Sex Museum

Colleen
Colleen
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
13
Reviews
12
Photos
Editor Pick

Cover Your Eyes (PG-13 Journal)

  • April 27, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Carmen from Fairfax, Virginia
Cover Your Eyes (PG-13 Journal)

Disclaimer again. This is the museum of sex journal. If you’re expecting fluffy bunnies, and church facades, you may want to reconsider reading it. I’m trying to keep it PG-13, but honestly, it may be hard. No pun intended.

The Sex Museum is hard to miss if you walk on the main drag from Central Station to Dam Square. Situated smack dab in the middle of the Damrak and sandwiched between souvenir shops and restaurants, it only costs 3 Euro per person to enter.

If you go in with the right attitude, it’s a fun little jaunt through history’s soft-core porn. And some of it not so soft core. Their are trash cans adorned with the male member, a giant penis chair to sit in and even a penis statue from the Etruscan period. See? Porn goes WAY back.

There are also some naked women parts hanging on the walls (and a bottom who "farts" on you as you "pass" by) a statue of a naked Marilyn Monroe and lots of pictures of naked women on the wall.

The most fun is in the form of the robotic statues that interact with you. There’s a flasher who opens his coat as you walk by, a really ugly naked woman who pops out with arms open, etc. If you take it all in good fun, I think you can giggle your way through it and survive.

The most interesting thing I learned from the sex museum, and my tour through the Red Light District, is where the porn term XXX came from. You see, in the early Amsterdam years, there were three things that were likely to kill you. Plague, fire and floods. Each of these three catastrophes were represented in the Dutch crest with three St. Peter’s crosses. St. Peter stipulated that he not be hung on a cross like Jesus (t-shaped) but rather on a sideways cross, like an X. These three x’s are flanked by two lions, forming the crest. When the porn industry took Amsterdam by storm in the 1960s-1970s, the three Xs appeared on the graphic movies, and thus the XXX rating. Learned something new today, didn’t you?

All in all, I can say for a mere 3 Euro, go in and get your little peep show. Who knows, maybe it’ll spice up your love life back in the hotel room.

From journal Amster-DAM That Was Fun!

Sex Museum

  • February 10, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by AdrienneEC from New York, New York
Well this is certainly an interesting museum. It takes you more through the history of sex in media or pornography than anything else. There is plenty of sexual art and interesting things on display. There are many different sections, including one that focuses on the darker side of sexual play and pornography. The one thing that I was a little disappointed by was the fact that there wasn't anything in the museum that addressed the city's liberal attitude toward sex or the history of the Red Light District. Other than the lack of that material, it was fun to see and experience and I am very glad my friend suggested it.

From journal Reaching Happy Heights in Amsterdam

Sex Museum

  • December 28, 2005
  • Rated 3 of 5 by justmejenna from Decatur, Alabama
As you pass the giant penis in the front door, you are allowed to walk through this multilevel Museum of Sex. Through the years of sex and its history, you can see different props and the evolution of sex. It was very interesting actually. The funniest part was when a statue whispers at you to come here. When you get close, he flashes you--too funny!

From journal Amsterdam 2001

Editor Pick

Sex Museum

  • August 8, 2005
  • Rated 3 of 5 by karameister from Saint Paul, Minnesota

Netherlanders really like their sex. Prostitution is legal (and unionized!). Just walk into the Red Light District and you'll see things that you never knew existed. But the Sex Museum is perhaps the best examples of the fascination in all of Amsterdam.

For all the hubbub and jokes, the Sex Museum actually takes the subject very seriously. There is a "Sex through History" exhibit, with information that dates back thousands of years. They have myriads of sculptures of naked men and women, but the origins of each and every one are explained. The sex museum is not just there to look at; it's there to learn from, too!

There is a small section that isn't for everyone. It's sort of a fetish explanation area, and some things can get pretty intense and/or disgusting. If you are faint of heart, I wouldn't recommend going into this room!

Overall, the Sex Museum was a fun and unusual experience. My travel partner thought that it would be trashy and not worth it, but she agreed that she learned a lot! We spent about an hour at the museum, so it is well worth the 2€ we spent.

From journal Amsterdam: College Student's Heaven

Editor Pick

Amsterdam Sex Museum

Amsterdam Sex Museum

After a quick walk from the Erotic Museum through the Red Light District, we arrived at the Amsterdam Sex Museum. It’s about 5 minutes from Centraal Station in the middle of a very busy, touristy area. Opposite of the Erotic Museum, it started off really tacky and got less so the further in you went. The moving mannequins and recorded voices were probably the most disturbing; one guy says ‘psst’ and then comes out and flashes you, and a huge, warty, naked woman suddenly pops out of a dark alleyway in the old Red Light District. Annoyingly, a plastic bottom on the wall by the stairs farts and giggles every time someone goes past it—you will be ready to smash it by the time you leave.

At the back of the first floor is a room devoted to photographs of the extremes of sex, including fetishism, bondage, anal, beastiality... well, you get the idea. Don’t go in unless you’re really ready to be disturbed; there’s a sign warning you not to complain if you see something you don’t like!

There are three levels to this museum, and the architecture of the place is actually quite interesting. They’ve made good use of the stairwells and landings to display various paintings, and the ceiling over one part is all glass. As you move up to the second level, the displays are less tacky. The Sex Museum does a much better job than the Erotic Museum in explaining the various objects in their collection, including country of origin, how things were used, and approximate dates. There is a large display of b/w photography from professional and private collections, paintings, carvings, statues, etc. In one area, you can sit between two giant penises and watch a video about the beginnings of porn; beware, though, as the middle seat is set to suddenly start vibrating at random!

At only 2.50 Euros, this is a bargain attraction and well worth the money. If you only go to one of this type of thing, skip the Erotic Museum and do this one; their collection is bigger, better explained, and more varied.

From journal First-Timer's Amsterdam

Compare Amsterdam Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Amsterdam Travel Deals