Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Amsterdam packs an extraordinary amount into a compact, walkable center.
Dam Square and the Royal Palace
Begijnhof
Rijksmuseum
Van Gogh Museum
+5 more places
This guide covers the best places to visit in Amsterdam, how to get timed museum tickets, which neighborhoods to explore and stay in, what to eat, and how to move around like a local.
Amsterdam grew from a dam on the Amstel river into the richest port in the world during the Dutch Golden Age of the seventeenth century. Merchants built the concentric canal ring, with the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht at its heart, as a planned expansion lined with grand homes and warehouses.
The city also carries the weight of twentieth-century history, most movingly at the Anne Frank House, and has long been a place of trade, tolerance and creativity.
The single best introduction to Amsterdam is simply to wander the canal belt, especially the stretches of the Herengracht known as the Golden Bend and the quieter Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht. Look up at the gables, some with hoisting beams still used to haul furniture through upper windows.
Dam Square marks the site of the original dam on the Amstel and is the busy heart of the old city. On its west side stands the Royal Palace, built in the seventeenth century as the city hall and later converted into a royal residence.
The Royal Palace on Dam Square was built in the seventeenth century as Amsterdam's city hall. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Step through an unassuming doorway off the Spui and you enter the Begijnhof, a hushed courtyard of houses around a green lawn that was home to the Beguines, a community of lay Catholic women, from the Middle Ages. Here you will find one of the oldest wooden houses in the city and a small hidden chapel. Allow thirty minutes.
The Begijnhof is a medieval enclosed courtyard of houses once home to a lay Catholic sisterhood. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands, housed in a grand red-brick building designed by Pierre Cuypers. Its Gallery of Honour leads to Rembrandt's monumental Night Watch and works by Vermeer, including The Milkmaid, along with Frans Hals, Jan Steen and an enormous range of Dutch art and history, from model ships to delftware.
The Rijksmuseum, designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened in 1885, is the national museum of the Netherlands. Photo: Basile Morin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Just across Museumplein, the Van Gogh Museum traces the painter's life and development through paintings, drawings and letters, including sunflowers, self-portraits and works from Arles and Saint-Rémy. Allow two to three hours.
The Van Gogh Museum holds the largest collection of works by Vincent van Gogh in the world. Photo: Vincent van Gogh, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
On the Prinsengracht, the Anne Frank House preserves the secret annex where Anne Frank, her family and four others hid from the Nazis for more than two years. Walking through the cramped rooms behind the movable bookcase, with Anne's own words alongside, is one of the most powerful museum experiences in Europe.
The Anne Frank House preserves the secret annex where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Second World War. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
In the old Jewish quarter, the house where Rembrandt lived and worked for nearly twenty years has been restored with period furniture, his studio and a large collection of his etchings. Demonstrations of printmaking and paint preparation bring his techniques to life.
West of the canal ring, the Jordaan began as a working-class district and is now one of the most charming parts of the city, a grid of narrow streets and small canals filled with galleries, independent shops, courtyards and brown cafés.
The Westerkerk, completed in the 1630s, has the tallest church tower in central Amsterdam. Photo: Jan van der Heyden, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Amsterdam's favorite park stretches south-west from the Museum Quarter, with ponds, lawns, a rose garden and an open-air theater that stages free performances in summer. Locals come here to jog, picnic and cycle, and it is a welcome break between museum visits.
The Vondelpark is Amsterdam's best-known park, opened in the nineteenth century just south of the old center. Photo: John Salatas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
De Pijp is a lively nineteenth-century neighborhood just south of the canal ring, known for its multicultural food scene, terrace cafés and the Albert Cuyp Market.
The Albert Cuyp Market fills a long street in De Pijp and is one of the busiest street markets in the Netherlands. Photo: Fernando Pereira / Anefo, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Free ferries leave from behind Centraal Station across the IJ to Amsterdam Noord, a former industrial area turned creative district. Near the ferry landing, the A'DAM Tower has an observation deck with views across the city, and the EYE Filmmuseum occupies a striking white building on the waterfront.
The A'DAM Tower in Amsterdam Noord has an observation deck looking back across the IJ to the old city. Photo: Marion Golsteijn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dutch food is hearty and snack-focused, and some of the best tastes are found at street stalls.
Fresh stroopwafels, thin waffles sandwiched with caramel syrup, are sold warm at markets, while poffertjes, tiny fluffy pancakes dusted with powdered sugar, are a classic treat. Dutch apple pie, tall and dense with spiced apples and served with whipped cream, is found in many cafés.
Popular dishes to try in Amsterdam
The canal ring is the classic choice for first-time visitors, putting you within walking distance of most sights in beautiful surroundings, though rooms are compact and in high demand.
The Jordaan suits couples and repeat visitors who want a neighborhood feel with cafés, markets and quieter evenings.
De Pijp is lively and food-focused, good for younger travelers and anyone who wants plenty of restaurants and bars.
Where to stay in Amsterdam
Spring is the most popular season.
Summer brings long evenings, outdoor festivals and the Vondelpark open-air theater, but also the biggest crowds and highest demand for rooms.
Winter is cold, damp and dark early, but the museums are less crowded, the brown cafés are at their coziest, and the Amsterdam Light Festival illuminates the canals with art installations.
By air: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is one of Europe's busiest hubs.
By train: High-speed and international trains connect Amsterdam Centraal with Brussels, Paris, London, Cologne and Berlin, often arriving right in the heart of the city.
Getting around: The center is best explored on foot.
By car: Driving in the center is slow and parking is scarce and costly.
Start at Dam Square and the Royal Palace, then wander to the Begijnhof and along the Herengracht.
Devote the morning to the Rijksmuseum and the early afternoon to the Van Gogh Museum, then unwind in the Vondelpark.
Browse the Albert Cuyp Market in the morning, visit the Rembrandt House Museum and the Jewish Cultural Quarter, then take the ferry to Amsterdam Noord for sunset views from the A'DAM Tower.
Take a day trip by train or bus to Zaanse Schans for windmills, Haarlem for its old town, or Keukenhof in spring.
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