Amsterdam is a city that celebrates individuality, encourages quirkiness and delights in difference. It has a long history of riches and rebelliousness. The glory-days of the 17th century, the über-cosy 1800s, the counter-culture explosion of the 1960s – they’ve all left tidelines along Amsterdam’s canals: opulent gables, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, barrel-lined cafés, gardens of rare blooms, marijuana-selling ‘coffeeshops’, and Miss Marple bicycles.
Now Amsterdam is sweeping into a new Golden Age, making a fresh mark with galleries, sharp shops, award-winning restaurants and hipster cafés. Bristles of audacious architecture have shot up round the city edges but the cobweb of gable-lined canals is still at its heart, with funky stores in the criss-crossing alleys of Negen Straatjes, new galleries to the west in the Jordaan, world-class museums and chic boutiques south around Museumplein, a market and further foodie paradise in De Pijp, and hot new quarters opening up all the time.
And here are our other Amsterdam guides, providing inspiration for hotels, restaurants, shopping, bars and cafés, attractions and free things to do (plus the best hotels near Amsterdam airport).
In this guide:
- What’s new in Amsterdam this season
- How to spend your weekend
- When should I visit Amsterdam?
- Where to stay in Amsterdam
What’s new in Amsterdam this summer
Festivities: Amsterdam turns 750
Amsterdam has been celebrating the lead-up to its 750th anniversary all year, with a vast programme of exhibitions, festivals, concerts and more. On June 21, 15km of the city’s ring road close for all-day celebrations, including DJ sets, street food and choir performances. Other anniversary events include a free Isamu Noguchi exhibition at the Rijksmuseum until October, showcasing the renowned sculptor’s works. An Amsterdam Eats exhibition is also on at the Allard Pierson Museum until early September, that walks through the history of the city’s culinary scene.
Concerts: Sounds of the Future
From August 15 to 24, venues along the canals – homes, gardens, terraces, concert halls, churches and outdoors – host the Grachtenfestival. Amsterdam’s rising young musical talent take to the stage to perform classic and jazz concerts in alluring settings. It’s the place to hear those who are teetering on the brink of fame.
Museum: Photography exhibition
Huis Marseille makes imaginative use of its two quite exceptional 17th-century canal houses (complete with ceiling paintings by Jacob de Wit) in Memento, running from June 28 to October 12. More than 100 photos from its rich photography collection track the changes, tangents and curious surprises of photography over the past 25 years.
How to spend your weekend
Day one: morning
Begin at Centraal Station with a kick-start coffee (or simply to admire the décor) at Café 1e Klas, the period-perfect 1880s former first-class waiting room tucked away on Platform 2b.
Then depart on a Stromma canal cruise in a glass-topped boat from one of the moorings across from the station – not the tourist-trap it sounds, but a quick way to feel a sense of place. Get the perfect angle on the city’s decorative gables and watch Amsterdam coming to life.
If you have time to spare before the next boat, take a wander along Brouwersgracht, west of the station. The pretty bridges mean it is justifiably Amsterdam’s most photographed canal. When the cruise is over, grab a quick lunch at the café atop OBA, the public library near Centraal Station where there’s a rooftop terrace with a spectacular view of both the old and new parts of the city.
Afternoon
Back on the ground, wander through the Oostelijke Havengebied (Eastern Docklands) to take in some of Amsterdam’s newest architecture, then down Oudezijds Voorburgwal, one of the oldest parts of town, to the ancient parish church Oude Kerk, where edge-pushing contemporary art exhibitions vie with centuries-old treasures for your attention.
Almost next door, Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder is a beautifully restored 17th-century canal house, with a surprise when you reach the top via narrow wooden stairs.
Back outside, edge through a crowded corner of the red light district to De Waag, the medieval city weigh-house on Nieuwmarkt, then away from the hurly-burly along Recht Boomsloot and Krom Boomsloot – quiet canals that will take you to browse through Amsterdam’s famed flea market on Waterlooplein. Look out for antique bric-a-brac (brass bowls, old porcelain), bicycle parts, second-hand leather coats, old jewellery, silk scarves, Peruvian knitwear and vinyl aplenty.
Late
Head back to Hanneke’s Boom, a shack-like café with a cosy open hearth on an odd island in the Eastern Docklands, for drinks, dinner and maybe music and dancing later.
Or take a rest at your hotel, freshen up, put on the glad rags and prepare to be wowed by one of the best chefs in town at Spectrum. Sidney Schutte cooks with finesse and flair, giving the odd surprising twist to a local ingredient – such as crispy tulip bulbs, or a white asparagus dessert.
Day two: morning
Today is the day for the big three museums on Museumplein. It’s an early start at the Rijksmuseum to avoid the crowds – the best time to arrive is 9.15am, after the initial surge when it opens at 9am. Take in the premier Old Masters in the Gallery of Honour, but also look out for the 18th-century dolls’ houses (not toys, but show-off pieces for rich merchants’ wives) and visit the exquisitely selected Asian collection in the basement. Then it’s time for a break.
It’s a 10-minute walk to the hip foodie and café district of De Pijp, and the Albert Cuyp Market (Albert Cuypstraat) for hot sticky stroopwafels, colourful fabrics, bargain clothes and all manner of delectable goodies to take home. The streets leading off it are replete with delis and cafés. Try Little Collins for a spiced chickpea and aubergine pancake, or some other yummy lunch from the inspired Aussie-Dutch owner-chefs.
Afternoon
Head back to Museumplein and the Van Gogh Museum (book an afternoon slot online in advance). Leave time not only to immerse yourself in the colours of the tragic artist’s paintings, but to explore his delicate drawings, and the letters which reveal so much about the man. Then, if you’re not museumed-out, drop in next door to the Stedelijk Museum to be brought right up to date with the very latest in international art and design.
Alternatively, head back towards the centre through the Spiegekwartier arts and antiques district to enjoy one of Amsterdam’s greatest delights, a walk through the Grachtengordel district; the concentric rings of grand canals laid out in the 17th century are here.
The best view? The point where Prinsengracht and Reguliersgracht meet. Zigzag your way towards the Negen Straatjes to shop in the alleys of hip and quirky shops that criss-cross the main canals, and then west to the galleries and cafés of the Jordaan.
Late
Dinner is at Koevoet, a café that dates back to pre-gentrified Jordaan days but where – amid the dark wood panelling, Tiffany lampshades and assorted bric-a-brac of a traditional Amsterdam “brown café” – a wildly talented Sicilian family provides homemade pastas and sausages and other flavours of southern Italy.
Then a nightcap at an old-fashioned Jordaan neighbourhood café: De Tuin. There are 10 beers on tap, more bottled, and the wine is palatable. Try a beer from Oedipus, or one of the other Amsterdam craft breweries.
When to go
Popular songs have it that spring’s the time to come tulip-plucking, but really any season in Amsterdam has its allure.
At the slightest hint of good weather, the chairs and tables go out at pavement cafés. On the downside, expect rain or Tupperware-grey skies any time of year – but then there’s more than enough on the museum front to keep you entertained indoors.
Summer can be a heady time of long evenings on outdoor terraces, autumn for bracing walks along the canals, winter ideal for snuggling down with good Dutch beer in a cosy, wood-panelled café.
Where to stay
Luxury living
Pulitzer Amsterdam is a stand-alone hotel that stretches through 25 houses, between two canals. Many rooms have fine views, and all come with a potted history of whichever canal house you find yourself in. Modern art from the hotel’s collection finds its way into the rooms, too.
Read our full hotel review here.
Boutique bolthole
The Craftsmen, in a beautiful 17th-century building on a prime canal-side spot, has been ingeniously (at times zanily) decorated with upcycled tools, trappings and products of Amsterdam craftworkers through the centuries. It combines designer flair with a low-key, privately run ambience.
Read our full hotel review here.
Budget beauty
The former offices of De Volkskrant newspaper have been given vibrant and stylish new life as Volkshotel, an affordable hotel with weekend DJs, rooftop hot tubs and even artists in residence. The rooms are thoughtfully designed, seeming more spacious than they really are. A rooftop bar-restaurant offers adventurous new-Dutch cuisine.
Read our full hotel review here.
Know before you go
Essential contacts
- Embassy: British Embassy, Lange Voorhout 10, 2514 ED, The Hague; 00 31 70 427 0427
- Emergency services: Dial 112. For non-emergency police matters, dial 0900 8844
- Tourist office and information: The Iamsterdam tourist information centre is inside Centraal Station and is open daily 9am to 7pm. There is a second office in the Arrivals Hall 2 of Schiphol Airport, open daily 7am to 10pm.
The basics
- Currency: Euro. Few establishments will accept notes of over €50, and prices are rounded off to the nearest 5c (1c and 2c coins are not used in the Netherlands).
- Time: +1 hour
- Travel times: Flying time from London to Amsterdam is just over an hour. A direct Eurostar train takes just under four hours; trains with a change in Brussels take about six hours.
Local laws and etiquette
- It’s not true that “anything goes” in Amsterdam. Public drunkenness, rowdiness and smoking dope in the street meet with severe – if silent – local disapproval.
About our expert
Rodney Bolt lighted upon Amsterdam nearly 30 years ago after flitting through Greece, Germany and the UK, and nothing could persuade him to leave. He has written on everything he loves about the city for publications worldwide, and co-authors the Peter Posthumus mysteries, all set in Amsterdam. Strolling along the canals still tops his list of life’s pleasures.