Amsterdam travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Amsterdam, planned over three days
Best time to visit Amsterdam
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring peak. Keukenhof runs mid March to mid May, tulips peak mid April, weather 8 to 17C with sun and showers.
Summer. Long light evenings, terraces and boats at their best, worst museum crowds and high hotel prices.
Autumn. Crowds drop, restaurant booking gets easier and canal trees turn. Weather cools from 14C to 9C.
Winter. Dark, atmospheric and cheapest, with the Light Festival on the canals from late November and shorter museum queues. Keukenhof is closed.
Best months overall: late April to early May for tulips and King's Day energy, and September for light and value.
What's on
- King's Day 27 April
Biggest street party in the Netherlands. Whole city turns orange, hotels at annual maximum prices.
- Flower Parade a Saturday in mid to late April
Flower Parade passing Keukenhof and through Lisse in mid April, at peak tulip bloom.
- Amsterdam Tulip Festival April
Citywide tulip festival filling April across Amsterdam.
- Holland Festival June
Netherlands' biggest international performing arts festival, across the Concertgebouw and other venues.
- Amsterdam Open Air first weekend of June
Electronic music weekend in Gaasperpark.
- Pride Amsterdam late July to early August
Pride with the Canal Parade, the second great street festival of the summer.
- Dekmantel early August
Electronic music weekend in the Amsterdamse Bos.
- Grachtenfestival mid-August
Classical and jazz concerts on canal side stages, pontoons and gardens.
- Amsterdam Dance Event mid to late October
Five days when the city becomes electronic music's capital. Prices and sell outs spike that week.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum
National museum for Rembrandt and Vermeer. Do the Gallery of Honour first, then the free gardens.
Van Gogh Museum
Largest Van Gogh collection in the world, arranged chronologically so the colour shift lands.
Anne Frank House
The preserved Secret Annex. The most important hour in the city, won six weeks before you travel.
Those Dam Boat Guys
Small captain led canal boat where you can ask questions and bring your own snacks and drinks.
Pure Boats
Small group canal cruise with covered boats for bad weather, a local favourite over big fleets.
Noordermarkt
Saturday farmers market on a Jordaan square, with a Monday flea and linen market as the weekday version.
Eye Filmmuseum
Film museum in a white spaceship building across the IJ, with a cafe terrace made for sunset.
A'DAM Lookout
Tower viewpoint next to the Eye, with a swing over the edge that you book separately.
Where to stay in Amsterdam
Jordaan / Western Canal Belt
first trip, all-round base
Prettiest canals, Nine Streets shops and best cafe density, while staying residential and quiet at night.
Canal Belt South / Nine Streets
splurge and romantic trips
Golden Bend mansions and grand canal hotels at Amsterdam's highest prices. Rooms can be small with steep stairs.
Museum Quarter / Oud-Zuid
museum-first and quiet-luxury trips
Leafy and calm with the big museums, Concertgebouw and Vondelpark on foot, but fewer late night options locally.
De Pijp
food-first, younger and repeat trips
Albert Cuyp Market, multicultural restaurant streets and better value than the Canal Belt. Main drags stay noisy late.
Oost / Plantage
space and calm for the money
Bigger, newer rooms, Artis, the Resistance Museum and excellent local restaurants, a tram ride from everything.
Noord
design and creative trips, larger rooms
Cheaper, newer, more spacious hotels across the IJ, but every trip into town depends on a ferry or Metro 52.
Think twice about
- De Wallen / Red Light District and Damrak-Dam Square-Centraal strip
Tourist funnel with stag crowds, pickpocket hotspots, trap restaurants and street dealers. Visit, do not sleep here.
- Leidseplein / Rembrandtplein immediate squares
Big night out squares ringed by trap priced bars and restaurants. Central prices for the noisiest blocks in town.
- Bijlmermeer / Zuidoost
Far out and built around Arena event traffic, not a tourist base. You will spend the trip commuting.
- Schiphol / airport corridor and far Sloterdijk
Functional for a flight, joyless for a city trip, and door to door time adds up every single day.
Best restaurants in Amsterdam
De Kas
Dinner in a 1926 greenhouse where much of the menu is picked that morning from its own gardens.
Flore
Two star produce led tasting menu room on the Amstel. The anniversary or proposal dinner.
RIJKS
The Rijksmuseum restaurant doing Low Countries cooking properly. Best as a late lunch after the galleries.
Choux
Vegetable led fine dining overlooking the IJ, the insider's alternative to hotel dining rooms.
Sampurna
Central, candlelit classic for a full Indonesian rijsttafel, Amsterdam's historic signature meal.
Sama Sebo
Old school Indonesian restaurant near the Rijksmuseum, a decades long standard for rijsttafel.
Winkel 43
Deep cinnamony apple pie with whipped cream on the Noordermarkt. The dish this cafe is known for.
nNea Pizza
Slow fermented Neapolitan pizza ranked in Europe's top tier. Reservations can run weeks out.
Best bars in Amsterdam
Café 't Smalle
Brown cafe with the canalside terrace every local list photographs. Jenever, beer, low light.
Café Papeneiland
Brown cafe dating to 1642 by the Noordermarkt, serving drinks and a killer apple pie.
Café de Klepel
Tiny Jordaan wine bar with a deep list by the glass and small plates. Locals keep it to themselves.
Brouwerij 't IJ
Small brewery under a windmill in Oost, the local alternative for beer history over the Heineken tour.
Outdoor things to do in Amsterdam
Waterland Countryside Bike Tour
Ride from Noord into polder and villages like Broek in Waterland, with cheese farm and windmill stops.
Wetlands Safari
Canoe quiet Waterland ditches and reed lands past a 17th century village landscape, with a picnic stop.
Kayak in Amsterdam
Small operator canal kayak tours at water level on routes the big boats cannot use. Go early.
Zeebaard
Small canal kayak operator in Oost putting you at water level before canal traffic builds.
Sailingtrips Zuiderzee
Hands on day sail on a traditional tjalk on the IJsselmeer, passing Volendam, Marken and Edam.
Zandvoort aan Zee
Nine kilometres of sand 30 minutes west, with a station about 500 metres from the beach.
Bloemendaal aan Zee
Beach north of Zandvoort known for its famous pavilions and beach club scene.
The Spot
Watersports club at Zandvoort's south end for kitesurf, surf and SUP lessons and rentals.
Best hotels in Amsterdam
Pulitzer Amsterdam
Twenty five interlinked canal houses with a hidden garden. The first timer's splurge base.
The Dylan Amsterdam
Small design led canal hotel on the Keizersgracht, with the starred Vinkeles restaurant inside.
Hotel Estheréa
Family run, richly decorated canal hotel on the Singel with a fiercely loyal repeat guest base.
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
Six canal palaces on the Golden Bend with a spa and the city's most polished service.
Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium Amsterdam
Landmark hotel steps from Museumplein and the Concertgebouw, with the city's best known hotel spa.
Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark
Dorms and private rooms by Vondelpark, the credible cheap sleep in an expensive quarter.
Sir Albert
Design boutique on the market street. You walk straight out into Albert Cuyp Market.
Hotel Okura Amsterdam
High rise food hotel on the Amstel edge of De Pijp, home to Ciel Bleu and Yamazato.
Is Amsterdam expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €200 a person |
| Splurge | €450 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to 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
- Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam: a few days ahead
- Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder: a few days ahead
- Anne Frank House tickets are online only, released Tuesdays at 10am Amsterdam time six weeks out.
- Book Van Gogh Museum timed tickets when you book Anne Frank, not on arrival.
- Keukenhof in season, the A'DAM swing, De Kas, Flore and nNea need booking weeks ahead.
- Hotels in tulip season, King's Day week, Pride and ADE should be booked months ahead.
Is Amsterdam safe?
- Pickpockets work Centraal, Dam Square and crowded trams. Keep bags zipped and phones off canal edge tables.
- Never buy drugs on the street. Poisoning risk is documented and street dealers push hard drugs in De Wallen.
- Look both ways before crossing bike lanes and never walk in one.
- Do not lean over or urinate in canals at night. Canal falls after drinking are a recurring cause of tourist deaths.
- Emergency number is 112.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Amsterdam travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- 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.
Getting around Amsterdam: public transport and more
- Walk first, tram second. The centre is compact and most first trip days are walkable.
- Tap in and out with a contactless card on GVB trams, buses and metro with OVpay. Forgetting to tap out costs about 4 euros.
- Schiphol train to Centraal takes about 15 to 20 minutes and beats taxis in centre traffic.
- Ferries to Noord are free for pedestrians and cyclists and the Buiksloterweg route runs through the night.
Who Amsterdam suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
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 Store