Wheelchair-friendly immersive experiences in Amsterdam

AMAZE

AMAZE is a one-hour audiovisual experience located near Westerpark. Created by ID&T, this seven-stage experience takes you through a 3,000-square-metre warehouse with interactive lights and sounds. With its loud and colourful immersive spaces, AMAZE is a unique experience in Amsterdam. 

The main entrance to AMAZE has several steps. Contact AMAZE in advance or ask a staff member to allow you to enter via a wheelchair-friendly side entrance. The entire AMAZE experience is located on the ground floor. Ramps are mostly placed where needed, except in the doorway leading to the lockers (where staff can place a portable ramp) and in the final room (as a staircase leads back to the exit). When you’re in the final room, ask a staff member to open a side door which leads to the café and exit. The gift shop cannot be accessed by wheelchair as it is two steps up. AMAZE has a wheelchair-friendly toilet in their adjoining event space. 

Rembrandts Amsterdam Experience

Rembrandts Amsterdam Experience is all about the life of 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. This family-friendly attraction uses colourful projections, music, and narration to bring Rembrandt and his artworks to life. A new ‘experience’ starts every 10 minutes and takes approximately 25 minutes in total.

Rembrandt’s Amsterdam has spacious, threshold-free rooms. All projections are clearly visible when seated. The ticket counter is high and has a card machine that cannot be moved within reach of wheelchair users. For this reason, it is recommended that visitors who use a wheelchair buy their tickets online beforehand. The gift shop is wheelchair accessible. However, some items are located on higher shelves and are difficult to reach when seated. There are no toilets at Rembrandt’s Amsterdam. 

The Upside Down

The Upside Down is a social media experience with 25+ differently-themed rooms. Full of vibrant colours, each room celebrates Amsterdam’s culture in a lighthearted way. The Upside Down is the perfect place to take photos with your friends, have a laugh, and enjoy yourself. 

The Upside Down’s main entrance has heavy manual doors. Lifts provide access to every floor. While ramps connect one room to the next, some doorways have a short steep ramp that may require assistance. Certain pathways in The Upside Down are quite narrow, with the narrowest in the metro-themed room measuring approximately 71 cm wide. While every room at The Upside Down has wheelchair-friendly photo opportunities, some features are on a higher level or platform inaccessible to wheelchair users. The café and gift shop are both wheelchair-friendly. A wheelchair-friendly toilet is located on the ground floor.

Fabrique des Lumières

Fabrique des Lumières uses innovative technology to showcase artwork through images and music. Colourful projections dance across the 17-metre-high walls inside the historic Westergas building. Since opening its doors in 2022, Fabrique des Lumières has exhibited modern and contemporary works by famous artists such as Salvador Dalí and Gustav Klimt and photographer Jimmy Nelson.

Fabrique des Lumières is located on the ground floor. Entrance doors are wide and threshold-free, and exhibition halls are spacious. The only area that is not accessible to wheelchair users is the viewing plateau in the main exhibition hall, as it can only be reached by a staircase. A wheelchair-friendly toilet is located near the entrance. 

Nxt Museum

Located in Amsterdam Noord, Nxt Museum is a museum dedicated to New Media Art. The museum includes a range of interactive multi-sensory exhibitions that combine movement, light, and colours.

Nxt Museum is located entirely on the ground floor. Wheelchair users visiting independently should order their tickets online in advance, as the ticket machine is out of reach when seated. Exhibition halls are spacious, though some information mounted on the wall is too small and high for wheelchair users to read. The gift shop is wheelchair-friendly. A wheelchair-friendly toilet is located in the adjoining restaurant. To access the wheelchair-friendly toilet, please ask a staff member to show the way and unlock the door.

Josephine Rees is the founder of Able Amsterdam, a website about wheelchair-friendly places and activities in Amsterdam. For more information, follow Josephine on Instagram and check out the Able Amsterdam website.