Explore the real-world places that appear in The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Anne Frank House, Merwedeplein 37, Jewish Lyceum, Westerkerk, Portuguese Synagogue and 5 more.
Prinsengracht 263 — The Secret Annex
This is where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary from July 1942 to August 1944. The Frank family, along with the van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer, hid in the secret rooms behind Otto Frank's business. Anne describes daily life in cramped quarters, her conflicts with her mother and sister Margot, her friendship with Peter van Pels, and her dreams of becoming a writer. The diary entries detail everything from air raids to birthday celebrations in hiding.
Built in 1635, this canal house served as Otto Frank's business premises for Opekta Works. The secret annex was constructed as a hiding place in 1942. On August 4, 1944, Dutch police led by German officer Karl Silberbauer discovered and arrested all eight inhabitants.
The Anne Frank House opened as a museum in 1960 and receives over one million visitors annually. The secret annex has been preserved exactly as it was, including Anne's room with her movie star photos still on the walls.
Visit: Anne Frank House (museum)
River Quarter — The Frank family home
This was Anne's childhood home where she lived happily with her parents Otto and Edith and sister Margot from 1933 until they went into hiding in 1942. Anne often wrote nostalgically about her life here, remembering friends from the neighborhood, birthday parties, and normal childhood activities. She particularly missed her cat Moortje, who had to be left behind when they fled to the annex.
The Frank family moved to this modern apartment building in Amsterdam's River Quarter after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1933. Otto Frank had established his pectin business in Amsterdam, seeking safety for his family.
The building still stands as private apartments. A plaque marks the former home of the Frank family, though it is not open to the public as it remains a residential building.
Voormalige Stadstimmertuin 1 — Anne and Margot's segregated school
After anti-Jewish laws prohibited Jewish children from attending regular schools, Anne and Margot were forced to attend this segregated Jewish school starting in September 1941. Anne writes about having to adjust to the new school and making friends there, including Lies Goslar and Jacqueline van Maarsen. The school became a painful reminder of the increasing restrictions on Jewish life.
Established in 1941 by Nazi occupation authorities as part of the systematic segregation of Jewish children. The school operated in a former municipal carpentry workshop, serving as the only secondary school for Jewish students in Amsterdam.
The original building no longer exists. The site is now part of the Plantage district, with modern buildings replacing the former school. A memorial marker indicates the historical significance of the location.
Prinsengracht 281 — The church near the Secret Annex
Anne frequently mentions hearing the Westerkerk's bells from the Secret Annex, finding comfort in their familiar chiming every quarter hour. The church bells marked the passage of time during their long confinement and provided a connection to the outside world. Anne writes about how the bells helped her keep track of time and gave her a sense of the city continuing its life beyond their hiding place.
Built between 1620-1631, the Westerkerk is Amsterdam's largest Protestant church. Its distinctive tower, the Westertoren, stands 85 meters tall and has been a landmark of Amsterdam's Jordaan district for centuries.
The Westerkerk remains an active Protestant church and is open to visitors. The church tower can be climbed for panoramic views of Amsterdam, and the bells that comforted Anne still ring regularly throughout the day.
Visit: Westerkerk (historic site)
Mr. Visserplein 3 — Center of Amsterdam's Jewish community
While Anne doesn't specifically mention this synagogue in her diary, it represented the thriving Jewish community that the Frank family was part of before the Nazi occupation. The synagogue served the Sephardic community that had welcomed Ashkenazi refugees like the Franks who fled Germany in the 1930s.
Built in 1675, this synagogue served Amsterdam's Portuguese Sephardic Jewish community, descendants of Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition. It was one of the largest synagogues in the world at the time of construction.
The Portuguese Synagogue still functions as an active synagogue and museum. It survived World War II largely intact and houses a significant collection of Jewish artifacts and manuscripts.
Visit: Portuguese Synagogue (historic site)
Plantage Middenlaan 24 — Former Jewish deportation theater
Though Anne doesn't mention this theater specifically, it was central to the persecution of Amsterdam's Jewish community during the occupation. Many of Anne's friends and neighbors were forced to register here before being deported to concentration camps, representing the fate that the Frank family desperately tried to avoid by going into hiding.
Originally built as a theater in 1892, the Nazis converted it into a deportation center in 1942. Over 46,000 Dutch Jews were processed through this building before being sent to transit camps and then to extermination camps.
The building now serves as the National Holocaust Memorial, with the former theater transformed into a memorial garden. The site includes educational exhibits about the Holocaust in the Netherlands.
Visit: National Holocaust Memorial (memorial)
Stationsplein — Gateway to Amsterdam
This was likely where the Frank family first arrived in Amsterdam in 1933 as refugees from Nazi Germany. Anne occasionally mentions in her diary the sounds of trains, which served as both a reminder of the outside world and a fearful symbol of the deportations happening throughout the city during the occupation.
Opened in 1889, Amsterdam Centraal Station was built on an artificial island and has served as the city's main transportation hub. During World War II, it was used by the occupying German forces for military transport.
Centraal Station remains Amsterdam's primary railway station, serving millions of passengers annually. The historic 19th-century building has been renovated and expanded while maintaining its architectural heritage.
Visit: Amsterdam Centraal Station (landmark)
Amsterdam's largest city park
Anne fondly remembers playing in Vondelpark during her childhood before going into hiding. She writes wistfully about the freedom to walk in parks, ride bicycles, and enjoy nature - simple pleasures that were forbidden to Jews and that she desperately missed during her two years in confinement. The park represented the normal childhood that was stolen from her.
Opened in 1865 and originally called 'Nieuwe Park,' it was renamed after Dutch playwright Joost van den Vondel in 1867. The 47-hectare park was designed in English landscape style and became Amsterdam's most popular recreational area.
Vondelpark remains Amsterdam's most beloved green space, attracting over 10 million visitors annually. It features playgrounds, outdoor theater, cafes, and hosts concerts and festivals throughout the year.
Visit: Vondelpark (park)
Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1 — Former Great Synagogue complex
This museum complex includes the Great Synagogue where the Frank family would have been part of Amsterdam's Jewish community before the Nazi occupation. Anne's diary reflects the vibrant Jewish cultural life that once flourished here before being systematically destroyed during the Holocaust.
The Great Synagogue was built in 1671 for Amsterdam's Ashkenazi Jewish community. During the Nazi occupation, the synagogue was closed and looted. Many of its congregants, including families like the Franks, were murdered in the Holocaust.
Since 1987, the restored synagogue complex houses the Jewish Historical Museum, documenting 400 years of Jewish life in the Netherlands. It includes exhibits on Jewish culture, history, and the Holocaust period.
Visit: Jewish Historical Museum (museum)
Plantage Kerklaan 61 — Dutch resistance during WWII
While Anne doesn't specifically mention resistance activities in her diary, her family's survival depended entirely on the courage of Dutch helpers like Miep Gies, Victor Kugler, Johannes Kleiman, and Bep Voskuijl. These brave individuals risked their lives daily to supply food, news, and companionship to the eight people in hiding, embodying the Dutch resistance spirit.
The museum building originally housed a synagogue built in 1876. During the Nazi occupation, it was closed and later served various purposes. The Dutch resistance movement helped hide approximately 25,000 Jews and other persecuted individuals.
The Resistance Museum, opened in 1999, tells the story of Dutch resistance during World War II through interactive exhibits, personal stories, and artifacts from the occupation period.
Visit: Resistance Museum (museum)
More by Anne Frank: All Anne Frank books
Other nearby maps: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman locations map