Museum Willet-Holthuysen

Museum Willet-Holthuysen is an intact canal palace at Herengracht 605, in the heart of Amsterdam's Golden Age canal ring, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2010. The house was built in 1687 for then-mayor Jacob Hop and refurbished in the 19th century by the wealthy Willet-Holthuysen family with French-inspired salons, a winter garden and a formal baroque garden. Abraham Willet and his wife Louisa left the house and its full interior, glass, silver and painting collections to the city of Amsterdam, on condition that everything be shown as a museum. Visitors walk through reception salon, kitchen, bedroom and gentleman's smoking room, seeing how a wealthy Amsterdam family actually lived. Behind the house lies a strictly symmetrical garden invisible from the street.