Anne Frank Huis

Prinsengracht 263 was the 17th-century canalside house where young Jewish girl Anne Frank and her family hid for two years during World War II. Today it's one of the most popular attractions in Amsterdam, with almost a million visitors a year. Having fled from persecution in Germany in 1933, Anne, her sister Margot, their parents and four other Jews went into hiding on 5 July 1942. Living in an annexe behind Prinsengracht 263, they were sustained by friends who risked everything to help them; a bookcase marks the entrance to the sober, unfurnished rooms. But on 4 August 1944 the occupants were arrested and transported to concentration camps, where Anne died with Margot and their mother. Her father, Otto, survived, and decided that Anne's diary should be published. The rest, as they say, is history: tens of millions of copies of the diary have been printed in a total of 55 languages. In the new wing, there's a good exhibition about the Jews and their persecution during the war, as well as displays charting racism, neo-Fascism and anti-Semitism, and exploring the difficulties in fighting discrimination; all have English texts. To avoid the famously long queues, arrive first thing in the morning, or book a queue jump ticket online. Interestingly, the Amsterdam South apartment the Franks previously lived in now hosts persecuted writers from around the world.