Rhea Dsouza

Review of Anne Frank House

So first thing, if you want to visit, tickets are ...

So first thing, if you want to visit, tickets are available online and it is advised to book atleast 3-4 weeks before since you will not be getting any tickets on the same day you plan to visit or one or two days before, I kid you not unless your stars are lucky .
As soon as you enter, you're provided with headsets which have the languages English,french,German(obviously),Chinese and two more which I can't seem to recall. We took the English ones. They're of good quality and they provide a narrative tour of the entire place. There are numbers for particular segments and you just have to put your headset on the number to start the narration.
Now to the house. It was stunning. I'm into all of this historical stuff and war intrigues me. We were taken into every single book and corner of the house except the attic( that is sealed with a glass ladder so that no one can enter, however there is a mirror inside on the top which allows you to see things inside partially)- I found this a little disappointing because we were being taken to every single place in the house and then this area wasn't permitted so I was like :// but I get why they wouldn't allow people in. The bookshelf that hid the secret annex, still has some of the original files and folders. It's amazing to see such 30/40 year old paper documents still preserved. The walls still have the original pictures stuck on. Obviously they couldn't keep all the other stuff like mattresses etc.for people to see because then there would be no space to walk and tour! The walls are still painted from the inside so as to block the view of outsiders. The headset is on pause as soon as you enter the secret annex and continues right when you're walking downwards. At the end of the tour of the house, you're directed to a room where all of Anne's original letters, and of course, her diary is put on for show. There is a short documentary playing around in the room beside. On the other end is the souvenir store where you can shop till you drop. In the middle a small scale model of the house and the annex- with all the other things like the bed,table etc. Shown inside. All in all- a must visit.