15 Best Things to Do in Amsterdam, Netherlands

The best things to do in Amsterdam are the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, a canal cruise through the 17th-century canal ring, a morning in the Jordaan and a free ferry across the IJ to Amsterdam Noord. Three days covers the city, and a fourth allows a day trip to Haarlem or Zaanse Schans.

Amsterdam is small enough to cross on foot in an hour, and its center has barely changed since the 17th century. The canal ring is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and some of the world’s best Dutch art hangs a short tram ride away.

The city is very good at museums, canals, cycling and neighborhood life. It is oversold as a party destination, and the city now actively discourages that kind of visit.

Amsterdam has also introduced some of the strictest rules on tourism in Europe, from a high tourist tax to a ban on guided tours in the Red Light District. This guide takes them into account.

Universal Traveller updated the prices, opening hours and booking rules in October 2026.

Things to Do in Amsterdam Compared

1. See the Masterpieces at the Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands and home to the most important collection of Dutch Golden Age art. Its highlights are Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and Vermeer’s The Milkmaid.

The Night Watch has been restored in public view since 2019, so check whether the glass restoration room is in place during your visit. Beyond the paintings, the collection covers 800 years of Dutch history, from ship models to Delftware.

Everyone needs to book a time slot, including visitors with a museum pass.

Verdict: Worth it, and the one museum not to skip. Go at 9:00 or after 15:00 to avoid the groups in front of The Night Watch.

This entry ticket lets you choose your time slot in advance, rated 4.7 from over 33,000 reviews.

2. Visit the Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum holds the world’s largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s work, with more than 200 paintings, including Sunflowers and The Potato Eaters. The collection follows his life from his dark early work in the Netherlands to the bright colors of his last years in France.

Tickets are sold online only, for a specific date and time.

Verdict: Worth it, even if you are not a Van Gogh fan. Book a Friday evening slot for fewer crowds.

This timed ticket is the standard entry, rated 4.7 from over 57,000 reviews.

3. See Where Anne Frank Hid at the Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House is the canal house where Anne Frank, her family and four others hid from the Nazis for more than two years during World War II. You walk through the hidden rooms behind the moving bookcase, which have been kept empty, as Otto Frank wished.

Anne’s original diary is on display. A visit is quiet and moving, and most visitors leave in silence.

Verdict: Worth it, and book the moment your date opens. Tickets often sell out within hours.

This small-group walking tour covers Anne Frank’s Amsterdam but does not include museum entry, rated 4.9 from over 4,800 reviews. Book it only alongside an official museum ticket.

4. Take a Canal Cruise

Water and canals have shaped Amsterdam since the Middle Ages, when they were used for trade and defense. The canal ring of Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht was dug in the 17th century and is lined with merchant houses and bridges.

A one-hour cruise is the most relaxed way to see it. Smaller open boats can reach narrower canals than the large glass-roofed tour boats.

Verdict: Worth it, especially on a small open boat. Skip the big glass-roofed boats on a sunny day.

This evening cruise runs at sunset with optional drinks, rated 4.8 from over 5,000 reviews.

5. Cycle Like a Local

In Amsterdam, the bike is the main way to get around, and the city is flat with an extensive network of bike paths. The biggest climbs are the bridges over the canals.

If you are not a confident cyclist, the center can be a shock. Locals ride fast and expect you to follow the rules, so keep right, signal with your hand and never stop in a bike lane.

Vondelpark and Amsterdam Noord are easier places to start than the canal ring.

Verdict: Worth it if you are a confident cyclist. If not, use the trams and enjoy the city on foot.

6. Wander the Jordaan and the Nine Streets

The Jordaan, west of the canal ring, was built as a working-class district in the 17th century and is now one of the most attractive neighborhoods in the city. Narrow streets and small canals are lined with cafes, galleries and brown cafés, the traditional Dutch pubs.

De Negen Straatjes, the Nine Streets, connect the main canals just south of the Jordaan and are full of independent shops and vintage stores.

Verdict: Worth it, and the best area for an unplanned morning in Amsterdam.

7. Eat Something Lekker at Albert Cuyp Market

The best place to try lekker Dutch food, a local word for delicious, is the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp, one of the oldest and largest street markets in the Netherlands. It is open six days a week.

Try raw herring with chopped onion and pickles, kibbeling, which is hot battered fish, or a fresh stroopwafel. Poffertjes, small puffed pancakes with butter and powdered sugar, are a favorite with children.

Afterwards, explore De Pijp, a lively neighborhood of cafes and restaurants around Sarphatipark.

Verdict: Worth it for lunch. Skip the souvenir stalls and focus on the food.

8. Discover Amsterdam’s Oldest Buildings

The Oude Kerk, the Old Church, dates from the early 14th century and is considered Amsterdam’s oldest building. It stands in the middle of the Red Light District and now hosts contemporary art exhibitions and concerts.

The Begijnhof is a quiet courtyard behind a small door off the Spui, built for a community of lay religious women. Het Houten Huis, its wooden house from around 1528, is one of the oldest houses in the city.

People still live in the Begijnhof, so visitors are asked to keep quiet. For something more recent, The Movies on Haarlemmerdijk, opened in 1912, is Amsterdam’s oldest cinema.

Verdict: Worth it, and both are a welcome contrast to the busy streets around them.

9. Browse Amsterdam’s Markets

Amsterdam has several markets worth exploring during the week. The Noordermarkt in the Jordaan has an organic farmers’ market on Saturdays and a flea market on Monday mornings.

The Bloemenmarkt on the Singel sells flowers and bulbs from stalls on barges. Today, it sells mostly souvenirs and bulbs, so check that bulbs come with an export certificate if you plan to take them home.

IJ-Hallen at NDSM in Amsterdam Noord calls itself the largest flea market in Europe, with hundreds of stalls on one weekend most months.

Verdict: Worth it for the Noordermarkt and IJ-Hallen. Skip the Bloemenmarkt, which is more souvenir shop than flower market today.

10. Take the Free Ferry to Amsterdam Noord

Free GVB ferries leave from behind Amsterdam Centraal and cross the IJ river to Amsterdam Noord in a few minutes. The crossing alone is worth doing for the view back to the city.

Next to the ferry landing at Buiksloterweg, A’DAM Lookout has an observation deck 20 stories up and a swing that hangs over the edge of the roof. Further west, the NDSM wharf is a former shipyard with street art, cafes and STRAAT, a museum of street art and graffiti.

Verdict: Worth it, and the free ferry is one of the best views in Amsterdam. Go to A’DAM Lookout at sunset.

This A’DAM Lookout ticket includes a drink at the top, rated 4.6 from over 5,000 reviews.

11. Relax in Vondelpark

Vondelpark is Amsterdam’s largest and best-known park, near the museum quarter. On sunny days, locals gather here with picnics, bikes and dogs.

The park has ponds, an open-air theater in summer and cafes around the edge.

Verdict: Worth an hour on a sunny afternoon, especially after the museums.

12. Have a Beer Under a Windmill at Brouwerij ‘t IJ

The Netherlands is famous for its windmills, and Amsterdam still has several. Brouwerij ‘t IJ, founded in 1985, serves its beer in a former bathhouse next to De Gooyer, an 18th-century windmill in the east of the city.

The brewery serves a regular range plus seasonal specials. On weekends, short brewery tours run in English and Dutch.

Verdict: Worth it on a sunny afternoon, when the terrace fills up. It is far better value than the Heineken Experience.

13. Visit Museum Het Schip

Museum Het Schip is a social housing block completed in 1921, designed by Michel de Klerk in the Amsterdam School style of brick architecture. Its curved walls, towers and details look nothing like the canal houses in the center.

The museum explains the movement and how the city built homes for working families a century ago. A guided tour takes you into a restored apartment.

Verdict: Worth it for anyone interested in architecture or design, and one of the least crowded museums in the city.

14. Take a Day Trip to Haarlem or Zaanse Schans

Haarlem, about 15 minutes from Centraal by train, is a smaller, calmer version of Amsterdam, with a market square, the Frans Hals Museum and canals of its own. It is the easiest day trip from the city.

Zaanse Schans, north of Amsterdam, has a row of working windmills and green wooden houses on the Zaan river. It is very crowded with tour groups, and the area has proposed an entry fee for visitors, which has not yet been introduced.

In spring, the Keukenhof gardens near Lisse show millions of tulips from mid-March to early May.

Verdict: Worth it. Choose Haarlem for a relaxed day, and Zaanse Schans only if you can arrive early.

This tour combines Zaanse Schans with the fishing towns of Volendam and Marken, rated 4.6 from over 16,000 reviews.

15. Time Your Trip for a Festival

Amsterdam hosts hundreds of festivals and events a year. On King’s Day, April 27, the whole city turns orange, with street parties, music and a huge free market.

Amsterdam Dance Event in October is one of the largest electronic music events in the world. In winter, the Amsterdam Light Festival places light art along the canals.

Verdict: Worth planning around if you like crowds and parties. Book hotels months ahead, as prices rise sharply.

More Amsterdam tours, tickets and day trips are listed on GetYourGuide.

Amsterdam’s Rules for Visitors

Amsterdam has worked hard to reduce mass tourism, and visitors notice the results. The city has banned new hotels unless another closes, and it charges one of the highest tourist taxes in Europe.

• Guided tours in the Red Light District are banned, and smoking cannabis on the street there is not allowed
• Do not photograph sex workers in the Red Light District
• Keep the noise down at night, especially in residential areas like the Begijnhof and the Jordaan
• Book museums ahead. Walk-ups are rarely possible at the major museums

Where to Stay in Amsterdam

The canal ring is the most convenient area for first-time visitors. The Jordaan, De Pijp and Oud-West feel more local, and Amsterdam Noord is good value if you do not mind the ferry.

• For something new: Rosewood Amsterdam, which opened in May 2025 in the former Palace of Justice on the Prinsengracht
• For the canals: Pulitzer Amsterdam, in 25 connected canal houses
• For the museums: Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium, in a former music conservatory near the Museumplein, renamed from Conservatorium Hotel in 2026
• For a classic stay: Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, in six palaces on the Herengracht

Getting to and Around Amsterdam

Trains run from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal in 16 to 17 minutes, up to eight times an hour, from about €5.50 one way (2026). Bus 397 runs from the airport to the Museumplein and Leidseplein.

In the city, a GVB 1-hour ticket costs €3.40 and a day ticket €10 (2026). You can also tap in with a contactless bank card.

The I amsterdam City Card costs €67 for 24 hours and includes public transport, a canal cruise and many museums, including the Rijksmuseum (2026). It does not include the Van Gogh Museum or the Anne Frank House.

Worth it only if you plan three or more included museums a day. The City Card is rated 4.3 from over 4,300 reviews.

Best Time to Visit Amsterdam

The best time to visit Amsterdam is from April to June and in September, when days are mild and long. Tulip season runs from late March to mid-May, and King’s Day falls on April 27.

July and August are the warmest and busiest months, with highs of about 22°C. Winter is gray and damp, with highs of 6 to 7°C, but hotel prices drop and the Light Festival brightens the canals.

Climate data: KNMI, 1991 to 2020 averages for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Crowd levels are Universal Traveller’s assessment.

Suggested 3-Day Amsterdam Itinerary

• Day 1: the Rijksmuseum at 9:00, lunch in De Pijp and the Albert Cuyp Market, Vondelpark, and an evening canal cruise
• Day 2: the Jordaan and the Nine Streets, the Anne Frank House at your booked time, then the Oude Kerk and Begijnhof
• Day 3: the Van Gogh Museum, the free ferry to Amsterdam Noord and NDSM, sunset at A’DAM Lookout or a beer at Brouwerij ‘t IJ

With a fourth day, take the train to Haarlem, or visit Zaanse Schans early in the morning.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Amsterdam

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Pauline Joie

Pauline has a bachelor’s degree in Tourism and is a professional content writer. She specializes in writing about travel and food. Pauline spent most of her career life in Dubai and is a Travel Expert for the United States and Costa Rica.

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