Amsterdam travel guide

Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt’s Night Watch fills the end wall of the Gallery of Honour, a militia company caught in motion and light, and Vermeer’s Milkmaid is a few steps away. The palace-like building has a public cycle path running right through it. It opens every day from 9am to 5pm; book a timed ticket online, and start early in the Gallery of Honour before the groups arrive.

Van Gogh Museum

The world’s largest Van Gogh collection lets you follow his whole short career, from dark early peasant scenes to the Sunflowers and the blossoming almond branches he painted for his newborn nephew. Entry is by timed ticket bought online only, and slots go days ahead in busy months. Friday evenings are open late.

Anne Frank House

Behind a hinged bookcase is the annexe where Anne Frank hid with her family for two years and wrote her diary; the rooms are left empty, as her father wished, and the original diary is on show. Tickets are sold only on the museum’s own site, released every Tuesday at 10am for the date six weeks later; there are no door sales.

The canal ring and a canal boat

Merchants of the 17th-century Golden Age built their tall, narrow houses along the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, now a UNESCO World Heritage ring; look for the hooks under the gables, still used to hoist furniture in through the windows. A one-hour boat tour shows it from the water. Walking the bridges at dusk, when the lights come on, is free.

Jordaan

Once the workers’ quarter, this grid of small canals and narrow streets west of the ring is now the city at its most lived-in, with brown cafés, galleries and independent shops. It is quietest on weekday mornings.

Vondelpark

On a sunny afternoon all of Amsterdam seems to come here to picnic, cycle and laze on the lawns, and there is a Picasso sculpture among the trees. The open-air theatre puts on free shows in summer. Watch the bike paths that loop through the park.

Begijnhof

A small door off the Spui opens on a quiet green courtyard ringed by gabled almshouses, built for the Beguines, a lay sisterhood; one of the city’s two surviving wooden houses stands here. People still live here, so keep voices low and stay on the paths.

Free ferries to Amsterdam Noord

Five minutes across the IJ takes you to a different city of old shipyards, studios and new buildings. GVB ferries leave from behind Centraal Station and cost nothing for walkers and cyclists. Cross to NDSM, an old shipyard of studios and cafés, or to the A’DAM Tower and the EYE film museum.

Keukenhof

Millions of bulbs are planted here each year, so that tulips, hyacinths and daffodils flow through the gardens in rivers of colour, with striped bulb fields all around. It is near Lisse and open only in spring (18 March to 9 May in 2027). Tickets are timed and sold online; late April is usually the peak for the fields around it.

Albert Cuyp Market

Hundreds of stalls run the length of a street in De Pijp, selling everything from cheese to fabric. Get a stroopwafel pressed fresh in front of you, with warm syrup oozing out, and some aged Dutch cheese. It is open Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays.

Brown cafés in the Jordaan

Walls stained brown by centuries of smoke, worn wood and candles on the tables make these old pubs the cosiest rooms in the city. Order a local beer or a jenever, the Dutch gin, and a plate of bitterballen, crisp fried snacks dipped in mustard.

Herring from a fish stall

Raw, lightly brined herring is soft and mild, nothing like pickled fish, and the Dutch eat it whole, held by the tail, or cut up with onions and pickles. Street stands sell it all year. The new season’s catch, Hollandse Nieuwe, arrives in early summer and is the best of it.

Noordermarkt and Winkel 43

Saturday at the top of the Jordaan means an organic farmers market around the church, and Monday mornings a flea market. Winkel 43 on the corner serves the deep, cinnamon-heavy apple pie with whipped cream that people queue for.

Indonesian rijsttafel

A ‘rice table’ arrives as a spread of a dozen or more small dishes, satay, curries, sambals and pickles around a bowl of rice, a legacy of the Dutch colonial past in Indonesia. It is the meal to share with a group on your last night.

Best: Late April to early May

Late April to early May brings the tulips in bloom, mild weather and spring light along the canals.

Harder: July to August

Long sunny days and busy terraces, though it can be crowded and warm.

How do you get around Amsterdam?

• Tap to payUse a contactless bank card or phone wallet to check in and out on trams, buses and metro.
• Daily capTapping with a bank card or phone on GVB trams, buses and metro is capped at a set amount per day, as long as you check in and out every time.
• Day ticketsGVB day and multi-day tickets give unlimited rides and can be added to your phone wallet.
• Airport trainTrains run often from Schiphol to Amsterdam Central in about 17 minutes.
• Airport busThe Amsterdam Airport Express bus runs direct to Museumplein, Rijksmuseum and Leidseplein.
• Taxis and appsOfficial taxis wait at the airport rank, and ride apps use a marked pick-up point in the terminal.
• Free ferriesFree GVB ferries cross the IJ from behind Centraal Station to Amsterdam Noord, including NDSM. No ticket is needed for walkers and cyclists.

Do you need cash in Amsterdam, and do you tip?

• Cards firstMost shops and services take cards, so a debit card on a major network is the one to bring.
• Keep some cashSmall purchases at markets, church donation boxes and some village cafés still need euro cash.
• TippingTipping is not required. A modest 5 to 10 percent, or rounding up, is customary for good service.
• Pay in eurosWhen a terminal or cash machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose euros; the conversion rate offered is usually worse.

Useful phrases

• HelloHallo
• Thank youDank je wel
• PleaseAlsjeblieft
• How much?Hoeveel kost dit?
• Excuse mePardon
• GoodbyeTot ziens

Local manners

• BikesRed paths are bike lanes. Stay off them, and look both ways before you cross one.
• DirectnessDutch people speak frankly; it is not rudeness.
• SplittingFriends often go Dutch, splitting the bill evenly.
• PunctualityArrive on time; being late for plans is noticed.
• Old centre rulesSmoking cannabis in public is banned in the old centre, including the Red Light District and Dam Square, with a €100 fine. Don’t photograph the windows in the Red Light District.
• In the streetDrinking alcohol in the street is banned in most public places, and noise, littering and public urination bring fines.

Useful apps

• Google MapsWalking directions and live tram and metro times
• Uber: Rides, eats, and moreBooking rides around Amsterdam at night
• Google TranslateReading Dutch menus and signs on the go
• Thuisbezorgd.nlOrdering food delivery to your Amsterdam hotel

Download links for these are in the Amsterdam guide in the Journey app.

Before you book

Check your government’s travel advice before you book.