Everyone was telling us we needed to see the “best” antique show in the world. So after hearing about it for years, we decided to make the trip to Maastricht, the Netherlands, to visit the European Fine Art Fair. But since I had never been in Amsterdam, we stopped there for a few days to tour the city and visit its famous museums—which are amazing.

We always like to learn more about collectors, so we visited the Willet Holthuysen house, a 17th-century mansion originally owned by avid collectors who left their home and all of its contents to the city in 1895. It’s undergoing some restoration right now, but you can see the impressive silver dollhouse furniture and accessories collection and meander through much of the historic house.

While wandering around Amsterdam, we stumbled across the Amsterdam Antiques Centre. It houses 72 stands and 90 cabinets displaying mainly European antiques. But we found a pair of Cleveland Arts and Crafts open salts (one damaged) by Mildred Watkins priced at €750 (around $1,000). A perfect pair auctioned for more a few years ago.

The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht takes over the city every year, filling hotels and bringing many visitors to the city. The fair is owned by the dealers who show their wares—and they are some of the top dealers in the world. We were amazed at how fancy the booths were; some were framed by papered walls, and others had painted overhangs.

You could buy the best of anything, from 16th-century Flemish paintings, rare books, Roman coins, old jewelry from India, New Guinea masks (€120,000 each), armor, and even furniture from New Hope, Pa., by Harry Bertoia, George Nakashima, Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powell. This isn’t the place to find bargains, but it’s certainly where you can see things for sale that you would ordinarily find only in museums. Surprisingly, some of the least expensive items were the ancient coins and relics. Learn more about the fair at TEFAF.com. Next year’s fair will be held in Maastricht March 13 to 22.