Museum Het Rembrandthuis

Without any hint of a Disney gloss, the original home and workplace of Leiden-born painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–69) provides an evocative, inspiring and moving trip back to the world of the man whose name remains the clichéd byword in great painters, even if Picasso now gives him a run for his money. And money, or lack of it, is what forced Rembrandt from this home and studio in 1656 after 17 years – a prolific period in which he painted the grand De Nachtwacht (The Night Watch), which qualifies as one of Amsterdam's must-see attractions and the painting at the Rijksmuseum that draws the biggest crowds. In 1999, following centuries of careless tampering, neglect and misguided renovations, the house reopened, radicially restored to nearly how it was in Rembrandt's day. The house features etchings, drawings and copper plates, plus a small number of paintings by Rembrandt's teacher, his pupils and his contemporaries.