Amsterdam is compact and best explored slowly — on foot or by bike along the canals — with its major museums clustered close enough together to walk between.
Amsterdam is compact and best explored slowly — on foot or by bike along the canals — with its major museums clustered close enough together to walk between.
Walk the Amsterdam Canal Ring in the morning, then visit the Anne Frank House — book timed tickets weeks ahead, they sell out fast. Spend the afternoon at the Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum, both on the Museumplein. In the evening, take a Canal Cruise to see the city lit up from the water.
Spend the morning wandering Jordaan, Amsterdam's most charming residential district, then shop the boutiques of the Nine Streets (De Negen Straatjes). Stop at Dam Square and the Royal Palace Amsterdam nearby. In the afternoon, rent a bike for a Bike Tour through Vondelpark — the way locals actually get around.
Take a half-day trip to Zaanse Schans for windmills and traditional Dutch villages, or Haarlem for a smaller-scale version of Amsterdam's canal-house architecture. In spring, Keukenhof Gardens' tulip fields are worth the detour on their own. Return for a final evening in De Pijp, a lively neighborhood with good, affordable food.