Home to both De Nederlandse Opera and Het Nationale Ballet, this is the city’s (and the country’s) hub of high culture. Neither the ballet nor the opera tend to run for more than two or three consecutive nights, so if you’re a particular fan of one over the other, you should be able to get your fill. It also houses the Holland Symfonia (an orchestra combining the national ballet’s orchestra and the North Holland Philharmonic), and invites visiting companies from across the world. Ticket prices range from ?15 to more than ?100. The building itself was opened in 1986, so has none of the grandeur of other European opera houses and orchestral homes.