Till further notice all tours have been suspended due to the corona virus. We will survive and will come back and make your future stay in Amsterdam nothing more then fabulous. Our new flower tour will now start in 2021.
For something special and different you come to Special Amsterdam Tours, the only gay lgbt tour company in Amsterdam does not give boring tours. LGBT History, art in the Rijksmuseum with some gay dressing, Royalty! Yes, Dutch Queen and Kings (real ones) and others. Just ask, we know Amsterdam.
Reviews:
" Terrific Tour, great guide",
"Henk is a walking library", "educational and fun",
"informative and entertaining, not just for gays",
"excellent tour and friendly guide",
"Henk is a fountain of knowledge",
"you will see a great hidden history of Amsterdam",
"Fabulous walking tour".
Tour given for KLM network Over the Rainbow (click for video)
Click on the tripadvisor logo for more reviews... tickets below...
GAY LGBT History Tour: 400 years of gay lgbt history and gay icons. 
Amsterdam as front runner in GAY LGBT rights in the world. Now on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 3 pm.
Standard in English, also available in Dutch, German and Spanish but only on request and minimum participants. Please ask for more information.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Art and culture tour : at the Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum and its art collection is one of the most spectacular in the world...
The Dutch Masters explained by Henk, a walk through the museum with some gay dressing.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,- (you will have to purchase yourself the entrance ticket for the museum Euro 17,50)
Combo ticket tour Rijksmuseum + LGBT Gay History Tour
The Rijksmuseum and a walking tour starting at the homo monument. On Saturdays only.
Duration 2 times 2 hours. From 11 am to 1 pm and the second tour from 3 pm till 5 pm
Euro 60,-- (you will have to purchase yourself the entrance ticket for the museum Euro 17,50)
Amsterdam & the Royal Family
200 years, 4 kings and 4 queens… Get the drama, Dutch history, Bi-sexual kings, jewellery robberies, the Russian blood in the family, the immense popularity of the Orange Nassau family explained with all the juicy bits.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Historical Walking Tour of Amsterdam
Between canals, churches and a palace, the history of Amsterdam...
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
GAY LGBT History Tour Amsterdam : Homo Monument and Gay marriage
Amsterdam as front runner in GAY LGBT rights in the world
The Netherlands was the first country in the world with a monument for LGBT victims and the first country where same sex marriages were legal. In the roaring 80's and 90’s Amsterdam was the GAY capital of the world.
The tour takes you on a trip through historic Amsterdam and goes from the 17th Century until 2001 the year of GAY marriage. We start at the Homo monument and end at “het Mandje”, the oldest gay bar in the world on the Zeedijk.
Your guide Henk witnessed the roaring 80's and 90's himself and is a great historian and story teller according to earlier participants.
Every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 3 pm, starting at the Homo monument.
Henk is the tourguide for the GAY LGBT History Tour and also available for public speaking.
He is available for your fundraiser, school assembly or conference as long as you interested in a fascinating story .
To book Henk, please get in touch, he has a LGBT story for every crowd. Tour given by Henk for KLM LGBT network, Over the Rainbow.
Duration 2 hours
Henk has been happy to welcome hundreds of gays, LGBT and even some straight people from around the world.
Starting at the Homo monument, the first in the world and finishing of with drinks and talks at "het Mandje" on the Zeedijk.
LGBT art and culture tour : at the Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum and its art collection is one of the most spectacular in the world...
The tours takes you through the most important museum of the Netherlands and its collection. The Dutch Masters are known to be among the best art in the world. In fact this museum was built around Rembrandts masterpiece the Nightwatch.
Henk enlightens you about the Golden Age when the Dutch ruled the waves but more importantly created a vast collection of paintings that we can still admire today. How did this small country achieve that and what has protestantism to do with it?
In the collection Henk will point out pieces in Dutch history and the art collection that have a connection with LGBT.
Your guide is Henk and in the Rijksmuseum he shares his knowledge and passion with you about Dutch masters and art.
Every Saturday at 11 am, starting at the Rijksmuseum.
Henk is the tourguide for the LGBT History Tour and the LGBT art and culture tour and also available for public speaking. He is available for your fundraiser, school assembly or conference as long as you interested in a fascinating story . To book Henk, please get in touch, he has a LGBT story for every crowd.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,- (you will have to purchase yourself the entrance ticket for the museum Euro 17,50)
Amsterdam & the Royal Family
200 years, 4 kings and 4 queens…
Weddings and the inauguration of the new Monarch. Amsterdam has a long history with the Orange-Nassau family. The tour fills you in about the centuries' long relationship between the family and the Dutch Republic, and now with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
We will walk along important landmarks such as the Palace on Dam Square and Westerkerk, where Queen Beatrix got married. Amsterdammers cheered for the royals dressed in orange, though the family has also been booed at times. And who knew that the first Dutch King was a Frenchman?
Since the time it was a Republic in the 17th Century, Amsterdam has always had a mixed and special relationship with the Orange-Nassau family. While the elite of Amsterdam was Republican, the royal family remained popular with the poorer classes.
200 years, 4 kings and 4 queens. 400 year the Orange-Nassau family and the The Netherlands. All you ever wanted to know.... Political murder, jewelery robbery, bi-sexuality, illigitimate children, independence war.
Every Thursday at 3 pm, starting at the Queen Wilhelmina statue on the Rokin.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Queen Wilhelmina on a horse, guides Henk and Eve look up. Starting point of the tour. 4 Kings and 4 Queens in 200 years. King Willem I, King Willem II, King Willem III, Queen Emma, Queen Wilhelmina, Queen Juliana, Queen Beatrix and King Willem Alexander...
Tulips and more, the story of Holland as a flower nation
From Tulips to coffee and how the Netherlands became the country for flowers...
Amsterdam and the Netherlands is the country of the tulip. But there is so much more to tell.
During spring and the opening of the Keukenhof only. Get the story of how tulips became the symbol for Holland. From a growers family himself Henk will give you the riveting story of the arrival of the tulp in the Netherlands 400 years ago.
But there is more, how did Amsterdam get its botanical garden and what has this garden to do with the coffee you drink every day? Only in Spring, now postponed to 2021.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Historical Walking Tour of Amsterdam
Between canals, churches and a palace, the history of Amsterdam...
Immerse yourself in the history of Amsterdam during this walking tour of the city center. Spend 2 hrs in the company of an engaging guide and small group of maximum 10 persons.
We start at the statue of Queen Wilhelmina on Rokin and walk to the Palace on Dam square that was not build as Palace but started out as our city hall. You will learn about the Jewish population of Amsterdam as well about hidden cathlic churches in Amsterdam. Pass the first protestant church build in Amsterdam after the reformation, you will learn about the origins of the canal district.The Dutch Royal family as well as many fascinating stories you never knew about Amsterdam.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Westerkerk, the first protestant church in Amsterdam, Rembrandt is buried here, Palace or is it City hall, Keizers canal with homo monument, New Church for the inauguration of the new Monarch...
Architecture : Amsterdam School style, a walk in de Baarsjes.
Between the two world wars Amsterdam developed its own very unique architectural style know as Amsterdam School.
We will start with coffee at the restaurant meneer van Loon on the Curacaostraat and then have a walk through the district know as de Baarsjes. One of Amsterdam undiscovered burroughs with fine architecture. We learn about the social developments that are at the root of this style. You will see several fine examples of this style during the walk and learn what defines Amsterdam School buildings and how it stil inspires architecture. We go from a primary school to a mosque and apartment buildings. To this day apartments and homes in Amsterdam School style are the most sought after homes for buyers.
But join us at this unique different view of Amsterdam and enjoy walking with us.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Please feel free to contact us for possibilities and questions. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Corantijnschool, Edel and de Westermoskee.
Amsterdam in the 19th Century.
Industrialization, slums and beauty.
In the 19th Century Amsterdam expanded once again. The now popular burrough "de Pijp" was a new developed area for the many poor people who flocked to Amsterdam for work. Your guide' great aunt was one of those people who went to Amsterdam for a better future.
It was also a time with revolutionary new insights, technology, social movements and great art. The tours gives you an insight in this fascinating period.
We start the city tour with a visit and coffee at "koffie huis de Markt" an original Dutch brown cafe on the Albert Cuyp, visit the market and the burrough and end at the Rijksmuseum where you will get a vieuw of some of the most stunning paintings of that era.
But join us at this unique different view or Amsterdam and enjoy walking with us.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Please feel free to contact us for possibilities and questions. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Girl in white kimono by Breitner, model Geesje Kwak.
A walk in the ........ Vondel park...
Take a walk in the most famous park in the Netherlands. Take a walk with us in the Vondelpark.
We will start at the meeting point just left after you pass the cross over road. We then start with a walk through the Vondelpark. Our most famous park that is over 150 years old. You will learn about the history of the park when it was for the elite of Amsterdam only and when it became a safehaven for hippies in the 70's , the art you will see and of course its a park, some of our oldest trees and anecdotes.
But join us at this unique different view or Amsterdam and enjoy walking with us.
Duration 2 hours
Euro 35,--
Picasso statue, cycling in the park, getting a snack. While the park was for the Amsterdam elite in the 19th Century. Now its become the outdoors for all Amsterdammers...
Your guides
Amsterdam Special Tours is all about Amsterdam and so are our guides. We have a passion for the city and its history and there is always a personal connection to our guides and Amsterdam.
Henk
Henk has been living in Amsterdam since 1989 and has a very personal relationship with Amsterdam. As a true Amsterdammer he loves his city and can complain a lot about how it's being run. Henk is the creator of the LGBT GAY HISTORY TOUR and also available for public speaking.
Tour given for KLM network Over the Rainbow
Sam
Sam was born in Amsterdam and is a real Amsterdammer. Infused by his mother with history and stories, he is now studying history at Amsterdam University.
Like his uncle Henk, he is a raconteur and story-teller pur sang.
Eve
Eve lives and breathes Amsterdam. As she says herself, she was born in the wrong city and thats why she moved as soon as she could to Amsterdam. Where she met her man and raised her four children.
Eve will lighten up your tour with the history she knows and the sparkle she brings to the group.
Special Amsterdam Tours tailor-made for you
Special Amsterdam Tours also provides private and company tours. We can also organize special tailor-made tours for you as long as they have to do with Amsterdam and its history.
Would you be interested in a tour about 19th Century Dutch painters, such as Breitner? We can show you his girl in kimono and the story behind it. It hangs in the Rijksmuseum.
How about a tour in our national museum that King William III refused to open? Do you want us tell you why? And how his great grand daughther Queen Beatrix reopened it after renovations a 100 years later?
We have the Special Amsterdam Tour for you. Please feel free to contact us for possibilities and questions. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Links
Airbnb LGBT History Tour Amsterdam
Airbnb LGBT Culture Tour Rijksmuseum
Airbnb Amsterdam & the Royal Family
Facebook Royal family and other Tours
Youtube channel Special Amsterdam Tours
Twitter @LGBTHistoryTour