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Pulitzer Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Things to do guide

The best things to do in Amsterdam

Updated 1 October 2026 · 16 things to do

Pictured: Pulitzer Amsterdam

Amsterdam packs a world-class art collection, a UNESCO-listed ring of 17th-century canals and some of Europe's cosiest bars into a city you can cross on foot in half an hour. Rembrandt and Van Gogh hang a short walk apart, gabled merchants' houses lean over the water at improbable angles, and every bridge comes with its own tangle of bicycles.

The trick is to book the big museums ahead, then slow right down. Rent a bike, get lost in the Jordaan, take a boat along the Herengracht and finish the day in a candlelit brown café with a beer and a plate of bitterballen. On day three, catch a train out to the windmills or the old streets of Haarlem.

Don't miss

  1. 1The Rijksmuseum
  2. 2The Van Gogh Museum
  3. 3The Anne Frank House
  4. 4A canal cruise
  5. 5The Jordaan

The big sights

Golden Age art, a city built on water and a story the world knows by heart.

  1. The Rijksmuseum

    Museum

    The red-brick towers of the Rijksmuseum's south facade
    Photo: Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0

    The Netherlands' national museum is a red-brick palace on Museumplein, and its Gallery of Honour is the main event: Rembrandt's vast Night Watch, Vermeer's quietly mesmerising Milkmaid and room after room of Dutch Golden Age masters. Beyond the headliners, look out for the extraordinary dolls' houses, model ships and Delftware.

    Even if you skip the collection, walk or cycle through the passage that runs under the building, a rare museum with a bike lane through the middle.

    Tip: Book a timed ticket online and go first thing; head straight for the Gallery of Honour before it fills.

  2. The Van Gogh Museum

    Museum

    The Van Gogh Museum on Museumplein
    Photo: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The world's largest collection of Van Gogh's work traces his short, turbulent career from the dark peasant scenes of his early years to the blazing colour of Arles and the late paintings made in the months before his death. Sunflowers, the Yellow House and Almond Blossom are all here, alongside his letters and the Japanese prints he collected.

    Tip: Tickets are sold for timed slots and often sell out, especially at weekends: book well ahead.

  3. The Anne Frank House

    Museum

    The Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht canal
    Photo: Lệ Xuân, CC BY-SA 4.0

    In the canal house at Prinsengracht 263, Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for more than two years behind a bookcase. Walking through the secret annex, bare and silent, with Anne's magazine cuttings still on the wall, is one of the most moving experiences in Europe.

    Afterwards, climb the tower of the Westerkerk next door, whose bells Anne wrote about in her diary.

    Tip: Tickets are sold online only and go fast: book as far ahead as you can.

  4. A canal cruise

    Activity

    Gabled canal houses along the Herengracht
    Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Amsterdam is a city designed to be seen from the water. Glide along the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, under hump-backed bridges and past houseboats and merchants' mansions, and the city's layout suddenly makes sense.

    Big glass-roofed boats leave from near Centraal Station, but a smaller open boat that can slip into the narrower canals is far more fun, especially on a summer evening.

  5. The Begijnhof

    Landmark

    Old almshouses around the quiet courtyard of the Begijnhof
    Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Step through a doorway off the shopping crowds of the Kalverstraat and you're in a hushed medieval courtyard of almshouses around a lawn, built for a lay sisterhood of devout women. One of its houses, Het Houten Huys, is among the oldest wooden houses in the city.

    Tip: People still live here: keep voices down and stick to the public areas.

Neighbourhoods to wander

Amsterdam is at its best between the sights.

  1. The Jordaan

    Neighbourhood

    A tree-lined canal in the Jordaan
    Photo: kevinmcgill from Den Bosch, Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Once a working-class district, the Jordaan is now Amsterdam's most charming neighbourhood: narrow canals, flower boxes, galleries, cheese shops and corner cafés spilling onto the pavement. It's made for aimless wandering, ideally with a stop at the Noordermarkt on a Saturday for its organic farmers' market.

    On its edge, the Nine Streets (De 9 Straatjes) cross the main canals with a run of independent boutiques, vintage shops and coffee bars.

  2. De Pijp and the Albert Cuyp Market

    Market

    South of the centre, De Pijp is young, multicultural and full of good places to eat. Its spine is the Albert Cuyp Market, the city's best-known street market, a long line of stalls selling cheese, fish, flowers and fabric, with stroopwafels pressed fresh in front of you.

    Tip: Come hungry and graze your way down the market, then find a bench in the Sarphatipark.

  3. Vondelpark

    Nature

    Lawns and water in the Vondelpark
    Photo: John Salatas, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Amsterdam's green lung is a sprawl of lawns, ponds and winding paths just off Museumplein. On a sunny day the whole city seems to be here: cyclists, joggers, picnickers and families. It's the perfect breather after a morning in the museums.

  4. Amsterdam Noord

    Neighbourhood

    The free ferries behind Centraal Station cross the IJ in minutes to Noord, the former shipyard district reborn as Amsterdam's creative quarter. The striking white EYE Film Museum sits right by the water, and the A'DAM Lookout tower next door has views across the whole city, plus a swing that hangs you over the edge.

Eat and drink

  1. Raw herring

    Food

    A plate of Dutch raw herring ready to eat
    Photo: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Do as the locals do and eat it from a herring stand: raw, mild, silky fish served with chopped onion and gherkins, either held by the tail and lowered into your mouth or tucked into a soft roll. The new season's catch, Hollandse Nieuwe, arrives in early summer and is the best of the year.

  2. Brown cafés and bitterballen

    Nightlife

    A plate of bitterballen served with Dijon mustard
    Photo: Andy Li, CC0

    The brown café, named for wood panelling darkened by centuries of tobacco smoke, is Amsterdam's living room: candles on the tables, a cat on the windowsill and conversation rather than music. Order a beer or a small glass of jenever, Dutch gin, and a plate of bitterballen, crisp, molten-centred meatballs dipped in mustard.

    Tip: The Jordaan has some of the most atmospheric brown cafés; go late afternoon for a seat.

  3. Indonesian rijsttafel

    Food

    A legacy of the Dutch colonial past, the rijsttafel, or rice table, is a feast of a dozen or more small Indonesian dishes, from satay and fiery sambals to slow-cooked rendang, all served with rice. It's one of the city's great dinners, and best shared with a group.

Days out with the family

  1. NEMO Science Museum

    Museum

    Housed in a green, ship-shaped building by Renzo Piano rising out of the harbour, NEMO is a hands-on science museum where children build, experiment and press every button in sight. Its sloping roof doubles as a public terrace with views over the old harbour.

Day trips

The Netherlands is small, flat and brilliantly connected by train.

  1. Zaanse Schans

    Day trip

    Windmills lined up along the river at Zaanse Schans
    Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A riverside village of working windmills, green wooden houses and craft workshops just north-west of Amsterdam. It's an open-air museum rather than a real village, and very popular, but seeing the sails turning beside the River Zaan is pure Dutch postcard.

    Tip: Take the train to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station and walk across the bridge; arrive early to beat the coach tours.

  2. Haarlem

    Day trip

    The Grote Kerk (St Bavo) towering over Haarlem
    Photo: René Cortin, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A short train ride west, Haarlem is Amsterdam in miniature without the crowds: canals, almshouse courtyards, a handsome market square dominated by the Grote Kerk (St Bavo), and the Frans Hals Museum, devoted to the Golden Age portrait painter.

  3. Keukenhof

    Day trip

    Red and pink tulips in bloom at Keukenhof
    Photo: Elena.laps, CC BY-SA 4.0

    For a few weeks each spring, the gardens of Keukenhof near Lisse explode into millions of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, with the striped bulb fields of the surrounding countryside in full colour too. It's only open in spring, so plan around it.

    Tip: Buy tickets with transport included in advance, and visit on a weekday if you can.

Where to stay in Amsterdam

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Amsterdam →

Getting around

The centre is compact and best explored on foot or by bike; trams cover the rest, and the free ferries behind Centraal Station cross to Noord. If you cycle, stay in the bike lanes and watch out for tram tracks. Trains from Schiphol reach Centraal Station quickly and frequently, and there's no need for a car.

When to go

Spring brings the tulips and King's Day on 27 April, when the city turns orange. Summer is lively, with long evenings on the canals. Autumn and winter are quieter, often grey and wet, but cosy in the brown cafés, with shorter queues at the museums.

Questions about visiting Amsterdam

What is Amsterdam best known for?
Its 17th-century canals, Golden Age art at the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, cycling and its cosy brown cafés.
How many days do you need in Amsterdam?
Three days covers the big museums, a canal cruise and time to wander the Jordaan and De Pijp. Add a day for Zaanse Schans, Haarlem or, in spring, Keukenhof.
Do you need to book the Anne Frank House in advance?
Yes. Tickets are sold online only and sell out quickly, so book as soon as you know your dates. The Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum are also best booked ahead.
What is there to do in Amsterdam with kids?
NEMO Science Museum, a canal cruise, picnics in the Vondelpark, the ferry to the A'DAM Lookout and a day out to the windmills at Zaanse Schans.

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