Amsterdam Travel Guide
Three Days in Amsterdam
The first-timer itinerary that books the timed tickets in the right order — Anne Frank House the moment slots open, the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum on one Museumplein day — and fills the gaps with a canal cruise, the Jordaan, De Pijp and a sunset across the IJ.
Amsterdam is small enough to walk across in an hour and dense enough to fill a week. Three days is the sweet spot for a first visit: enough to see the great museums, walk the canals, eat well and get a feel for the city's neighbourhoods, without rushing. The trick is to book a handful of timed tickets before you travel and group the rest by area, so that you spend your time on bridges and terraces rather than on trams.
Before you fly: the booking cascade. The Anne Frank House comes first, because tickets are sold only on the museum's own website, released every Tuesday for visits six weeks later, and popular slots disappear quickly; set a reminder for your release Tuesday and book the moment your slot opens. Next, the Van Gogh Museum, which sells only timed tickets online and has no ticket desk at the door. Then the Rijksmuseum, where a timed slot is strongly recommended. If you want the A'DAM Lookout at sunset, a particular canal cruise, a dinner reservation at a popular restaurant or a concert at the Concertgebouw, book those too. Everything else in this plan — the Jordaan, the Canal Ring, the Begijnhof, De Pijp, the Vondelpark and the ferries — is free and needs no booking.
Getting around. Walk as much as you can; the centre is compact and the canals are the point. Trams, buses, the metro and the free ferries are run by GVB, and you can tap in and out with a contactless bank card or phone, or buy a day ticket for unlimited travel; remember to tap out when you leave a tram or the fare will be wrong. Cycling is the local way to get around, and renting a bike for a day is fun, but the bike lanes are busy and fast, so practise in the Vondelpark first. Whatever you do on foot, stay off the red-paved bike lanes. From Schiphol airport, trains to Centraal take about a quarter of an hour.
Day one — the Museum Quarter. Start at the Van Gogh Museum with the first slot of the morning, when the galleries are calm and the Sunflowers are easy to see. Walk across Museumplein to the Rijksmuseum for an early-afternoon slot, after a light lunch on the square or at the museum café; go straight to the Gallery of Honour and The Night Watch, then explore the model ships and dolls' houses. Two big museums in one day is a lot, so take a break between them in the Vondelpark, five minutes away, with a coffee at the round tea house or a picnic on the lawns. In the late afternoon, walk across the canal into De Pijp for a wander along the Albert Cuypstraat (the market closes in the late afternoon and on Sundays) and dinner in one of the neighbourhood's many restaurants — Indonesian rijsttafel is a good first-night choice.
Day two — the Canal Ring and the Jordaan. Begin with your Anne Frank House slot; if you were able to book an early time, you will have the rest of the day for the surrounding area. Afterward, walk into the Jordaan: zigzag north along the Bloemgracht and the Egelantiersgracht, peek into any open hofje courtyard quietly, and if it is Monday or Saturday, browse the Noordermarkt markets and try the famous apple cake. Have lunch in a brown café, then cross the Prinsengracht into the Nine Streets for shopping, and walk the Canal Ring south along the Herengracht to the Golden Bend. In the late afternoon, take a canal cruise from one of the central jetties to see the same streets from the water. Dinner in the Jordaan or the Nine Streets, and a night-time stroll to see the bridges lit up.
Day three — the old centre, De Pijp and the IJ. Start at Dam Square with the Royal Palace, checking first that it is open, as it closes for royal functions. Walk south through the Kalverstraat to the Spui and step into the silent courtyard of the Begijnhof. Continue to the Singel's flower market, then take a tram or walk to the Heineken Experience if beer history appeals, or spend more time in De Pijp. In the late afternoon, take the free ferry from behind Centraal Station across the IJ to Buiksloterweg, and ride up the A'DAM Lookout for sunset, with the swing if you dare. Have dinner on the north bank, perhaps by the Eye Filmmuseum, and ferry back to the lights of the station.
If you have a fourth day. Choose by interest: the windmills and wooden houses of the Zaanse Schans, a short train ride north; the historic city of Haarlem, with the Frans Hals Museum, fifteen minutes away by train; in spring, the tulip fields and Keukenhof gardens near Lisse; more museums, such as the Stedelijk, the Rembrandt House or Our Lord in the Attic, a hidden church in a canal-house attic; or a bike ride into the polders and villages of Waterland north of the IJ.
Where to base yourself for this plan. The Canal Ring, especially around the Nine Streets and the Jordaan, puts you in the middle of day two and within walking distance of everything else. The Museum Quarter suits art lovers and those who want a calmer, elegant base. De Pijp is ideal for food lovers. And the eastern districts, with good metro and tram links, offer better value for families and longer stays.
The honest adjustments. With children, swap one big museum for Artis zoo, a hands-on science museum or the free ferries and street art of NDSM, and keep the museum visits short. In summer, start early and save the hottest hours for the parks and the water. In winter, days are short, so do outdoor walks in the middle of the day, add the Amsterdam Light Festival cruise in the evening, and enjoy the brown cafés. Remember that Amsterdam's tourist tax, a percentage of the room rate, is added to every hotel bill. And whatever the season, leave one afternoon free for sitting on a canal-side terrace and watching the city go by.