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In the 400 years since Rembrandt's birth, the friendly country of Holland has become synonomous with his extraordinary art.

Full disclosure: Holland's Tourism Bureau hosted this writer in 2006 to help spread the word about the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth on July 15, 1606. Fortunately, a majority of his masterpieces continue to be displayed as described, in museums and galleries around the country.

Among its many cultural riches, Amsterdam boasts not only a Rembrandt museum but the Master's own home and studio at the The Rembrandt House, and both buildings contain a lot of his work. Museum Het Rembrandthuis, at Jodenbreestraat 4 (31/ 0 20 - 520 0400), is open and charges admission. This 17th-century house where Rembrandt lived and worked has been restored to its original glory.

The house is very small by our standards, with spiral stairways which barely accommodate one person. But it is filled with riches; casts and renderings of sculptures in his upstairs studio, walls filled with nearly 100 of his etches and drawings on the lower floors, and his furnishings, all left exactly as they were when he died. One feature I've never seen available anywhere else is the ability to buy etches made from copies of Rembrandt's original plates, costing about €40 each.

The Rijksmuseum, at Jan Luykenstraat 1 (31/ 0 20 - 674 7047), has one of the world's largest collections of Rembrandt paintings. The Jewish Bride, The Syndics, Self-Portrait as a Young Man and the legendary Nightwatch are just a few of the Dutch Master treasures you'll see here; Rembrandt's self-portrait as the Apostle Paul, the portrait of his Son Titus in a monk's habit, and the mesmerizing still life with peacocks are three others. Until extensive renovations are completed in 2009, only about 400 works in total are being displayed in the modern Phillips Wing, but it's well worth a visit and the gardens are an oasis of shade and calm during summer. It's open daily till 6pm and Friday until 8:30pm; children under 19 enter free.

I visited the Rijksmuseum first, then Rembrandt's house, and it worked for me. Unless you're traveling with art scholars, I think it's helpful to see the great paintings first, then the sketches for some of them and the workplace where they were painted. It puts the entire experience into context for all ages, but either way, you'll be blown away.