Anne Frank Tickets

The Ticket Chase Chronicles

Years ago, I was in Amsterdam, blissfully unaware that visiting the Anne Frank House required the strategic planning of a military operation. I just showed up, thinking I could waltz in like it was a pancake house. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

Back then, you could book tickets online three months in advance but there was no ticket counter at the museum. No walk-ins. No mercy. Just a  daily ticket scramble that makes Black Friday look like a yoga retreat.

Now that I’m heading back, I refuse to be outsmarted by a booking system again. I did my homework. Turns out, tickets drop only on Tuesdays, exactly six weeks ahead. That means if I want to go in six weeks, I have to wake up at 4 a.m. Florida time (because 10 a.m. Amsterdam time is apparently when the ticket gods awaken) and fight the internet for a decent time slot.

And if you’re dreaming of a lovely midday visit? Forget it. If you don’t log in at the crack of dawn, you’ll be stuck with the 8 p.m. slot, when your feet are tired, your patience is gone, and your travel buddy is hangry. Wait a week, and those tickets? Gone.