Torture Museum

Fun little stop! Just an extra mini museum on some very medieval torture tactics/ legal punishments. Do not touch and cannot touch anything of course except one photo op spot. It's fairly informational! It's a good goggle and interesting spot if you need something to do. Go in kill some time honestly very quick walk through but could maybe crush an hour at most if you stop to read all the informational plaques. I say go in, good fun especially at night!

It was totally amazing. At first, I felt spooky since I'd seen one kind of torture instrument. But as I was going through the room, so interesting and even highly educational for medical European era. I highly recommend you to visit here. You can even take the student discount.

Small, not a lot of items in the exhibit.. takes about 20minutes to do the tour. Its a good place to have a look if you want to waste some time around the city.

The displays were great. It was quiet and you had ample time to see everything. There were some really great displays, as well. But some of them were, at best inaccurate. It would have been great to see some history of the displays that were genuine pieces of history.

With a few tweaks this could be really nice. It's totally silent in there, maybe add a little soundtrack or ambience, you just head the talking of the other guests around you, very strange. I would say the info boards were AI generated if they weren't clearly so old, they contain almost no information about the actual torture devices in the museum. It's also very short, but not very expensive, amusing way to spend 20 minutes, but with a bit of work this could actually be amazing, especially for people interested in this stuff.

Very interesting , certainly worth a visit , situated in a beautiful part of the city

Very interesting experience, it’s suitable for the faint hearted like me and the price is reasonable.

Very small, but still fun to see. We enjoyed reading the plaques and seeing all of the exhibits. It only took us 30 minutes to walk through but we still thought it was worth the price of admission. I think that this would have been more fun with a tour guide or an audio tour.

One of the top things on my wife's "must do" list while visiting Amsterdam was to visit the iconic Torture Museum. This mid size museum is tucked away right in the mix of things took us roughly 30 minutes to walk through (we didn't read every single thing, but still). From the moment you walk in you are thrown into a world of medieval ways to make people talk, remove their heads, or simply punish them for a crime they committed. Not only do you get to learn how such things were made, but most of them are right in front of you for you to actually see the bolts and wood used to actually....you know, do the thing. I was pretty mesmerized by all of the things I saw at the torture museum and my biggest complaint is the lack of magnets they had, TOURISTS NEED THAT MEMORY! Okay, I'm don't complaining. Overall, The Torture Museum was such a fun, yet disturbing time. I learned a lot, saw a lot of incredible pieces of history, and learned more about the human race that I am sadly apart of. In Amsterdam? Check this place out, a cool way to kill a half hour.

We were walking downtown when we passed by the torture museum on 10/4/24. It was a pretty cheap price so we figured why not take a peek inside. I wish it was more interactive as the museum itself is very small. You walk through and read framed pictures explaining different devices and then there are replicas of the devices. It probably took 20 minutes to get through. It was okay.

This was such a blast! My husband will not shut up about it. The actors/staff did such a good job of entertaining (and educating) us about medieval torture. The building was a rabbit warren of different scenes... we couldn't keep track of where we were or if we went up and were working our way down or sideways or what! The stories told had a way of coming full circle- for example one woman in the tour was deemed a witch and a few scenes later she had to go on a fire and be burned which also happened to be a sort of magic trick because she disappeared from that room and reappeared in the next. While the topic of torture is quite dark, the actors and scripts managed to keep things light and fun without being tasteless (think Mel Brooks - History of the World). I think if this existed in every city, my husband would seek it out and drag me to it- I think he wants to work there.

Skip this museum. After roaming around Bloemenmarkt, we wanted to hang around the area. We were shockingly not hungry and remembered that we passed by the Torture Museum the night before. At about 7€ per person, we thought this would be a pretty cool way to kill some time before heading back to our hotel or continue on with shopping. It wasn't. The dimly lit space gives off a cool vibe, but I personally don't think looking at a few torture replicas is necessarily worth it. I'm not necessarily saying I wanted blood and guts everywhere, but it just felt like a whole lot of plastic and some explanations on the side. There weren't any opportunities to take photos with anything or have an interactive experience. Not for me.

This is an extremely cheesy museum that my friend and I stumbled upon while walking around Amsterdam. We decided to go in because it was cheap (about 6 euros admission at the time). The place is fairly dark and is just full of replicas of torture machines (iron maiden, pillory, etc.). This place is definitely nothing but a tourist trap, albeit a cheap one.

I went with my dad to this museum and had a blast at looking at all the different types of torture methods some of them cracked us up and some grossed us out be we had a great time. It was cool that they explained the methods in tons of different language's.

On another rainy day in Amsterdam (and yes, there are many) we were looking for something to do indoors to escape the terrible weather for a while. Having exhausted all the standard museums such as the rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh, and of course the sex museum, we decided to give the torture museum a go. Entrance is €7.50 for adults which I think is a little excessive given the small size of this museum. The museum itself is quite cramped and poorly lit in places. The contents are interesting and fairly well labeled, and it will give you a good insight into numerous forms of torture used in the middle ages. However, there seems to be something missing here to really grab peoples attention. It's also over pretty quickly and could definitely be improved. Maybe one to move to the bottom end of your "must see in Amsterdam" list.

We thought it would be interesting. Who would've thought to find a torture museum in Amsterdam? When we saw it, we couldn't resist. What a bummer though. Thought it would cooler things to see. Some of the items didn't seem to make much sense. Overall, it's a good way to get out of the weather for a little while or to kill time before going to a real museum.

The Torture Museum is located on Singel, close to the rear of the Flower Market, on the other side of the canal. It's an interesting little museum full of very painful-looking artefacts. I visited with my partner but found the general atmosphere of the place very spooky as it was almost pitch dark and extremely eerie inside. When we went there was nobody else around as we were the only visitors there at the time. It was thought provoking and some of the items on display were rather grisly-looking. My top tip: when you get to the end of all the displays, don't exit as you can't re-enter, should you wish to. Instead, if you want to look at anything again, then turn around and go back. This museum is worth a look and only takes about thirty minutes, but you only need to see it once.

Visited this site 15 years ago or so, but wanted my husband to see it this time. What a waste of time and money (7.5 Euros each). They are no longer maintaining the exhibits. They have informative signage in several languages next to the exhibits or in some case the pictures, however, some are so poorly lit that you can't read all the languages listed. English being one of them. On one exhibit the glass on the verbiage is even cracked and taped and has not been replaced--really? If you don't care about the entrance fee then yes there is some interesting torture devices and pictures shown. You can go through in less than a half hour. There are so many attractions and museums in Amsterdam I would pass on this one. I would not repeat or recommend to a friend.

The only torturous part of this museum was the museum itself! For 15 euros, my husband and I were in and out in under 20 minutes, which included us taking photos of the exhibits and drawings. You're alone with a small paragraph of the devices, with not all of them being clearly explained. There's no videos, audio, not even music. At one point we heard dripping which, being next to the rack, thought it was supposed to simulate blood dripping... nope, just a leaky air conditioning unit with a bucket underneath! They only take cash, there's no bathroom, and you literally are spit right back onto the street when you exit, so unless you retrace your steps, you can't even walk around again! Total waste of money, a complete tourist trap!

Just terrible. Most houses in Amsterdam were built tall and narrow (brief history lesson: they were taxed on how wide their property was, thus creating tall, thin, and deep houses)... this "museum" was extra tiny and extra narrow. Dimly lit, I followed a bunch of my friends up a tiny stairwell which commenced our "tour." It was more like a self-guided walk-through where we got to read little descriptions of what each displayed "tool" or "device" (self-inflicted or not). The collection was not expansive. They had surprisingly little considering it was a "museum." The least they could've done was add a scary soundtrack or have a random person in costume chasing you around. Not impressive and certainly a waste of time and euros. The flower market nearby was way cooler. You can use that 5 euros and put it towards 10 tulip bulbs or even a cannabis starter kit, just saying... it was a total waste of $

Had so much fun in the museum browsing around and reading about all the cool torture devices back in the day. Man there were some sickos out there because whoever thought of these things were probably highly disturbed! I say if you have some time after dinner and you want to walk off the meal, then a stop here (less than an hour) isn't a bad idea. They're open late too - what a plus!

I went here while backpacking through Europe almost a decade ago now. I agree that the place is pretty cramped, especially considering being surround by devices of death and all things macabre. The one image that seems to be burned in my memory was a torture device called a "Judas Cradle" that was essentially a pyramid that a victim would forced to sit on. See: http://www.medievality.com/judas-craddle.html Yeah, I wasn't quite right after I walked out this place let me tell ya.

Whilst we had a good 8 hours to spend for our Amsterdam layover, our pastor had the idea to visit a particularly interesting place that frankly, i never knew would exist. Even if i were aware of its existence, i would think that you'd want to visit more "touristy" places. However, more than the ghastly and petrifying images one would conjure up in thinking by hearing the word, the Torture Museum is also a relevant trip into a dark corner of history of the Netherlands (And no, this place has nothing to do with any sexual fetishes! lol) After we made it to the Centraal Station in central Amsterdam, we got on board the neat trams that criss-cross the city. i was made the group navigator, even though i don't know a word of Dutch and it was my first time ever in Amsterdam. Thankfully, i had done my homework beforehand and we got to the museum without a problem For adults, the entrance is €5 (about US $7 today) and for children €3,50 (about US $5) Going inside the museum was uneventful until we made our way inside and went up the stairs, where we were greeted with a host of various devices of torture on display. As you make your way through the tour, you can read about how and why people were mercilessly put through such treatment. Quite scary to think that only a few hundred years ago, people could do such things to others i'm not a sadist or anything, but i think it was a more meaningful tour than just going to the zoo or an art museum

If you happen to be in the area and are bored I suggest you check it out. It is pretty creepy as the place is fairly dark. It might also have to due with the fact I went by myself and there was no one else in there too. The exhibits were interesting, but nothing too fascinating.

An interesting privately owned and operated small museum very near the flower market. Many actual instruments used for extracting confessions and executing law breakers. Made me VERY glad not to have lived when these were in apparent common use and that we have progressed in most countries. Allow about an hour or so to see the exhibits.

I was oddly amused, but wasn't worth the fee. It's in the flower district and close to Red Light district. You walk through a collection of torture devices, drawings and description of devices. Dark with narrow passages and stairs. Fifteen minutes of torture

Not that I wanted more realistic depictions, but just so you know what to expect, the museum is basically a display of things relatively benign (stock, pillory) to some more extreme devices , along with medieval drawings of how they were used. Not much of a museum for 8 euros per person. But it is also very straightforward - they are not trying to turn it into an amusement or madame Toussades . No extra hype , so that was the good thing . Lots of shops and activity In the neighborhood

Eeeeeek! This place is exactly what they say it is. Super educational for me and makes me realize how fortunate I am for what I have. This museum is a little on the pricey side (IMHO) but a good way to see how people were actually punished back in the day

We went here today & I feel disappointed. It cost €7.50 to get in for a start, the displays were mostly drawings with little explanation. It was over very quickly & not worth the money.

Skip it. There are some interesting contraptions on display, but the accompanying info cards explain WHY the devices were used rather than HOW, which sometimes left us confused as to what exactly is was that we were looking at. You are entirely unaccompanied, and it feels more like a walk-through exhibition at a cheap carnival rather than an established museum. Not worth the time nor euros. The best part of the museum for us was the air conditioning.

The Torture Museum provides an interesting (if not slightly macabre) trip into the history of torture in theory and in practice. With relics and reproductions of the devices used throughout the ages to interrogate and punish people accused of crimes, this museum is not for the easily disturbed. There are a lot of different floors/levels to this museum, with narrow passages that add to the feeling that you can't escape the reality of our often brutal past. It's located close to the flower market which means that you can walk across a bridge and use the multitudes of tulips to wash away the images of pushing up daisies.

Is less than 1 star possible? You don't really learn anything. The few items on display are poorly kept in shitty lighting. The explanations are highly repetitive. The drawings are falling apart on the walls. The whole thing is garbage and not even worth going to if it was free let alone 7.5 euros. The real torture is the "museum" itself.

Not nearly as flashy and fun as Het Sexmuseum (anyone need a translation of that?), but it was still a cool place to go, since not much else was open around 7 PM. The torture devices are there with descriptions of how they were used. It's a pretty reading-heavy tour, if you don't just want to stare at the devices and guess how they worked, but it was cool. I don't think you're supposed to touch most of it, but there is a good (if cliche) photo op in the stocks. If you have an hour and nothing else to do, you might as well check it out.Caution: not for the queasy of stomach. There aren't many pictures, but the writing is graphic enough to make you squirm.

To expensive just to see torture devices they used in the old days. It was alright but I expected a little bit more.

Really bad. Lack of explanations and entertainment. Finished in 20min. Skip this one.

The good news is it was pretty dark and small making it a bit spooky. And there were a few reproductions of medieval equipment, a cool chair with spikes, but the content was mostly graphics on the walls. Stylized line drawings showing medieval torture, but nothing like what you see on the internet on even on tv. Worse, there was no background or education aside from one paragraph descriptions of the drawings. Everyone is curious, especially with current events, but the delivery and lack of depth here was disappointing.

There are actually two torture themed museums in Amsterdam. My friend and I went to this one thinking it was the other so that possibly colored my perception of it. I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's okay and nothing too special. The place only takes about half an hour to travel through (and that's if you're taking photos, going slowly and reading all the exhibits- otherwise, it's much faster). It's informative but some of the displays are kind of cheesy. I don't know how much money and upkeep has been put into the museum. I think it's in a prime location and probably attracts a lot of tourists which is why they can charge a somewhat steep price and not do too much to enhance the experience for their visitors. If you're visiting Amsterdam and short on time, I would not recommend it. If you have plenty of time and want to learn about torture and see some silly exhibits then this is the place for you!

wow! this is really disturbing in a can't take your eyes off it kind of way. the people who came up with these devices should be subjected to them as punishment.