Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam is small enough that three days feels generous: the entire canal ring is a UNESCO site you can cross on foot in 40 minutes, and the two big museums sit next to each other on one square. This itinerary keeps each day in one zone: the canal belt and the Jordaan on day one, the Museum Quarter and De Pijp on day two, and the free ferry across the IJ to Noord plus the old east on day three.
One booking rule towers over all others here: Anne Frank House tickets are sold online only, released exactly six weeks ahead every Tuesday at 10:00 Amsterdam time, and the good slots are gone within the hour. Set a calendar reminder for six weeks before your trip. The Van Gogh Museum is the second-strictest door in town (timed entry only, no ticket desk), so book it one to two weeks out; everything else can wait until you arrive.
The historic core on foot. Everything today sits inside or beside the western canal belt, so you walk canal to canal and finish at the Anne Frank House at whatever time slot you managed to book.
Dam Square and the Royal PalaceFree to see; palace 12.50 EUR
Start at the city's hub: the Royal Palace (open to visit most days, 12.50 EUR, check closures for royal events) and the Nieuwe Kerk. Ten minutes of orientation before the tour groups arrive, then head west into the canals.
The Nine Streets (De 9 Straatjes)Free to wander
Nine short streets crossing the Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht, packed with independent boutiques and vintage shops. The canal bridges here are the postcard shots.
Lunch and apple pie in the Jordaan10-18 EUR pp
Winkel 43 on Noordermarkt bakes the most famous apple pie in the Netherlands (about 6 EUR a slab, add whipped cream). For a proper lunch first, Cafe de Reiger or a broodje haring (herring roll, about 5 EUR) from the Noordermarkt stall.
Jordaan backstreets and hofjesFree
Wander Egelantiersgracht and Bloemgracht, the two loveliest small canals, and slip into a hofje (hidden almshouse courtyard) like the Karthuizerhof if the door is open. This is the neighbourhood the canal ring paintings are made of.
Westerkerk and the HomomonumentFree (church interior)
The 85 m Westertoren is the city's tallest church tower and the bells Anne Frank wrote about. You are now next door to the museum, positioned for your slot.
Anne Frank House16 EUR, booked 6 weeks ahead
Enter at your pre-booked time (tickets online only, released six weeks ahead on Tuesdays at 10:00 CET, 16 EUR, sold out means sold out: there is no door queue to try). The visit takes about an hour and hits hard; do not schedule anything demanding right after.
Brown cafe evening and dinner25-45 EUR pp
Cafe Papeneiland (pouring since 1642, on the Prinsengracht corner) for a beer under the low beams, then dinner nearby: Moeders for Dutch home cooking with walls of family photos, or an Indonesian rijsttafel at Tempo Doeloe (book ahead).
Art day: the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum share the same square, so one metro-free morning covers both, then you decompress through Vondelpark into De Pijp for the market and dinner.
Rijksmuseum25 EUR, book online
Book the opening slot and walk straight to the Gallery of Honour on floor 2: Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's Milkmaid, and the Dutch Golden Age masters, all in one corridor. Two to three hours; the library and the Asian pavilion are the quiet corners.
Lunch on Museumplein or Cornelis Schuytstraat12-20 EUR pp
The Cobra cafe on the square is convenient; better food is 10 minutes west on Cornelis Schuytstraat in Oud-Zuid. In summer, buy picnic supplies and sit on the Museumplein lawn.
Van Gogh Museum24 EUR, timed entry only
Timed entry only, no ticket office: book one to two weeks ahead (24 EUR). The chronological hang from the Potato Eaters to the Wheatfield with Crows takes about two hours and is the best single-artist museum in Europe.
VondelparkFree
Amsterdam's central park starts a five minute walk from the museums. Loop past the rose garden and the round blue teahouse; in summer the free open-air theatre runs weekend performances.
Albert Cuyp Market and De Pijp3-10 EUR snacks
Tram or 15 minute walk east into De Pijp. The market (Mon-Sat until about 17:00, so catch the tail end or swap earlier) is where you eat a fresh stroopwafel made in front of you for about 3.50 EUR. The streets around Gerard Douplein carry the evening.
Dinner in De Pijp20-40 EUR pp
The densest restaurant neighbourhood in the city: Bazar in a converted church for pan-Middle-Eastern plates, Sir Hummus for a cheap brilliant bowl, or the Heineken Experience first if you must (23 EUR online, 1.5 hours, includes two beers).
The contrast day: modern Amsterdam across the water in the morning, the quieter old east in the afternoon, and the canals from water level after dark, when the bridges are lit.
Free ferry across the IJFree
Ferries leave from directly behind Centraal Station every few minutes and cost nothing. Take the Buiksloterweg ferry (3 minutes) for the A'DAM Tower, or the longer NDSM ferry (14 minutes) for the raw shipyard-turned-arts-quarter with its street art and Europe's biggest flea market (IJ-Hallen, one weekend a month).
A'DAM Lookout17.50 EUR
The 360-degree roof deck over the harbour, about 17.50 EUR booked online. The Over the Edge swing off the roof is a 6 EUR add-on for the brave. The Eye Film Museum next door has a free-to-enter lobby with the best waterfront cafe terrace.
Lunch back across the water12-20 EUR pp
Ferry back and walk 15 minutes east along the harbour to the Eastern Docklands edge of the centre, or stop at Hannekes Boom, a driftwood waterside cafe near NEMO with burgers and beers on the jetty.
NEMO roof and the Maritime DistrictFree roof
The green ship-shaped NEMO Science Museum has a free public roof terrace with a skyline view (museum entry itself 17.50 EUR, superb with kids). The replica East Indiaman moored at the Maritime Museum next door is visible for free from the quay.
Plantage and the old Jewish quarterFree to 12.50 EUR
Walk south into the leafiest district: the Hortus Botanicus (one of the world's oldest botanical gardens, 12.50 EUR), the Portuguese Synagogue, and the moving Hollandsche Schouwburg deportation memorial.
De Hallen or centre for early dinner15-25 EUR pp
Tram to Foodhallen in Oud-West (a tram-depot food court, mains 8-15 EUR, the bitterballen stand is mandatory) or eat near your evening cruise departure point.
Evening canal cruise18-30 EUR
End on the water: a one-hour evening cruise (about 18-20 EUR online with operators like Lovers or Blue Boat, or a small open boat with Those Dam Boat Guys for more money and more fun) when the 1,600-plus bridges are lit.
Walk or ride: the centre is 2 km across and trams cover everything else. Tap in and out with a contactless bank card (OVpay): a ride costs 3.40 EUR for an hour of transfers, or buy a GVB day ticket for about 9.50 EUR if you will ride more than three times. From Schiphol, the train to Centraal takes 17 minutes for about 5 EUR; ignore anyone offering a taxi inside the terminal. Renting a bike (12-15 EUR a day from MacBike or Black Bikes) is the local way to move, but ride like traffic, stay out of tram rails, and never stop for photos in a bike lane.
Jordaan
The prettiest canal-and-courtyard neighbourhood in the city, walking distance to the Anne Frank House and the Nine Streets, with proper brown cafes on every corner. Small hotels here book out two to three months ahead.
De Pijp
The best value near the centre: the Albert Cuyp Market, the highest restaurant density in Amsterdam, and a 10 minute walk to the Museum Quarter. The North-South metro line (52) gets you to Centraal in 7 minutes.
Oud-West
Residential and calm, next to Vondelpark and the Foodhallen food court, with tram 1 or 17 running you into the centre in 10 minutes. Good apartment-hotel options for families.
Anne Frank House tickets release exactly six weeks ahead, every Tuesday at 10:00 Amsterdam time, online only. Log in a few minutes early; peak-season slots sell out in minutes and there are no door sales at all.
The Van Gogh Museum has no ticket desk: if you have not booked a timed slot online, you are not getting in. The Rijksmuseum is more forgiving but book the opening hour anyway for the Night Watch with room to breathe.
Bike lanes are transport infrastructure, not sidewalks. Standing in one for a photo is the fastest way to get hit and sworn at in Dutch; check for the reddish asphalt before you stop walking.
The I amsterdam City Card (from about 65 EUR for 24 hours) covers the Rijksmuseum, a canal cruise, and public transport, but not the Anne Frank House or the Van Gogh Museum. It only pays off on a museum-heavy day two.
Cash is dying here and many places are card-only, including market stalls, but confusingly some Albert Heijn supermarkets reject foreign credit cards at self-checkout; carry one debit card with contactless.
Coffeeshop means cannabis, cafe means coffee. Menus inside coffeeshops are legal for over-18s; smoking anything on the street in the centre can draw a fine, and buying from street dealers is both illegal and dangerous.
Book King's Day (April 27) and tulip-season weekends six months out or avoid them: hotel prices triple and the Keukenhof crowds are real. The gardens run roughly late March to mid May; go before 09:00 via the direct bus from Schiphol.
Yes, comfortably. The centre is 2 km across, so three days covers the canal ring, both major museums, the Anne Frank House, a canal cruise, and a half day in Noord without rushing. A fourth day is only needed if you want a side trip: Zaanse Schans windmills (17 minutes by train), Haarlem (15 minutes), or Keukenhof in tulip season each fill one nicely.
Budget 90-130 EUR per person per day on the ground: about 60-70 EUR total in entries (Anne Frank 16, Van Gogh 24, Rijksmuseum 25), 35-55 EUR a day on food, and 5-10 EUR on trams unless you walk everything. Hotels are the killer: a decent double runs 150-220 EUR a night in or near the canal ring, and under 130 EUR usually means a hostel or a trip out to Sloterdijk.
Exactly six weeks: all tickets are released online at 10:00 Amsterdam time on the Tuesday six weeks before the visit date, and in high season they sell out within roughly an hour, with evening and mid-morning slots going first. There are no door sales and no official resellers. If you miss the drop, check the site anyway: small batches of returned tickets occasionally reappear.
Only if you already ride confidently in traffic. Rentals are cheap (12-15 EUR a day) and the city is genuinely built for it, but the centre's bike lanes are fast, packed, and unforgiving of hesitation, and tram rails catch wheels exactly at the width of a bike tyre. A good compromise: walk the centre for days one and two, then rent a bike for day three's flatter, calmer run to Noord or out along the Amstel.
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