Things to Do in Amsterdam

The museums you came for

Amsterdam’s museums are the anchor of any visit, and the four below are the ones worth pre-booking. The Rijksmuseum holds the Dutch Golden Age — Rembrandt’s Night Watch and Vermeer — for about €22.50 (under-18s free), with a free sculpture garden behind the building. The Van Gogh Museum traces the painter’s life in the world’s largest collection of his work (about €24, timed online tickets only, small lockers so leave big bags behind). The Anne Frank House preserves the secret annex; its tickets are sold only on the official museum website and need the earliest planning of all. The Moco adds a modern, photo-friendly mix of Banksy and pop art. Around Waterlooplein you’ll also find the Rembrandt House and the Jewish Cultural Quarter, and at NEMO a family-friendly science museum with a free rooftop terrace.

• Rijksmuseum — Dutch masters, Rembrandt and Vermeer (about €22.50; under-18 free)
• Van Gogh Museum — the definitive Van Gogh collection (about €24, online only)
• Anne Frank House — timed tickets sold only on the official site (about €16)
• Moco Museum — Banksy, Basquiat and modern pop art (about €21)
• Rembrandt House, Jewish Cultural Quarter and NEMO Science Museum for variety

Canals, neighbourhoods and street life

Beyond the museums, the city itself is the attraction. A one-hour canal cruise is the single best orientation in Amsterdam — it threads the UNESCO-listed 17th-century canal ring and costs roughly €18–€25, and after dark the lit bridges are unforgettable. On foot, the Jordaan delivers narrow lanes, brown cafés and the Saturday Noordermarkt; the nearby Nine Streets (Negen Straatjes) is the city’s most charming pocket of independent shops; and De Pijp is the buzzier, younger quarter built around the daily Albert Cuyp street market. The Bloemenmarkt floating flower market and the historic De Wallen are both easy add-ons, and beer fans can tour the Heineken Experience near De Pijp.

Across the IJ: Amsterdam Noord and the outdoors

For a different side of the city, take a free GVB ferry from behind Amsterdam Centraal across the IJ — no ticket needed, bikes welcome, running day and night. Buiksloterweg lands you near the A’DAM Lookout, with its panoramic deck and Over The Edge, Europe’s highest swing, plus the EYE Filmmuseum next door. The NDSM ferry reaches a former shipyard turned creative hub with the STRAAT street-art museum and, monthly, the giant IJ-Hallen flea market. Back on the south side, Vondelpark is the green heart of the city for a picnic, a run or a rented bike — and cycling, on Amsterdam’s vast network of paths, is the most local way to get around.

Getting from Schiphol to the centre

Most visitors arrive at Schiphol, about 15 km southwest. The fastest way in is the train from the station directly under Schiphol Plaza to Amsterdam Centraal — roughly 17–20 minutes. The Airport Express bus 397 suits the museum quarter and Leidseplein, and an official metered taxi from the marked rank runs roughly €35–€55. Full times, fares and where to board are in the Schiphol Airport guide.

Getting around the city

The historic centre is walkable, and GVB trams, buses and the metro cover everything else: a single one-hour ticket is €3.40, unlimited day passes start at €10, or you can tap a contactless card with OVpay (capped at €10.50 a day). The free IJ ferries need no ticket at all. For the full fare breakdown and which ticket to buy, see the public transport tickets & fares guide.

Day trips from Amsterdam

Some of the best days out start with a short train or bus ride. Zaanse Schans, about 20 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal, is an open-air village of working windmills, clog makers and cheese sheds — the village itself is free to wander. Haarlem is a handsome Dutch city just 15 minutes away, while the fishing villages of Volendam and Marken make a classic half-day by bus. In spring, the Keukenhof tulip gardens near Lisse are extraordinary, open roughly mid-March to mid-May; go early on a weekday. The Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket (from about €23) reaches Zaanse Schans, Haarlem, Volendam/Marken and Keukenhof on one card.

How to save: city passes

If you plan to stack several paid attractions into a day or two, a city pass usually beats buying tickets one by one. The official I amsterdam City Card bundles 70+ museums with unlimited GVB transport (from €67), though it excludes the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House and the airport train. The Go City Amsterdam pass works differently — you pick a number of attractions or all-inclusive days, flexing around what you actually want to see. As a rule of thumb a pass pays off at roughly three or more paid attractions a day plus transport; the table below compares the two at a glance.

I amsterdam Card vs Go City Amsterdam pass