Flight time
1h 15m
Best season
April–May & September
Budget
Mid-range to splurge
Best for
Culture, canals, museums, cycling
Overview
Why Amsterdam for a city break?
Amsterdam is one of Europe's most immediately rewarding city breaks — a city small enough to feel comprehensible, beautiful enough to never be boring, and culturally rich enough that you could visit a dozen times and still find new things. The 17th-century canal ring is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary coherence: 165 canals, 1,500 bridges, and thousands of tilting gabled merchant houses reflected in still brown water. It's one of the finest urban environments ever built.
From the UK it's just over an hour in the air — London to Amsterdam is one of the most-flown routes in Europe, with departures every hour from Heathrow, Gatwick and City, and good connections from most regional airports. The Eurostar also runs direct from London St Pancras in around four hours, which is a genuinely pleasant alternative. Go in April for the tulip season and King's Day (27 April) — the city turns entirely orange and the canals fill with boats. September is beautiful and less crowded. Summer is glorious but busy.
Where to stay & explore
Amsterdam's best neighbourhoods
Jordaan
The most beautiful neighbourhood in the city — narrow streets of 17th-century houses, independent boutiques, the Anne Frank House, and the best brown cafés (bruine kroegen). Stay here if you can.
De Pijp
Amsterdam's most multicultural and foodie neighbourhood — the Albert Cuyp Market (the largest street market in the Netherlands), excellent restaurants from every cuisine, and a young local energy.
Amsterdam Noord
Across the IJ ferry (free, 5 minutes) — the city's creative frontier, with the EYE Film Museum, the NDSM wharf arts complex and some of the best street food in the city.
Things to do
What to see in Amsterdam
1
Rijksmuseum
The Netherlands' national museum is one of the finest in Europe — Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's The Milkmaid, and a collection spanning 800 years of Dutch art and history across 80 galleries. The building itself, a 19th-century Gothic-Renaissance palace, is magnificent. Book timed tickets online at least a week ahead; summer slots go quickly. The garden is free to enter.
2
Anne Frank House
The most visited museum in the Netherlands and one of the most important in the world — the secret annex where Anne Frank and her family hid for two years before their arrest is preserved exactly as it was. An emotionally demanding but essential visit. Book tickets online weeks in advance; same-day entry is almost impossible. Evening slots are slightly less crowded.
3
Van Gogh Museum
The world's largest collection of Van Gogh's work — over 200 paintings including The Bedroom, Almond Blossom, and the Sunflowers series, arranged chronologically to tell the story of his troubled, extraordinary life. Book online; it sells out. Adjacent to the Rijksmuseum in the Museumplein.
4
Canal boat at dusk
No single sight — but a canal boat tour at golden hour is the quintessential Amsterdam experience. The city looks entirely different from the water; the houseboats, bridges and gabled facades make more sense seen from the canals than from the streets. Numerous operators run from Centraal Station and the Leidseplein; the independent boats are better value than the big tourist operations.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Amsterdam
Café de Klos
Spare ribs / casual
A Amsterdam institution since 1977 — the spare ribs are the point, enormous and falling off the bone, served in a narrow wooden interior that hasn't changed in decades. Queue or book; it's always busy. Very reasonably priced for Amsterdam.
Brouwerij 't IJ
Brewery / tasting room
Amsterdam's most famous craft brewery occupies a functioning windmill in the east of the city — the tasting room serves exceptional Dutch craft beer in a unique setting. The IJwit and Columbus IPA are the standards. Open from noon; closed Tuesdays.
Foodhallen
Food market / Oud-West
Amsterdam's best covered food market in a converted 1920s tram depot in Oud-West — dozens of independent stalls serving everything from Dutch bitterballen to Japanese ramen to excellent natural wine. Busy at weekends but the quality is consistently high.
Itinerary
3 days in Amsterdam — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Canals, the Jordaan, Anne Frank House at dusk
Schiphol Airport to Centraal Station is 17 minutes on the direct train (€5.40). Drop your bags — Jordaan is ideal — and walk straight out into the canal ring. The nine streets (De Negen Straatjes) that cross the main canals are the best introduction: independent bookshops, cheese shops, vintage clothing, brown cafés. The Westerkerk tower (climb it for the views) is at the north end of the Jordaan. Anne Frank House tickets must be booked ahead for a specific time — evening slots are less crowded and the building is more atmospheric. Dinner in De Pijp afterwards: the Albert Cuyp Market street stalls for a herring sandwich first, then a proper dinner at one of the neighbourhood restaurants.
Day 2
Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, canal boat at golden hour
The Rijksmuseum opens at 9am — be there for the first slot and head directly to Room 2.22 for the Night Watch before the tour groups arrive. Allow two to three hours for the collection. Walk across to the Van Gogh Museum (both are on the Museumplein) for the afternoon — the chronological hang means you walk through Van Gogh's development as an artist rather than just seeing a collection of famous paintings. Sunset canal boat from the Leidseplein at around 6pm: the light is extraordinary, the bridges are lit, and the city makes complete sense from the water. Dinner in the Jordaan at one of the neighbourhood's restaurants — Toscanini (Italian, excellent) or De Reiger (Dutch, classic) are both reliable.
Day 3
Noord by ferry, the EYE, one last genever
Take the free IJ ferry from behind Centraal Station to Amsterdam Noord — five minutes across the water to a completely different city. The EYE Film Museum on the north bank is architecturally extraordinary and always has an interesting exhibition. Walk west along the waterfront to the NDSM wharf — a vast former shipyard now occupied by artists' studios, food trucks and creative businesses. The Sunday market here is excellent. Take the ferry back for a late lunch in the Jordaan. Before heading to the airport: a jenever (Dutch gin) at Wynand Fockink, a 17th-century proeflokaal (tasting room) hidden down an alley off the Dam — the oldest liquor house in Amsterdam, and the perfect farewell.
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