Visitors interested in Amsterdam city history should head over to the Stadsarchief (Amsterdam City Archives), whose free Schatkamer (Treasure Room) presents some of the city's most precious artifacts in the monumental interior of the archive's landmark premises, De Bazel.

The Schuttersgalerij (Civic Guard Gallery) may well be the only freely accessible "museum street" in the world, an enclosed avenue bedecked with 15 colossal city watch portraits in the vein of Rembrandt's The Night Watch. Find this top free attraction between two others of its kind, the Amsterdam Museum and the Begijnhof.

Can you name a Dutch writer? Maybe not; but chances are, if you can, that the first name that jumps to mind is Multatuli. Visit the Multatuli House, the Amsterdam birthplace of Eduard Douwes Dekker - a/k/a Multauli - whose satirical novel Max Havelaar inspired the Dutch to reform their unjust colonial policies in the East Indies, and is considered one of the catalysts for Indonesian independence.

Free attractions and activities are in perennial demand in Amsterdam. Fortunately, there's ample supply of them in the Dutch capital. See the best free attractions in Amsterdam in pictures.