop those at your hotel or at the luggage drop at Amsterdam Centraal. Photography and filming aren’t allowed either (more on that below).

Inside, moving through the floors was slow going because of the crowd in each room, which meant a lot of shuffling. The displays and the audio guide kept us from getting impatient, though. Heads up: the stairs are steep, so see the accessibility section below.

The Secret Annex and the Bookcase

I was struck by how small the Secret Annex really is. Eight people lived in these tight quarters for over two years, and the narrow stairs and low ceilings made me feel claustrophobic after just a few minutes.

The hinged bookcase that hid the entrance is still there, and it gave me chills in person. The rooms are empty, but photos and quotes help you picture how they looked back then.

Anne’s Room, the Diary and Other Things You Shouldn’t Miss

Look at the walls. In Anne’s room she covered the walls with postcards and pictures of movie stars, and you can still see that picture wall. Nearby, marks track how Anne and her sister Margot grew while in hiding: over two years Margot grew about 1 centimeter, while Anne shot up more than 13. Elsewhere, Otto tracked the Allied advance on a map of Normandy. Little details like these make the Frank family feel like real people.

In the diary room you can see Anne’s original red-checked diary. She filled it within weeks of going into hiding and then kept writing in notebooks. When she decided to rewrite everything in 1944, hoping to publish after the war, she ended up with 215 loose sheets, and some of them are shown on rotation. Two other notebooks are on display too: her book of favorite quotes and her book of short stories. Seeing her handwriting in the same building where she wrote it is incredibly moving.

The museum also puts Anne’s story in context, with exhibits about Nazi persecution and what was happening outside while the group was in hiding. When we visited, the video interviews with people who knew Anne really got to me, because they made her feel less like a historical figure and more like a girl you could have known. A temporary exhibition is included with your ticket too. In 2026 it’s Who’s Gone?, which follows the Jewish Lyceum that Anne and Margot attended before going into hiding.

Can You Take Pictures Inside the Anne Frank House?

No. Photography and filming aren’t allowed anywhere in the museum, which protects the original items and keeps the visit respectful for other visitors. That includes smart glasses and camera glasses. Plan to take your photos outside, where the canal-side exterior is fair game.

Guided Tours and the Audio Tour

There are no guided tours inside the Anne Frank House. Instead, the visit is self-guided with an audio tour that’s included with your ticket and available in nine languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. It gave us great background as we moved through the rooms, and I highly recommend it. There’s also a version called Anne’s Story made for young visitors, which tells the story from Anne’s perspective.

Want something more guided? Your options are the introductory program above or an Anne Frank walking tour in the neighborhood, as recommended below. Just remember those outside tours don’t include museum entry. Can’t get to Amsterdam at all? The museum offers online and 3D tours.

Anne Frank House Souvenirs, Shop and Café

After the emotional walk through the house, you may be glad to find the museum shop and café, which you reach through the museum. The shop sells the diary, the museum catalogue, postcards, and other publications about Anne’s story, and your purchase helps fund conservation and educational work. It takes cards only. I appreciated that it was low-key and didn’t try to commercialize Anne’s story.

The café is small and cozy, with a view of the Prinsengracht. It serves hot and cold drinks, snacks, and lunch dishes, so you can sit and decompress for a bit. There aren’t many tables, so don’t count on lingering long. If you’re hunting for souvenirs beyond Anne Frank, see our guide to the best Dutch souvenirs.

How Long Does the Anne Frank House Take?

Most visitors spend about an hour inside, which is what the museum itself says is typical. Our visit took about an hour, which felt like enough time to see everything without rushing. Your ticket sets only your starting time, so you can go at your own pace. Some people read every panel, and others move through faster.

I suggest setting aside 1.5 hours total, which gives you wiggle room for check-in and the slow shuffle through the busiest rooms. Add another 30 minutes if you want to browse the shop and have a coffee afterward, and another 30 if you’re adding the introductory program.

Tips for Visiting the Anne Frank House

A quick cheat sheet from our visit:

1. Set a Tuesday alarm. Tickets drop at 10 a.m. Amsterdam time, six weeks ahead. Have your card ready, since the site takes bank and credit cards only.
2. Book everyone at once. You can’t add tickets later, and there are no refunds if plans change.
3. Try an evening slot. They were easier to get for us, and the museum is open until 10 p.m.
4. Pack light. Only bags smaller than A4 go inside.
5. Leave the camera in your pocket. No photos or filming are allowed in the museum.
6. Use the audio tour. It’s included, and it adds a lot of context.
7. Do a little homework first. A short documentary or a few diary entries will make everything land harder.
8. Save time for afterward. A walk along the canals or a pancake in the Jordaan helps you process what you just saw.

Accessibility and Visiting With Kids

Stairs and Mobility

The Anne Frank House is a historic canal house, and the historic part isn’t accessible by wheelchair or other mobility aids. Expect three steep staircases going up, three normal staircases coming down, and one very high step at the bookcase (about 39 cm, or 15 inches). Seating is only available at the start and end of the route, though you can ask for a portable stool at the information desk.

The modern part of the museum, with the temporary exhibition, scale models of the Annex, the café, and the shop, is partly accessible by lift with the help of a staff member, via an accessible entrance. If you can’t manage the stairs, you can also take the introductory program or explore with the virtual tour. The museum’s accessibility page has photos of every staircase so you know what to expect.

Is the Anne Frank House Suitable for Kids?

The museum sets a minimum age of 10 and says it isn’t suitable for younger children, and I’d agree. It’s an intense, quiet, crowded visit. Older kids and teens can get a lot out of it, especially with the Anne’s Story audio tour. If you’re bringing children, the museum has tips for visiting with young children.

What to Do Near the Anne Frank House

Give yourself time to decompress. The Jordaan is a great place to wander, and it’s a lovely neighborhood to take cool photos in Amsterdam.

Westerkerk and the Anne Frank Statue

The Westerkerk church is right next door, and its 85-meter tower is a landmark you’ll spot all over the Jordaan. Climbing the tower used to be a highlight, but it’s currently closed to climbers until further notice, so check before you plan around it. A statue of Anne stands near the church too.

Where to Eat Nearby

I loved The Pancake Bakery, just a 2-minute walk away. Their Dutch-style pancakes hit the spot and are a must-try food of the Netherlands. For something fancier, Restaurant Jansz serves delicious modern European cuisine in a beautiful canal house setting.

Anne Frank Walking Tours and Canal Cruises

If you want more context than one hour in the museum can give, an Anne Frank walking tour is a great add-on. These guided tours explore Amsterdam’s old Jewish Quarter, the Dutch Resistance, and Anne’s life before hiding, and several finish near the house. They do not include entry to the Anne Frank House, so you’ll still need to book your museum ticket separately on the official site.

Browse Anne Frank and Jewish Quarter or WWII walking tours (small-group and private options) for a fuller day of history.

After all those stairs, a canal cruise that departs near the Anne Frank House is a relaxing way to see the canal houses from the water.

Museumplein, home to the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Moco Museum, is about a 20 to 25 minute walk away, so it’s easy to pair the Anne Frank House with a second museum.

Books to Read Before or After Your Visit

If you’d like to read up before or after your visit, these are good places to start:

• The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition: restores entries that were left out of the original edition.
• Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman: a visual retelling of the diary.
• Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies: the story of the woman who helped hide the Frank family.

Featured image: “Anne Frank Huis – Anne Frank House – Amsterdam, Netherlands” by David Berkowitz is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Follow us on PinterestFollow