Amsterdam museum night on November 4

There’s just something about special museum events that makes me want to write. On November 4, from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., 40 museums in Amsterdam will allow visitors to see their temporary and permanent displays in conjunction with special events such as musical performances, poetry readings, food tastings, and even dancing.

Event passes cost €17.50 and are valid all night for entrance into the museums, the museum boat, and trams and buses involved in the event. Passes go on sale in October, but are limited to only 30,000, so book as soon as they are available.

For more information, visit the Amsterdam tourism site. If you have trouble figuring out which museums are participating in the event, just follow the beams of light that will be illuminating those locations that night. How cool is that?

While you are touring the city’s museums, remember there’s still time to celebrate Rembrandt’s 400th, with a few remaining special exhibits such as “All the Rembrandt drawings, part II” at the Rijksmuseum and “Jewish Rembrandt” at the Jewish Historical Museum. I was there last March and noticed there were also many nods to Rembrandt all over the city and beyond not included in the official program. For example, the Royal Delft factory in Delft, a short train-ride from the city, has a life-size depiction of Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” made from tiles.