Things to do in Amsterdam
Amsterdam fits three of the world's great museums, a 17th-century canal ring and a working, lived-in old town into a centre you can cross on foot — and it has always done things its own way.
Getting your bearings
Amsterdam’s centre is a set of nested horseshoes. Centraal Station sits at the top. In front of it lie the old town and the red-light district, and curving out from there are the three grand canals — Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht — with the Jordaan tucked in behind them.
South-west of all that, a short tram ride or a twenty-minute walk away, is Museumplein, where the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh and the Stedelijk stand around one square with Vondelpark beside them. The whole of it is walkable; trams fill the gaps, and you rarely need more.
Two cities in one
There is the Amsterdam of the brochures — the canals, the museums, the bikes — and there is the working city a street or two back from it: in the Jordaan, in De Pijp, in the brown cafés that have nothing to do with tourism. The first is genuinely worth your time. The second is what turns a short stay into a good one, and it costs nothing but walking away from the crowd.
Using the city as a base
Almost everything else in the Netherlands is close. Haarlem and the North Sea coast are fifteen minutes by train, the windmills at Zaanse Schans about twenty, and Giethoorn, the tulip fields at Keukenhof and the old cheese towns are all comfortable day trips. Amsterdam is the obvious place to sleep and the easiest place to leave from in the morning — which is most of what we help people do.
What to see
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The Rijksmuseum
The national museum, and the home of Rembrandt's The Night Watch and Vermeer's The Milkmaid — eight hundred years of Dutch art in one vast, restored building on Museumplein.
Driver’s tip: The Night Watch hall is a scrum by late morning. Arrive at opening and walk straight to it first. The passage through the middle of the building, with cyclists streaming past, is free — and so is the garden out the back.
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The Van Gogh Museum
The largest collection of Van Gogh anywhere — around two hundred paintings and five hundred drawings, hung so you watch the work change year by year. It stands next to the Rijksmuseum on the same square.
Driver’s tip: Timed tickets, online only, and it sells out days ahead in summer. Book it before you fly, not when you land, or you won't get in.
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The Anne Frank House
The canal house on the Prinsengracht where Anne Frank, her family and four others hid for two years behind a bookcase. It is kept almost bare, and the original red-checked diary is on display at the end.
Driver’s tip: Tickets go online about six weeks ahead and sell out in minutes — there is no walk-up queue any more. Note the release date and buy the moment it opens.
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The canal ring and the Jordaan
The Grachtengordel — the 17th-century horseshoe of grand canals that is UNESCO-listed — and the Jordaan behind it, once a workers' district and now the prettiest corner of the centre.
Driver’s tip: Skip the big circular canal cruise and walk the Nine Streets (de Negen Straatjes) instead: the best browsing in the city, one little bridge to the next.
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Vondelpark
The green lung just west of the museums — forty-seven hectares of lawns, ponds and plane trees, full of joggers and picnics, with a free open-air theatre through the summer.
Driver’s tip: It's two minutes from the Van Gogh Museum and the right place to rest between galleries, rather than paying Museumplein café prices for the privilege.
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Albert Cuyp Market and De Pijp
The country's largest street market, running the length of a De Pijp street six days a week — fresh stroopwafels off the iron, herring served the Dutch way, cheese, flowers and everything else.
Driver’s tip: Come hungry and in the morning, and eat your way down it. It beats any tourist menu, and the De Pijp bars around it are where the city actually drinks.
Where is it?
Day trips that go there
Shore excursions — Amsterdam & IJmuiden
For cruise passengers docking in Amsterdam or IJmuiden. We meet you at the terminal, spend the whole day wherever you choose — windmills, fishing villages, the tulip fields, Amsterdam itself — and have you back at the ship at least an hour before all-aboard.
Getting there from Schiphol
Schiphol Airport Amsterdam From € 90Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need in Amsterdam?
Two full days cover the big three museums, the canal ring and a wander through the Jordaan without rushing. A third day is better spent out of the city — the coast, a windmill village or a canal town is half an hour away.
Do I need to book the museums in advance?
For the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House, yes — both are timed-ticket only and sell out, Anne Frank often weeks ahead. The Rijksmuseum rarely sells out, but a booked slot still saves you the queue.
Should I rent a bike?
Only if you are confident. Central Amsterdam is flat and walkable, and the cyclists are fast, local and unforgiving of tourists who wobble. The centre is small enough to see on foot.
Can you drive us, or take us out of the city?
Amsterdam is where our day tours start and where our airport transfers run to and from — the fixed-price Schiphol route is shown below. For a day out to Giethoorn, the windmills or the tulip fields, tell us on WhatsApp and we'll price it before you commit.