The local 125 year old Concert Hall sits resplendently at the opposite end of Museum Square from the Rijksmuseum.
Known for being the home of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, they allow the public in to watch rehearsals each Wednesday at lunch time! It is of course, remarkably popular, and you have to get there early to get a good seat inside!
Luckily I had inside information in the form of the friend who went with me!
We still stood in a long queue for over a half hour though. I can’t tell you how grateful I was that I had someone with me who could speak Nederlands more fluently than I could to speak to our new queue friends!
She also had the inside scoop on where to sit! So we were right up behind the orchestra and able to look out over the musicians and the rest of the audience. It reminded me a a lot of going to “Meet the Music” at the Sydney Opera House in my childhood.
These things are really popular! My concert partner was dismayed to notice that it appeared the free concert information had made it into Lonely Planet, as now the world knows about it. For this reason, I was glad we were in the Great Hall.
The secret is to go on a day with spectacular weather, then all the locals are out in the sunshine, not looking for indoor activities to get out of the rain/snow/cold. So … Summer.
Of course, being that it was a spectacular day outside, when the concert was over, we headed over to Albert Heijn (supermarket) and picked up picnic lunch makings and headed to Vondel Park!
We sat, we knitted, we ate fruit, vegetables, and chocolate profiteroles. If you’re gonna do it, do it with style!
Of course, the rest of Amsterdam was in the park with us, all lying around in bikinis and soaking up the rays. I may even have gotten a little sun colour myself!
In order to keep my “G” rating, there will be no photos of bikinis. 😛
ghoti industries 
Looks like a great experience, to watch the rehearsals; though I can appreciate the frustration at the crowds resulting from the event making it into a guidebook, what a neat experience for a visitor to have and something out of the ordinary and fun!
I read about it first in Lonely Planet, so that was a year ago! 😉
It is a LOT of fun! I’ll have to keep an eye on what’s on and go to more!