Cheap things to do in Amsterdam
Flea markets, brown cafés and fries with sauce: Amsterdam on a tight budget.
This is Amsterdam for people who want to spend money on beer, not on restaurants with a dress code. Three days of canal walks, free courtyards, street food and old pubs where the bartender already knows what you want. It suits anyone who travels with a small bag and a debit card they actually check.
Day 1: Spui, flea markets and frites
Start with a free medieval courtyard and a cone of the best fries in the city, then spend the afternoon picking through secondhand oddities at Waterlooplein before Nepalese food and cheap beers close the night.
- 9:30 AM
Lotti's
Brunch in the Hoxton's canal-house dining room on the Herengracht, an easy start to a day on foot.
Map - 10:30 AM
Begijnhof
Free hidden courtyard near Spui, one of Amsterdam's most atmospheric tucked-away spots and right next door.
Map - 12:30 PM
Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx
Thick Flemish fries from a hatch on the Voetboogstraat; get them with satay sauce or oorlog.
Map - 2:00 PM
Waterloopleinmarkt
Open-air flea market of secondhand clothes, records and bric-a-brac behind the Stopera, Mon to Sat.
Map - 7:30 PM
Bhatti Pasal - Authentic Nepalese Food
Authentic Nepalese street-food prices, great value dinner in the Binnenstad.
Map - 9:00 PM
Scheltema
Old journalists' café on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, dark wood and a long bar, round the corner from Spui.
Map
Day 2: Jordaan canals and brown cafés
Turkish lahmacun for lunch, an hour inside the Secret Annex that will stay with you, and a low-lit jenever bar on a Jordaan canal to finish.
- 9:30 AM
Cafe Winkel 43
Corner café on the Noordermarkt famous for warm apple pie with cream; one slice feeds two.
Map - 10:30 AM
De 9 Straatjes
Free to wander: nine short lanes between the canals full of vintage, design and independent shops.
Map - 12:30 PM
Effendy - Rozengracht Lahmacun Cafe
Cheap, brilliant Turkish lahmacun just around the corner in Jordaan, perfect street-food lunch.
Map - 4:30 PM
Anne Frank House
The Secret Annex preserved exactly as it was, the single most emotionally important hour in the city.
Map - 7:30 PM
The FENTO Foodhallen
Food hall in an old tram depot at De Hallen: bitterballen, dumplings, tacos and beer from dozens of stalls.
Map - 9:00 PM
Café 't Smalle
Classic brown café, wood-panelled, low-lit, jenever and beer on a Jordaan canalside terrace.
Map
Day 3: Day trip: Haarlem for free
Thirty minutes by train gets you a Gothic church with a famous organ, a cone of fries by its walls and a market square that costs nothing to walk around.
- 9:30 AM
Grand Cafe Brinkmann
Kick off the day with a coffee at this local café right in the heart of the action.
Map - 10:15 AM
Grote of St. Bavokerk
Haarlem's huge Gothic Grote Kerk, with the Müller organ young Mozart played; a few euros to enter.
Map - 12:30 PM
De Haerlemsche Vlaamse
Tiny fries stand against the walls of the Grote Kerk; Haarlem queues for its cones and homemade sauces.
Map - 7:30 PM
Café Samabe
Balinese cooking in an 1899 corner building near the Grote Markt: rendang, martabak or a rice table.
Map
Where to stay
Hotel de Hallen
Mid-range price, right in the Jordaan-adjacent Oud-West, close to day two and three without the canal-view markup.
ClinkNOORD
Hostel by the free IJ ferry from Centraal, with private en-suite rooms at budget prices.
Make Amsterdam your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Rijksmuseum: a few days ahead
- Van Gogh Museum: weeks ahead
- Anne Frank House: weeks ahead
- Eye Filmmuseum: a few days ahead
- A'DAM Lookout: a few days ahead
- STRAAT Museum: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Heineken Experience is an expensive marketing walk-through. Try Brouwerij 't IJ instead.
- Shop-front 'museums' on Damrak and in De Wallen are gift shops with a ticket desk. Spend that money at the Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh.
- Avoid trap restaurants on Damrak, Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein. Eat in De Pijp, Jordaan, Oud-West, Oost or Noord.
- Skip Zaanse Schans at midday and the big recorded commentary canal boats when a small boat costs similar.
The full Amsterdam travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around