Advance Tickets and Sightseeing Cards
Map: Hotels & Restaurants in West Amsterdam
Map: Hotels & Restaurants in Southwest Amsterdam
Map: Hotels & Restaurants in Central Amsterdam
Amsterdam still looks much like it did in the 1600s—the Dutch Golden Age—when it was the world’s richest city, an international sea-trading port, and the cradle of capitalism. Wealthy, democratic burghers built a city upon millions of pilings, creating a wonderland of canals lined with trees and townhouses topped with fancy gables. Immigrants, Jews, outcasts, and political rebels were drawn here by its tolerant atmosphere, while painters such as young Rembrandt captured that atmosphere on canvas.
Today’s Amsterdam is a progressive place of 820,000 people and almost as many bikes. It’s a city of good living, cozy cafés, great art, street-corner jazz, stately history, and a spirit of live and let live. In 2013, Amsterdam celebrated the 400th birthday of its canal system with a series of art festivals, concerts, and special exhibits.
Amsterdam also offers the Netherlands’ best people-watching. The Dutch are unique, and observing them is a sightseeing experience all in itself. They’re a handsome and healthy people, and among the world’s tallest. They’re also open and honest—I think of them as refreshingly blunt—and they like to laugh. As connoisseurs of world culture, they appreciate Rembrandt paintings, Indonesian food, and the latest French film—but with an un-snooty, blue-jeans attitude.
Be warned: Amsterdam, a bold experiment in freedom, may box your Puritan ears. For centuries, the city has taken a tolerant approach to things other places try to forbid. Traditionally, the city attracted sailors and businessmen away from home, so it was profitable to allow them to have a little fun. In the 1960s, Amsterdam became a magnet for Europe’s hippies. Since then, it’s become a world capital of alternative lifestyles. Stroll through any neighborhood and see things that are commonplace here but rarely found elsewhere. Prostitution is allowed in the Red Light District, while “smartshops” sell psychedelic drugs and marijuana is openly sold and smoked. (The Dutch aren’t necessarily more tolerant or decadent than the rest of us—just pragmatic and looking for smart solutions.)
Approach Amsterdam as an ethnologist observing a strange culture. It’s a place where carillons chime quaintly from spires towering above coffeeshops where yuppies go to smoke pot. Take it all in, then pause to watch the clouds blow past stately old gables—and see the Golden Age reflected in a quiet canal.
Amsterdam is worth a full day of sightseeing on even the busiest itinerary. And though the city has a couple of must-see museums, its best attraction is its own carefree ambience. The city’s a joy on foot—and a breezier and faster delight by bike.
In the morning, see Amsterdam’s two great art museums: the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum (cafeteria lunch). Walk from the museums to the Singel canal flower market, then take a relaxing hour-long, round-trip canal cruise from the dock at Spui (described later, under “Tours in Amsterdam”). After the cruise, stroll through the peaceful Begijnhof courtyard and tour the nearby Amsterdam Museum. Visiting the Anne Frank House after 18:00 may save you an hour in line in summer (see here for last-entry times). Have a memorable dinner: Try Dutch pancakes or a rijsttafel—an Indonesian smorgasbord.
On a balmy evening, Amsterdam has a Greek-island ambience. Stroll through the Jordaan neighborhood for the idyllic side of town and wander down Leidsestraat to Leidseplein for the roaring café-and-people scene. Tour the Red Light District while you’re at it.
With More Time: With two days in the Netherlands, I’d side-trip by bike, bus, or train to Haarlem. With a third day, I’d do the other great Amsterdam museums.
Amsterdam’s Central Station (Amsterdam Centraal), on the north edge of the city, is your starting point, with the TI, bike rental, and trams branching out to all points. Damrak is the main north-south axis, connecting Central Station with Dam Square (people-watching and hangout center) and its Royal Palace. From this main street, the city spreads out like a fan, with 90 islands, hundreds of bridges, and a series of concentric canals—named Herengracht (Gentleman’s Canal), Keizersgracht (Emperor’s Canal), and Prinsengracht (Prince’s Canal)—that were laid out in the 17th century, Holland’s Golden Age. Amsterdam’s major sights are all within walking distance of Dam Square.
To the east of Damrak is the oldest part of the city (today’s Red Light District), and to the west is the newer part, where you’ll find the Anne Frank House and the peaceful Jordaan neighborhood. Museums and Leidseplein nightlife cluster at the southern edge of the city center.
“VVV” (pronounced “fay fay fay”) is Dutch for “TI,” a tourist information office. Amsterdam’s tourist offices are crowded and inefficient—avoid them if you can. You can save yourself a trip by calling the TI at 020/201-8800 (Mon-Fri 8:00-18:00) or trying 0900-400-4040 (Mon-Fri 9:00-17:00). From the US dial 011-31-20-551-2525.
The main TI at Central Station is busy, but is convenient for anyone arriving by train (July-Aug Mon-Sat 9:00-19:00, Sun 10:00-17:00; Sept-June Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-17:00). An affiliated office is in the AUB/Last Minute Ticket Shop on Leidseplein, tucked into the side of the giant Stadsschouwburg Theater (Mon-Fri 10:00-19:00, Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 12:00-18:00; doesn’t book hotel rooms). These TIs outside of Amsterdam are helpful and less crowded: at Schiphol Airport (daily 7:00-22:00) and in the town of Haarlem (see next chapter).
Tickets: Although Amsterdam’s main TI sells tickets to the Anne Frank House (€1 extra per ticket, same-day tickets available) and the Van Gogh and Stedelijk museums (no fee), it’s quicker to get tickets in advance online (explained later).
Maps and Brochures: Given the city’s maze of streets and canals, I’d definitely get a good city map (€2.50 at Central Station TI, same map given away free at the TI in the AUB/Last Minute Ticket Shop—go figure). Also consider picking up any of the walking-tour brochures (€3 each, including tours covering city center, former Jewish Quarter, Jordaan, and funky De Pijp neighborhood). For entertainment, get a copy of Time Out Amsterdam (€3, €1.50 if bought with city map); for additional entertainment ideas, see “Entertainment in Amsterdam,” later.
Currency Exchange: At Central Station, GWK Currency Exchange offices have hotel reservation windows where clerks sell international phone cards and mobile-phone SIM cards, and answer basic tourist questions, with shorter lines than the TI (Mon-Sat 8:00-22:00, Sun 9:00-22:00, near front of station in both the east and west corridors, tel. 020/627-2731).
Resources for Gay Travelers: A short walk from Central Station down Damrak is GAYtic, a TI specifically oriented to the needs of gay travelers. The office stocks maps, magazines, and brochures, and dispenses advice on nightlife and general sightseeing (daily 11:00-20:00, Spuistraat 44, tel. 020/330-1461, gaytic.nl). Pink Point, in a kiosk outside Westerkerk, next to the Homomonument, is less of a resource, but has advice about nightlife (usually daily 10:00-18:00).
During high season (late March-Oct), you can avoid long ticket lines at the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk modern-art museum by booking tickets online, getting a Museumkaart sightseeing pass (described later), or buying tickets in advance. At the Anne Frank House, the only line-skipping option is booking tickets ahead (or, if you’ll be buying a Museumkaart, reserving an entry time). The I amsterdam Card, also described later, only lets you skip the line at the Van Gogh Museum.
Advance Tickets for Major Sights: It’s easy to buy tickets online through each museum’s website: annefrank.org (€0.50 surcharge per ticket, but worth it), rijksmuseum.nl, vangoghmuseum.com, and stedelijk.nl (no extra fee for Rijks, Van Gogh, or Stedelijk). Print out your ticket and bring it to the ticket-holder’s line for a quick entry. Before you get your tickets online, however, consider whether you’ll save money by buying a sightseeing card.
You can also buy tickets for these sights in advance at the TIs (main TI only for Anne Frank House), but TI lines seem almost as long as the ones you’re trying to avoid at the sights.
If You Don’t Have Advance Tickets: If you end up visiting the Anne Frank House without a reservation, trim your wait in line by showing up the minute it opens, or late in the day; this works better in early spring and fall than in summer, when even after-dinner lines can be long. Visit the Van Gogh Museum on a Friday evening, when it’s open until 22:00, with no lines and few crowds, even in peak season.
Sightseeing Cards: Two cards merit consideration for heavy-duty sightseers: The Museumkaart and the I amsterdam Card. If your trip includes any other Dutch city, you’ll save more money by purchasing the Museumkaart, which covers many sights throughout the Netherlands, than the overpriced I amsterdam Card, which is valid only in Amsterdam. (There’s no reason to buy both.) However, if Amsterdam’s your only stop in the Netherlands, and if you plan to get around on transit (rather than by bike), the I amsterdam Card makes sense, as it includes a transit pass. Both cards allow you free entry to most sights in Amsterdam (including the Van Gogh Museum), but neither card covers the Heineken Brewery, Westerkerk tower, or any sights dealing with sex or marijuana. The Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum are covered by the Museumkaart but not by the I amsterdam Card. The Museumkaart is a better option for avoiding crowds (it lets you skip ticket-buying lines everywhere except the Anne Frank House; the I amsterdam Card lets you skip only at the Van Gogh). Note: Even if you skip the ticket line, you have to go through security (like everyone else). You’ll also see ads for the Holland Pass, but it’s not worth it.
The Museumkaart, which costs €50 and is valid for a year throughout the Netherlands, is a no-brainer for anyone visiting at least six museums (for example, an itinerary that includes these museums, for a total of €65: Rijksmuseum-€15, Van Gogh Museum-€15, Anne Frank House-€9, Amsterdam Museum-€10, Amstelkring Museum-€8, and the Dutch Resistance Museum-€8). The Museumkaart is sold at all participating museums (buy it at a less-crowded one to avoid lines).
The I amsterdam Card, which focuses on Amsterdam and includes most transportation, is not worth the cost unless you’re planning on a day or two of nonstop sightseeing, and connecting it all by public transit (it doesn’t cover bike rental). This pass doesn’t cover the Rijksmuseum or the Anne Frank House. It does, however, include most other Amsterdam sights (including the Van Gogh Museum), one free canal boat tour (otherwise about €13), and unlimited use of trams, buses, and metro (except for the canal tour, all of these public-transit options are also covered by a normal transit pass—see “Getting Around Amsterdam,” later). Remember, this card’s line-skipping perks are limited to the Van Gogh Museum. You have a set number of consecutive hours to use it (for example: Visit your first museum at 14:00 Monday with a 24-hour pass, and it’s good until 13:59 on Tuesday). It’s sold at major museums, TIs, and with shorter lines at the GVB public-transit office across from Central Station, next to the TI (€40/24 hours, €50/48 hours, or €60/72 hours; iamsterdamcard.com).
The portal connecting Amsterdam to the world is its aptly named Central Station (Amsterdam Centraal). During your visit, the station and the plaza in front of it may be a construction zone and therefore in a state of some flux.
Trains arrive on a level above the station. Go down the stairs or the escalator (at the “A” end of the platform). As you descend from the platforms, you’ll find yourself in one of the corridors leading to the street exit for the city center (Centrum). Those wanting buses and river ferries should head in the opposite direction—to the north (Noord) exit.
The station is fully equipped for the traveler. You’ll find GWK Travelex counters in both the east and west corridors, and international train-ticket offices near the exit of both corridors. Luggage lockers are in the east corridor, under the “B” end of the platforms (€5-7/24 hours, depending on size of bag, always open, can fill up on busy summer weekends). The station has plenty of shops and places to grab a bite to eat. On the train level, platform 2 is lined with eateries, including the tall, venerable, 1920s-style First Class Grand Café. Handy Albert Heijn “to go” supermarkets are easy to find at the end of the east corridor and in the main north-south underground passage.
Exiting the station, you’re in the heart of the city. Straight ahead, just past the canal, is Damrak street, leading to Dam Square. To your left are the TI and GVB public-transit office. Farther to your left is a fascinating exhibit about the big construction project going on all around you (specifically, the digging of a new subway line). Past the exhibit are two bike rental places: MacBike (in the station building), and Star Bikes (a five-minute walk past the station), both listed on here. To the right of the station are the postcard-perfect neighborhoods of West Amsterdam; some of my recommended hotels are within walking distance.
Just beyond the taxis are the platforms for the city’s blue trams, which come along frequently, ready to take you anywhere your feet won’t (buy ticket or pass from conductor). Trams #1, #2, and #5 (which run to nearly all my recommended hotels) leave from in front of the station’s west (main) entrance. All trams leaving Central Station stop at Dam Square along their route. For more on the transit system, see here.
For details on getting from Schiphol Airport into downtown Amsterdam, see here.
Theft Alert: Tourists are considered green and rich, and the city has more than its share of hungry thieves—especially in the train station, on trams, in and near crowded museums, at places of drunkenness, and at the many hostels. Wear your money belt.
Emergency Telephone Number: Throughout the Netherlands, dial 112.
Street Smarts: Beware of silent transportation—trams, electric mopeds, and bicycles—when walking around town. Don’t walk on tram tracks or pink/maroon bicycle paths. Before you step off any sidewalk, do a double- or triple-check in both directions to make sure all’s clear.
Sightseeing Strategies: To beat the lines at Amsterdam’s most popular sights, plan ahead—either buy a sightseeing pass or advance online tickets (see details on here). Friday night is a great time to visit the Van Gogh Museum, when it’s open until 22:00 (with far smaller crowds). On Saturday nights in summer, the Anne Frank House stays open until 22:00.
Shop Hours: Most shops are open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00-18:00, and Sunday and Monday 12:00-18:00. Some shops stay open later (21:00) on Thursdays. Supermarkets are generally open Monday through Saturday 8:00-20:00 and have shorter hours or are closed on Sundays.
Busy Weekends: Every year, King’s Day (Koningsdag, April 27 most years) and Gay Pride (first weekend of August) bring big crowds, fuller hotels, and inflated room prices.
Cash Only: Thrifty Dutch merchants, who hate paying the unusually high fees charged by credit-card companies here, rarely take US credit cards—and those that do often require a card with a chip. Expect to pay cash in unexpected places, including grocery stores, cafés, budget hotels, train-station machines and windows, and at some museums.
Internet Access: It’s easy at cafés all over town, but the best place for serious surfing and email is the towering Central Library, which has hundreds of fast terminals and Wi-Fi (€1/30 minutes, Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam, daily 10:00-22:00, a 10-minute walk from train station, described on here). The café across the street from Central Station (next to the TI) also has pay Internet access and Wi-Fi. “Coffeeshops,” which sell marijuana, usually also offer Internet access—letting you surf with a special bravado.
English Bookstores: For fiction and guidebooks, try the American Book Center at Spui 12, right on the square (generally daily 10:00-20:00, tel. 020/535-2575). The huge and helpful Selexyz Scheltema is at Koningsplein 20 near the Leidsestraat (generally daily 9:30-18:00; lots of English novels, guidebooks, and maps; tel. 020/523-1411). Waterstone’s Booksellers, a UK chain, also sells British newspapers (near Spui at 152 Kalverstraat, generally daily 10:00-18:30, tel. 020/638-3821). Expect shorter hours on Monday and Sunday.
Language Barrier: This is one of the easiest places in the non-English-speaking world for an English speaker. Nearly all signs and services are offered in two languages: Dutch and “non-Dutch” (i.e., English).
Maps: The free tourist maps can be confusing, except for Amsterdam Museums: Guide to 37 Museums (includes tram info and stops, ask for it at the big museums, such as the Van Gogh). If you want a top-notch map, buy one (about €2.50). I like the Carto Studio Centrumkaart Amsterdam. Amsterdam Anything’s virtual “Go Where the Locals Go” city map is worth checking out, especially if you have mobile Internet access (amsterdamanything.nl).
Pharmacy: The shop named DA (Dienstdoende Apotheek) has all the basics—shampoo and toothpaste—as well as a pharmacy counter hidden in the back (Mon-Sat 9:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-22:00, Leidsestraat 74-76 near where it meets Keizersgracht, tel. 020/627-5351). Near Dam Square, there’s BENU Apotheek (Mon-Fri 8:30-17:30, Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun 12:00-17:00, Damstraat 2, tel. 020/624-4331).
Laundry: Try Clean Brothers Wasserij in the Jordaan (daily 8:00-20:00 for €7 self-service, €9 drop-off—ready in an hour—Mon-Fri 9:00-17:00, Sat 9:00-18:00, no drop-off Sun, Westerstraat 26, one block from Prinsengracht, tel. 020/627-9888) or Powders, near Leidseplein (daily 8:00-22:00, €6.50 self-service, €12 drop-off available Mon-Wed and Fri 8:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 9:00-15:00, no drop-off Thu, Kerkstraat 56, one block south of Leidsestraat, mobile 06-2630-6057).
Best Views: Although sea-level Amsterdam is notoriously horizontal, there are a few high points where you can get the big picture. The best city views are from the Central Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam; see here). The Westerkerk—described on here and convenient for anyone visiting the Anne Frank House—has a climbable tower with fine views. The tower of the Old Church (Oude Kerk), the top floor of the Kalvertoren shopping complex, and the rooftop terrace at the NEMO science museum also provide good views.
Updates to This Book: For updates to this book, check ricksteves.com/update.
Amsterdam is big, and you’ll find the trams handy. The longest walk a tourist would make is an hour from Central Station to the Rijksmuseum. When you’re on foot, be extremely vigilant for silent but potentially painful bikes, trams, and crotch-high bollards.
Amsterdam’s public transit system includes trams, buses, and an underground metro; of these, trams are most useful for most tourists.
The helpful GVB public-transit information office in front of Central Station can answer questions (next to TI, Mon-Fri 7:00-21:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00). Its free, multilingual Public Transport Amsterdam Tourist Guide includes a transit map and explains ticket options and tram connections to all the sights. For more public transit information, visit gvb.nl.
Tickets: The entire country’s public transit network operates on a single ticket system called the OV-Chipkaart (for “Openbaar Vervoer”—public transit). For locals, it couldn’t be easier. With a single pre-paid card, they can hop on any form of public transit in the country, scan their card, and the (discounted) fare is immediately deducted. Cards can be reloaded automatically, straight from residents’ bank accounts. While it’s possible for tourists to purchase an OV-Chipkaart, they cost a non-refundable €7.50 and can only be reloaded at train and metro stations—unless you’re staying in the Netherlands for more than a week, don’t bother.
Most travelers instead rely on either single tickets or multiday passes. (While officially classified as “OV-Chipkaarten,” these tickets and passes with electronic chips are nothing like the reloadable, valid-nationwide, plastic cards locals use.)
Within Amsterdam, a single transit ticket costs €2.80 and is good for one hour on the tram, bus, and metro, including transfers. Passes good for unlimited transportation are available for 24 hours (€7.50), 48 hours (€12), 72 hours (€16.50), and 96 hours (€21). (The I amsterdam sightseeing card, described on here, includes a transit pass.) Given how expensive single tickets are, consider buying a pass before you buy that first ticket. (A rental bike—described later—costs about the same as a transit pass...but is way more fun.)
The easiest way to buy a ticket or transit pass is to simply board a tram or bus and pay the conductor (no extra fee). Tickets and passes are also available at metro-station vending machines (which take cash but not US credit cards unless they have a chip), at GVB public-transit offices, and at TIs.
Trams: Board the tram at any entrance not marked with a red/white “do not enter” sticker. If you need a ticket or pass, pay the conductor (in a booth at the back); if there’s no conductor, pay the driver in front. You must always “check in” as you board by scanning your ticket or pass at the pink-and-gray scanner, and “check out” by scanning it again when you get off. The scanner will beep and flash a green light after a successful scan. Be careful not to accidentally scan your ticket or pass twice while boarding, or it becomes invalid. Checking in and out is very important, as controllers do pass through and fine violators. To open the door when you reach your stop, press a green button on one of the poles near an exit.
Trams #2 (Nieuw Sloten) and #5 (A’veen Binnenhof) travel the north-south axis, from Central Station to Dam Square to Leidseplein to Museumplein (Van Gogh and Rijks museums). Tram #1 (marked Osdorp) also runs to Leidseplein. At Central Station, these three trams depart from the west side of Stationsplein (with the station behind you, they’re to your right).
Tram #14, which doesn’t connect to Central Station, goes east-west (Westerkerk-Dam Square-Muntplein-Waterlooplein-Plantage). If you get lost in Amsterdam, don’t sweat it—10 of the city’s 17 trams take you back to Central Station.
Buses and Metro: Tickets and passes work on buses and the metro just as they do on the trams—scan your ticket or pass to “check in” as you enter and again to “check out” when you leave. The metro system is scant—used mostly for commuting to the suburbs—but it does connect Central Station with some sights east of Damrak (Nieuwmarkt-Waterlooplein-Weesperplein). The glacial speed of the metro-expansion project is a running joke among cynical Amsterdammers.
Everyone—bank managers, students, pizza delivery boys, and police—uses this mode of transport. It’s by far the smartest way to travel in a city where 40 percent of all traffic rolls on two wheels. You’ll get around town by bike faster than you can by taxi. On my last visit, I rented a bike for five days, chained it to the rack outside my hotel at night, and enjoyed wonderful mobility. I highly encourage this for anyone who wants to get maximum fun per hour in Amsterdam. One-speed bikes, with “brrringing” bells, rent for about €10 per day (cheaper for longer periods) at any number of places—hotels can send you to the nearest spot.
Rental Shops: Star Bikes Rental has cheap rates, long hours, and inconspicuous black bikes. They’re happy to arrange an after-hours drop-off if you give them your credit-card number and prepay (€5/3 hours, €7/day, €9/24 hours, €12/2 days, €17/3 days, daily 9:00-19:00, requires ID but no monetary deposit, 5-minute walk from east end of Central Station—walk underneath tracks near Doubletree Hotel and then turn right, De Ruyterkade 127, tel. 020/620-3215, starbikesrental.com).
MacBike, with thousands of bikes, is the city’s bike-rental powerhouse—you’ll see their bright-red bikes all over town (they do stick out a bit). It has a huge and efficient outlet at Central Station (€7/3 hours, €9.50/24 hours, €14/48 hours, €19/72 hours, more for 3 gears, 25 percent discount with I amsterdam Card; either leave €50 deposit plus a copy of your passport, or leave a credit-card imprint; free helmets, daily 9:00-17:45; at east end of station—on the left as you’re leaving; tel. 020/620-0985, macbike.nl). They have two smaller satellite stations at Leidseplein (Weteringschans 2) and Waterlooplein (Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 116). Return your bike to the station where you rented it. MacBike sells several pamphlets outlining bike tours with a variety of themes in and around Amsterdam for €1-2.
Frederic Rent-a-Bike, a 10-minute walk from Central Station, has quality bikes and a helpful staff (€8/3 hours, €15/24 hours—€10 if returned by 17:30, €25/48 hours, €50/week, ask about Rick Steves discount with this book, daily 9:00-17:30, no after-hours drop-off, Brouwersgracht 78, tel. 020/624-5509, frederic.nl, Frederic and son Marne).
Lock Your Bike: Bike thieves are bold and brazen in Amsterdam. Bikes come with two locks and stern instructions to use both. The wimpy ones go through the spokes, whereas the industrial-strength chains are meant to be wrapped around the actual body of the bike and through the front wheel, and connected to something stronger than any human. (Note the steel bike-hitching racks sticking up all around town, called “staples.”) Follow your rental agency’s locking directions diligently. Once, I used both locks, but my chain wasn’t around the main bar of my bike’s body. In the morning, I found only my front tire (still safely chained to the metal fence). If you’re sloppy, it’s an expensive mistake and one that any “included” theft insurance won’t cover.
More Tips: As the Dutch believe in fashion over safety, no one here wears a helmet. They do, however, ride cautiously, and so should you: Use arm signals, follow the bike-only traffic signals, stay in the obvious and omnipresent bike lanes, and yield to traffic on the right. Fear oncoming trams and tram tracks. Carefully cross tram tracks at a perpendicular angle to avoid catching your tire in the rut. Warning: Police ticket cyclists just as they do drivers. Obey all traffic signals, and walk your bike through pedestrian zones. Fines for biking through pedestrian zones are reportedly €30-50. A handy bicycle route-planner can be found at routecraft.com (select “bikeplanner,” then click British flag for English). For a “Do-It-Yourself Bike Tour of Amsterdam” and for bike tours, see here.
While the city is great on foot, bike, or tram, you can also get around Amsterdam by boat. Rederij Lovers boats shuttle tourists on a variety of routes covering different combinations of the city’s top sights. Their Museum Line, for example, costs €16 and stops near the Hermitage, Rijksmuseum/Van Gogh Museum, and Central Station (at least every 45 minutes, 4 stops, 1.5 hours). Sales booths in front of Central Station (and the boats) offer free brochures listing museum hours and admission prices. Most routes come with recorded narration and run daily 10:00-17:30 (tel. 020/530-1090, lovers.nl).
The similar Canal Bus is actually a boat, offering 17 stops on three different boat routes (€24/24-hour pass, departures daily 9:30-18:30, until 19:00 April-Oct, leaves near Central Station and Rederij Lovers dock, tel. 020/623-9886, canal.nl).
If you’re simply looking for a floating, nonstop tour, the regular canal tour boats (without the stops) give more information, cover more ground, and cost less (see “Tours in Amsterdam,” next page).
For do-it-yourself canal tours and lots of exercise, Canal Bus also rents “canal bikes” (a.k.a. paddleboats) at several locations: near the Anne Frank House, near the Rijksmuseum, near Leidseplein, and where Leidsestraat meets Keizersgracht (€8/hour per person, daily July-Aug 10:00-22:00, Sept-June 10:00-18:00).
For short rides, Amsterdam is a bad town for taxis. Given the good tram system and ease of biking, I use taxis less in Amsterdam than in just about any other city in Europe. The city’s taxis have a high drop charge (€7.50) for the first two kilometers (e.g., from Central Station to the Mint Tower), after which it’s €2.30 per kilometer (no extra fee for luggage; it’s worth trying to bargain a lower rate, as competition among cabbies is fierce). You can wave them down, find a rare taxi stand, or call one (tel. 020/677-7777). You’ll also see bike taxis, particularly near Dam Square and Leidseplein. Negotiate a rate for the trip before you board (no meter), and they’ll wheel you wherever you want to go (€1/3 minutes, no surcharge for baggage or extra weight, sample fare from Leidseplein to Anne Frank House: about €6).
If you’ve got a car, park it—all you’ll find are frustrating one-way streets, terrible parking, and meter maids with a passion for booting cars parked incorrectly. You’ll pay €60 a day to park safely in a central garage. If you must bring a car to Amsterdam, it’s best to leave it at one of the city’s supervised park-and-ride lots (follow P&R signs from freeway, €8/24 hours, includes round-trip transit into city center for up to five people, 4-day maximum).
To sightsee on your own, download my series of free audio tours that illuminate some of Amsterdam’s top neighborhoods: my Amsterdam City Walk, Red Light District Walk, and Jordaan Walk (see sidebar on here for details).
These long, low, tourist-laden boats leave continually from several docks around town for a relaxing, if uninspiring, one-hour introduction to the city (with recorded headphone commentary). Select a boat tour based on convenience of its starting point, or whether it’s included with your I amsterdam Card (which covers Blue Boat Company and Holland International boats). Tip: Boats leave only when full, so jump on a full boat to avoid waiting at the dock. No fishing allowed—but bring your camera. Some prefer to cruise at night, when the bridges are illuminated.
Choose from one of these three companies:
Rederij P. Kooij is cheapest (€9, 3/hour in summer 10:00-22:00, 2/hour in winter 10:00-17:00, at corner of Spui and Rokin streets, about 10 minutes from Dam Square, tel. 020/623-3810, rederijkooij.nl).
Blue Boat Company’s boats depart from near Leidseplein (€14; every half-hour April-Sept 10:00-18:00, also at 19:00; hourly Oct-March 10:00-17:00; 1.25 hours, Stadhouderskade 30, tel. 020/679-1370, blueboat.nl). Their 1.5-hour evening cruise has a live English-speaking guide (€17.50, nightly at 20:00, April-Sept also at 21:00 and 22:00, reservations required).
Holland International offers a standard one-hour trip and a variety of longer tours from the docks opposite Central Station (€14, 1-hour “100 Highlights” tour with recorded commentary, 4/hour daily 9:00-18:00, 2/hour 18:00-22:00; Prins Hendrikkade 33a, tel. 020/625-3035, hir.nl).
Small, 12-person electric Canal Hopper boats leave every 20-30 minutes with live commentary on two different hop-on, hop-off routes (€24 day pass, €17 round-trip ticket, July-Aug daily 10:00-17:00, Sept-June Fri-Sun only, “yellow” west route runs 2/hour and stops near Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum, “orange” east route runs 3/hour and stops near Red Light District and Damrak, tel. 020/626-5574, canal.nl).
If you want some exercise and a dose of village life, consider this five-hour tour. Majel Tromp, a friendly villager who speaks great English, takes groups limited to 15 people. The program: Meet at the bus stops behind Central Station (leave the station from the west corridor and take the escalator up to the buses) at 9:30, catch a public bus, stop for coffee, take a 3.5-hour canoe trip (2-3 people per canoe) with several stops, tour a village by canoe, munch a rural canalside picnic lunch (included), then canoe and bus back into Amsterdam by 15:00 (€48, €29 for kids ages 7-16, ask about Rick Steves discount with this book, May-mid-Sept Sun-Fri, reservations required, tel. 020/686-3445, mobile 06-5355-2669, wetlandssafari.nl, info@wetlandssafari.nl).
Randy Roy’s Red Light Tours consists of one expat American woman, Kimberley. She lived in the Red Light District for years and gives fun, casual, yet informative 1.5-hour walks through this fascinating and eye-popping neighborhood. Though the actual information is light, you’ll walk through various porn and drug shops and have an expert to answer your questions. Call or email to reserve (€15 includes a drink in a colorful bar at the end, nightly at 20:00, Fri and Sat also at 22:00, no tours Dec-Feb, tours meet in front of Victoria Hotel—in front of Central Station, mobile 06-4185-3288, randyroysredlighttours.com, kimberley@randyroysredlighttours.com).
New Europe Tours “employs” native, English-speaking students to give irreverent and entertaining three-hour walks (using the same “free tour, ask for tips, sell their other tours” formula popular in so many great European cities). While most guides lack a local’s deep understanding of Dutch culture, not to mention professional training, they’re certainly high-energy. This long walk covers a lot of the city with an enthusiasm for the contemporary pot-and-prostitution scene (free but tips expected, daily at 11:15 and 13:15, neweuropetours.eu). They also offer paid tours (Red Light District—€12, daily at 19:00; coffeeshop scene—€12, daily at 16:00; city by bike—€19, includes bike, daily at 14:00). Their walking tours leave from the National Monument on Dam Square; the bike tour leaves from Central Station.
Frank Sanders’ walking tour offers a two-hour, English-only look at the historic roots and development of Amsterdam. You’ll have a small group of generally 5-6 people and a caring guide, starting off at Central Station and ending up at Dam Square (€25; May-Sept daily at 10:00, 12:30, and 15:00 based on demand; call 020/616-7867 to confirm times and book).
Albert Walet is a likeable, hardworking, and knowledgeable local guide who enjoys personalizing tours for Americans interested in knowing his city. Al specializes in history, architecture, and water management, and exudes a passion for Amsterdam (€70/2 hours, €120/4 hours, up to 4 people, on foot or by bike, mobile 06-2069-7882, abwalet@yahoo.com). Ab also takes travelers to nearby towns, including Haarlem, Leiden, and Delft.
Yellow Bike Guided Tours offers city bike tours of either two hours (€19.50, daily at 10:30) or three hours (€23.50, daily at 13:30), which both include a 20-minute break. They also offer a four-hour, 15-mile tour of the dikes and green pastures of the countryside (€29.50, lunch extra, includes 45-minute break, April-Oct daily at 10:30). All tours leave from Nieuwezijds Kolk 29, three blocks from Central Station (reservations smart, tel. 020/620-6940, yellowbike.nl). If you’d prefer a private guide, see Albert Walet, above.
Joy Ride Bike Tours is a creative little company run by English-speaking Sean and Allison Cody. Their popular rides are offered only as a private tour (mobile 06-4361-1798, joyridetours.nl).
A day enjoying the bridges, bike lanes, and sleepy, off-the-beaten-path canals on your own one-speed is an essential Amsterdam experience. The real joys of Europe’s best-preserved 17th-century city are the countless intimate glimpses it offers: the laid-back locals sunning on their porches under elegant gables, rusted bikes that look as if they’ve been lashed to the same lamppost since the 1960s, wasted hedonists planted on canalside benches, and happy sailors permanently moored, but still manning the deck.
For a good day trip, rent a bike at or near Central Station (see “By Bike” on here). Head west down Haarlemmerstraat, working your wide-eyed way down Prinsengracht (drop into Café ’t Papeneiland at Prinsengracht 2) and detouring through the small, gentrified streets of the Jordaan neighborhood before popping out at the Westerkerk under the tallest spire in the city.
Pedal south to the lush and peaceful Vondelpark, then cut back through the center of town (Leidseplein to the Mint Tower, along Rokin street to Dam Square). From there, cruise the Red Light District, following Oudezijds Voorburgwal past the Old Church (Oude Kerk) to Zeedijk street, and return to the train station.
Andy Steves (my son) runs Weekend Student Adventures, offering experiential three-day weekend tours for €199, designed for American students studying abroad (see wsaeurope.com for details on tours of Amsterdam and other great cities).
House of Bols: Cocktail & Genever Experience
Rembrandtplein and Tuschinski Theater
Houseboat Museum (Woonbootmuseum)
The Canal House (Het Grachtenhuis)
Central Amsterdam, near Dam Square
▲Royal Palace (Koninklijk Huis)
▲▲Amstelkring Museum (Our Lord in the Attic/Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder)
Marijuana Sights in the Red Light District
Central Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam)
NEMO (National Center for Science and Technology)
▲▲Netherlands Maritime Museum (Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum)
▲EYE Film Institute Netherlands
▲Rembrandt’s House (Museum Het Rembrandthuis)
▲Willet-Holthuysen Museum (a.k.a. Herengracht Canal Mansion)
Tassen Museum (Hendrikje Museum of Bags and Purses)
▲Jewish Historical Museum (Joods Historisch Museum)
▲Dutch Theater (Hollandsche Schouwburg)
▲▲Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum)
▲Tropical Museum (Tropenmuseum)
One of Amsterdam’s delights is that it has perhaps more small specialty museums than any other city its size. From houseboats to sex, from marijuana to Old Masters, you can find a museum to suit your interests.
For tips on how to save time otherwise spent in the long ticket-buying lines of the big three museums—the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, and Rijksmuseum—see “Advance Tickets and Sightseeing Cards” on here. Admission prices are high: A sightseeing card such as the Museumkaart (or I amsterdam Card) can pay for itself quickly. Entry to most sights is free with a card (I’ve noted those that aren’t covered).
Most museums require baggage check (usually free, often in coin-op lockers where you get your coin back).
The following sights are arranged by neighborhood for handy sightseeing.
At the Rijksmuseum (“Rijks” rhymes with “bikes”), Holland’s Golden Age shines with the best collection anywhere of the Dutch Masters—from Vermeer’s quiet domestic scenes, to Steen’s raucous family meals, to Hals’ snapshot portraits, to Rembrandt’s moody brilliance. Recently much improved after a long renovation, this delightful museum offers one of the most exciting and enjoyable art experiences in Europe.
The 17th century saw the Netherlands at the pinnacle of its power. The Dutch had won their independence from Spain, trade and shipping boomed, wealth poured in, the people were understandably proud, and the arts flourished. This era was later dubbed the Dutch Golden Age. With no church bigwigs or royalty around to commission big canvases in the Protestant Dutch republic, artists had to find different patrons—and they discovered the upper-middle-class businessmen who fueled Holland’s capitalist economy. Artists painted their portraits and decorated their homes with pretty still lifes and nonpreachy, slice-of-life art.
Dutch art is meant to be enjoyed, not studied. It’s straightforward, meat-and-potatoes art for the common man. The Dutch love the beauty of everyday things painted realistically and with exquisite detail. Set your cerebral cortex on “low” and let this art pass straight from the eyes to the heart, with minimal detours.
Cost and Hours: €15, not covered by I amsterdam Card, audioguide-€5, videoguide also available, daily 9:00-17:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing, tram #2 or #5 from Central Station to Hobbemastraat, info tel. 020/674-7047 or switchboard tel. 020/674-7000, rijksmuseum.nl. The entrance is off the passageway that tunnels right through the center of the building.
Avoiding Crowds: The museum is most crowded from April to September (especially April-June), on weekends, and during morning hours. You can avoid crowds by coming later in the day (it’s least crowded after 16:00—but most visitors will want more than an hour here). Avoid waits in the ticket-buying line by buying your ticket or pass in advance. No one can completely avoid the security line.
You can buy and print your ticket in advance online at rijksmuseum.nl. The ticket is good any time (no entry time specified). Buying online has the added advantage of letting you enter through the “direct entry” doorway, scooting you to the front of the security line. You can also buy tickets at many hotels.
Near the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum (we say “van GO,” the Dutch say “van HHHOCK”) is a cultural high even for those not into art. This remarkable museum features works by the troubled Dutch artist whose art seemed to mirror his life. Vincent, who killed himself in 1890 at age 37, is best known for sunny, Impressionist canvases that vibrate and pulse with vitality. The museum’s 200 paintings—which offer a virtual stroll through the artist’s work and life—were owned by Theo, Vincent’s younger, art-dealer brother. If you like brightly colored landscapes in the Impressionist style, you’ll like this museum. If you enjoy finding deeper meaning in works of art, you’ll really love it. The mix of Van Gogh’s creative genius, his tumultuous life, and the traveler’s determination to connect to it makes this museum as much a walk with Vincent as with his art.
Cost and Hours: €15, more for special exhibits, audioguide-€5, kids’ audioguide-€2.50, daily 9:00-17:00, Fri until 22:00—with no crowds in evening, Paulus Potterstraat 7, tram #2 or #5 from Central Station to Van Baerlestraat stop, tel. 020/570-5200, vangoghmuseum.com.
Avoiding Lines: Skip the 15-30-minute wait in the ticket-buying line by getting your ticket in advance, or by getting a Museumkaart or I amsterdam Card. You can buy and print tickets online (at vangoghmuseum.com) or at the TI.
Visiting the Museum: The main collection of Van Gogh paintings on the first floor is arranged chronologically, taking you through the changes in Vincent van Gogh’s life and styles. The paintings are divided into five periods of Vincent’s life—the Netherlands, Paris, Arles, St. Rémy, and Auvers-sur-Oise—proceeding clockwise around the floor. Highlights include Sunflowers, The Bedroom, The Potato Eaters, and many brooding self-portraits.
The third floor shows works that influenced Vincent, from Monet and Pissarro to Gauguin, Cézanne, and Toulouse-Lautrec. The worthwhile audioguide includes insightful commentaries and quotes from Vincent himself. Temporary exhibits fill the new wing, down the escalator from the ground-floor lobby.
The Netherlands’ top modern-art museum is filled with a fun, far-out, and refreshing collection that includes post-1945 experimental and conceptual art as well as works by Picasso, Chagall, Cézanne, Kandinsky, and Mondrian. The Stedelijk (STAYD-eh-lik), like the Rijksmuseum, also boasts a newly spiffed-up building, which now flaunts an architecturally daring entry facing Museumplein (near the Van Gogh Museum).
Cost and Hours: €15, Tue-Wed 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-22:00, Fri-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, café with outdoor seating, top-notch shop, Paulus Potterstraat 13/Museumplein 10, tel. 020/573-2911, stedelijk.nl.
Bordered by the Rijks, Van Gogh, and Stedelijk museums, and the Concertgebouw (classical music hall), this park-like square is interesting even to art-haters. Amsterdam’s best acoustics are found underneath the Rijksmuseum, where street musicians perform everything from chamber music to Mongolian throat singing. Mimes, human statues, and crafts booths dot the square. Skateboarders careen across a concrete tube, while locals enjoy a park bench or a coffee at the Cobra Café.
Nearby is Coster Diamonds, a handy place to see a diamond-cutting and polishing demo (free, frequent, and interesting 30-minute tours followed by sales pitch, popular for decades with tour groups, prices marked up to include tour guide kickbacks, daily 9:00-17:00, Paulus Potterstraat 2, tel. 020/305-5555, costerdiamonds.com). The end of the tour leads you straight into their Diamond Museum, which is worthwhile only for those who have a Museumkaart (which covers entry) or feel the need to see even more diamonds (€7.50, daily 9:00-17:00, tel. 020/305-5300, diamantmuseumamsterdam.nl). The tour at Gassan Diamonds is free and better (see here), but Coster is convenient to the Museumplein scene.
This leading Dutch distillery runs a pricey and polished little museum/marketing opportunity across the street from the Van Gogh Museum. The “experience” is a self-guided walk through what is essentially an ad for Bols—“four hundred years of working on the art of mixing and blending...a celebration of gin”—with some fun sniffing opportunities and a drink at a modern, mirrored-out cocktail bar for a finale. (It’s essentially the gin-flavored version of the Heineken Experience, listed next.) The highlight is a chance to taste up to five different local gins with a talkative expert guiding you. Then have your barista mix up the cocktail of your dreams—based on what you learned during your sniffing.
Cost and Hours: €12.50, not covered by Museumkaart, daily 12:00-17:30, Fri until 21:00, Sat until 19:00, last entry 45 minutes before closing, must be 18, Paulus Potterstraat 14, tel. 020/570-8575, houseofbols.com. If you like the booze and hang out and talk, this can be a good deal (but do it after the Van Gogh Museum).
This famous brewery, having moved its operations to the suburbs, has converted its original headquarters into a slick, Disneyesque beerfest—complete with a beer-making simulation ride. The “experience” also includes do-it-yourself music videos, photo ops that put you inside Heineken logos and labels, and no small amount of hype about the Heineken family and the quality of their beer. It’s a fun trip, if you can ignore the fact that you’re essentially paying for an hour of advertising.
Cost and Hours: Overpriced at €17, includes two drinks, daily 11:00-19:00, last entry at 17:30; tram #16, #24, or #25 to Heinekenplein; an easy walk from Rijksmuseum, tel. 020/523-9222, heinekenexperience.com.
This former working-class industrial and residential zone (behind the Heineken Experience, near the Rijksmuseum) is emerging as a colorful, vibrant district. Its spine is Albert Cuypstraat, a street taken over by a long, sprawling produce market packed with interesting people. The centerpiece is Restaurant Bazar (marked by a roof-capping golden angel), a church turned into a Middle Eastern food circus (see listing on here).
Brimming with cafés, this people-watching mecca is an impromptu stage for street artists, accordionists, jugglers, and unicyclists. It’s particularly bustling on sunny afternoons. The Chicago Social Club nightclub, run by the Boom Chicago comedy theater, fronts this square (for more on Boom Chicago, see here). Stroll nearby Lange Leidsedwarsstraat (one block north) for a taste-bud tour of ethnic eateries, from Greek to Indonesian.
This huge, lively city park is popular with the Dutch—families with little kids, romantic couples, strolling seniors, and hippies sharing blankets and beers. It’s a favored venue for free summer concerts. On a sunny afternoon, it’s a hedonistic scene that seems to say, “Parents...relax.”
One of the city’s premier nightlife spots is the leafy Rembrandtplein (the artist’s statue stands here, along with a jaunty group of statues giving us The Night Watch in 3-D) and the adjoining Thorbeckeplein. Several late-night dance clubs keep the area lively into the wee hours. Utrechtsestraat is lined with upscale shops and restaurants. Nearby Reguliersdwarsstraat (a street one block south of Rembrandtplein) is a center for gay and lesbian nightclubs.
The Tuschinski Theater, a movie palace from the 1920s (a half-block from Rembrandtplein down Reguliersbreestraat), glitters inside and out. Still a working theater, it’s a delightful old place to see first-run movies (always in their original language—usually English—with Dutch subtitles). The exterior is an interesting hybrid of styles, forcing the round peg of Art Nouveau into the square hole of Art Deco. The stone-and-tile facade features stripped-down, functional Art Deco squares and rectangles, but is ornamented with Art Nouveau elements—Tiffany-style windows, garlands, curvy iron lamps, Egyptian pharaohs, and exotic gold lettering over the door. Inside (lobby is free), the sumptuous decor features fancy carpets, slinky fixtures, and semi-abstract designs. Grab a seat in the lobby and watch the ceiling morph (Reguliersbreestraat 26-28).
This small and quirky-yet-classy museum holds 300 years of pipes in a 17th-century canal house. (It’s almost worth the admission price just to see the inside of one of these elegant homes.) You enter through the street-level shop, Smokiana, which is almost interesting enough to be a museum itself. It sells new and antique pipes, various smoking curiosities, and scholarly books written by the shop’s owner. If you want more, pay to enter the museum, and a volunteer docent will accompany you upstairs through a tour of smoking history. You begin with some pre-Columbian terra-cotta pipes (from the discoverers of tobacco, dating from around 500 B.C.), followed by plenty of intricate, finely decorated Baroque and Victorian smoking paraphernalia. Ask questions—your guide is happy to explain why the opium pipes have their bowls in the center of the stem, or why some white clay pipes are a foot long.
Cost and Hours: €8, Wed-Sat 12:00-18:00, usually closed Sun-Tue, tel. 020/421-1779, just off Leidsestraat at Prinsengracht 488, pijpenkabinet.nl.
In the 1930s, modern cargo ships came into widespread use—making small, sail-powered cargo boats obsolete. In danger of extinction, these little vessels found new life as houseboats lining the canals of Amsterdam. Today, 2,500 such boats—their cargo holds turned into classy, comfortable living rooms—are called home. For a peek into this gezellig (cozy) world, visit this tiny museum. Captain Vincent enjoys showing visitors around the houseboat, which feels lived-in because, until 1997, it was.
Cost and Hours: €3.75, not covered by Museumkaart; March-Oct Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00, closed Mon; Nov-Dec and Feb Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00, closed Mon-Thu; closed most of Jan; on Prinsengracht, opposite #296 facing Elandsgracht, tel. 020/427-0750, houseboatmuseum.nl.
A pilgrimage for many, this house offers a fascinating look at the hideaway of young Anne during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Anne, her parents, an older sister, and four others spent a little more than two years in a “Secret Annex” behind her father’s business. While in hiding, 13-year-old Anne kept a diary chronicling her extraordinary experience. Acting on a tip, the Nazis arrested the group in August of 1944 and sent them to concentration camps in Poland and Germany. Anne and her sister died of typhus in March of 1945, only weeks before their camp was liberated. Of the eight inhabitants of the Secret Annex, only Anne’s father, Otto Frank, survived. He returned to Amsterdam and arranged for his daughter’s diary to be published in 1947. It was followed by many translations, a play, and a movie.
The thoughtfully designed exhibit offers thorough coverage of the Frank family, the diary, the stories of others who hid, and the Holocaust. The Franks’ story was that of Holland’s Jews. The seven who died were among the more than 100,000 Dutch Jews killed during the war years. (Before the war, 135,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands.) Of Anne’s school class of 87 Jews, only 20 survived. When her father returned to Amsterdam, he fought to preserve this house, wanting it to become, in his words, “more than a museum.” It was his dream that visitors come away from the Anne Frank House with an indelible impression—and a better ability to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to our contemporary challenges.
Cost and Hours: €9, not covered by I amsterdam Card; March 15-Sept 14 daily 9:00-21:00, Sat and July-Aug until 22:00; Sept 15-March 14 daily 9:00-19:00, Sat until 21:00; last entry 30 minutes before closing, often less crowded right when it opens or after 18:00, no baggage check, no large bags allowed inside, tel. 020/556-7100, annefrank.org.
Getting There: It’s at Prinsengracht 267, near Westerkerk and about a 20-minute walk from Central Station. You can also take tram #13, #14, or #17—or bus #170 or #172—to the Westermarkt stop, about a block south of the museum’s entrance.
Avoiding Lines: Skip the long ticket-buying line (which is especially bad in the daytime during summer) by purchasing your ticket and reserving an entry time online at annefrank.org (€0.50/person fee). Museumkaart holders can purchase an online reservation without buying a separate Anne Frank House ticket. Book as soon as you’re sure of your itinerary.
You must present a print-out of your ticket and/or reservation; if you don’t have access to a printer, try emailing your confirmation to your hotel and asking them to print it—or bring your confirmation number to the museum and explain the situation. With your ticket (or Museumkaart plus reservation) in hand, you can skip the line and ring the buzzer at the low-profile door marked Entrance: Reservations Only. Without a reservation, try arriving when the museum opens (at 9:00) or after 18:00.
Located near the Anne Frank House, this landmark church has a barren interior, Rembrandt’s body buried somewhere under the pews, and Amsterdam’s tallest steeple.
The tower is open only for tours and offers a grand city view. The tour guide, who speaks English and Dutch, tells of the church and its carillon. Only six people are allowed at a time (it’s first-come, first-served), so lines can be long.
Cost and Hours: Church—free, generally April-Sept Mon-Sat 11:00-15:00, closed Sun and Oct-March. Tower—€7 for 30-minute tour—departures on the half hour April-Sept Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00, July-Aug until 20:00; Oct Mon-Sat 11:00-16:00; closed Sun year-round, last tour departs 30 minutes before closing, Nov-March tourable only by appointment—call 020/689-2565 or email anna@westertorenamsterdam.nl.
While essentially just a fancy cheese emporium, this place does a great job of showcasing Dutch cheese. You can pop into the delightful shop any time for a few samples, or experience an hour-long cheese tasting in the basement (which has just 20 seats—it’s smart to reserve ahead). The tasting session starts with a video that’s somewhere between an ad for cheese and dairy soft porn. Then, with an English-speaking guide, you guillotine six different cheeses and taste them with a nice wine accompaniment.
Cost and Hours: €15 for tasting; Mon-Tue at 13:00 and 15:00, Wed-Sun at 12:00, 13:30, 15:00, and 16:30; book by phone or online, Singel 182, tel. 020/320-6333, wijngaardkaas.nl/en/proeflokaal.
This recently opened and aggressively promoted museum sounds exciting and tells an interesting story—but, for most visitors, it’s not worth the time or money. There aren’t any artifacts on display, and as you shuffle through a series of rooms showing video presentations, you get no sense of the great canalside mansion you came to experience.
Cost and Hours: €12, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, Herrengracht 386, hetgrachtenhuis.nl.
Nearby: Next door is the Biblical Museum, which, like its neighbor, has the potential to be fascinating. Instead, it’s an old-school jumble of all things Biblical, with temporary exhibits that’ll disappoint most visitors (€8, Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun 11:00-17:00, Herrengracht 366-368, tel. 020/624-2436, bijbelsmuseum.nl).
This palace was built as a lavish City Hall (1648-1655), when Holland was a proud new republic and Amsterdam was the richest city on the planet—awash in profit from trade. The building became a “Royal Palace” when Napoleon installed his brother Louis as king (1806). After Napoleon’s fall, it continued as a royal residence for the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange. Today, it’s one of King Willem-Alexander’s official residences, with a single impressive floor open to the public. Visitors can gawk at a grand hall and stroll about 20 rooms branching off from it, all of them lavishly decorated with chandeliers, paintings, statues, and furniture that reflect Amsterdam’s former status as the center of global trade.
Cost and Hours: €7.50, includes audioguide, daily 11:00-17:00 but often closed for official business, tel. 020/620-4060, paleisamsterdam.nl.
Barely newer than the “Old” Church (located in the Red Light District), this 15th-century sanctuary has an intentionally dull interior, after the decoration was removed by 16th-century iconoclastic Protestants seeking to unclutter their communion with God. This is where many Dutch royal weddings and all coronations take place. A steep entrance fee is charged for admission to the church’s popular temporary exhibits, but you can view the church itself for free from the landing above the shop (enter to left of main door and go up the stairs in the gift shop).
Cost and Hours: Free to view from gift-shop balcony, special exhibits-€8-15, audioguide-€3, daily 10:00-17:00, on Dam Square, tel. 020/353-8168, nieuwekerk.nl.
Stepping into this tiny, idyllic courtyard in the city center, you escape into the charm of old Amsterdam. (Please be considerate of the people who live around the courtyard, and don’t photograph the residents or their homes.) Notice house #34, a 500-year-old wooden structure (rare, since repeated fires taught city fathers a trick called brick). Peek into the hidden Catholic church, dating from the time when post-Reformation Dutch Catholics couldn’t worship in public. It’s opposite the English Reformed church, where the Pilgrims worshipped while waiting for their voyage to the New World—marked by a plaque near the door.
Cost and Hours: Free and always open (though the churches have sporadic hours), on Begijnensteeg lane, just off Kalverstraat between #130 and #132, pick up flier at office near entrance, ercadam.nl.
Housed in a 500-year-old former orphanage, this creative museum tries hard to make the city’s history engaging and fun (almost too hard—it recently dropped “history” from its name for fear of putting people off). But the story of Amsterdam is indeed engaging and fun, and this is the only museum in town designed to tell it. Your visit starts with a section called “DNA—City on Pilings to City of Freedom,” which gives a quick overview. Then, with plenty of interactivity and fancy museum tricks, you’ll follow the city’s growth from fishing village to world trade center to hippie haven. On the way you’ll enjoy Rembrandt paintings, good English descriptions, and a particularly interesting section on challenges of the 20th and 21st centuries (life during World War I, the gay scene in the 1920s, squatter riots, drug policy, immigration issues, prostitution, and so on). The museum’s free pedestrian corridor—lined with old-time group portraits—is a powerful teaser.
Cost and Hours: €10, good audioguide-€4.50, Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-17:00, pleasant restaurant, next to Begijnhof at Kalverstraat 92, tel. 020/523-1822, ahm.nl. This museum is a fine place to buy the Museumkaart, which you can then use to skip long lines at various museums (for details, see here).
Although Amsterdam has long been known for its tolerant attitudes, 16th-century politics forced Dutch Catholics to worship discreetly. At this museum near Central Station, you’ll find a fascinating, hidden Catholic church filling the attic of three 17th-century merchants’ houses.
For two centuries (1578-1795), Catholicism in Amsterdam was illegal but tolerated (like pot in the 1970s). When hardline Protestants took power in 1578, Catholic churches were vandalized and shut down, priests and monks rounded up and kicked out of town, and Catholic kids razzed on their way to school. The city’s Catholics were forbidden to worship openly, so they gathered secretly to say Mass in homes and offices. In 1663, a wealthy merchant built Our Lord in the Attic (Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder), one of a handful of places in Amsterdam that served as a secret parish church until Catholics were once again allowed to worship in public.
This unique church—embedded within a townhouse in the middle of the Red Light District—comes with a little bonus: a rare glimpse inside a historic Amsterdam home straight out of a Vermeer painting. Don’t miss the silver collection and other exhibits of daily life from 300 years ago.
Cost and Hours: €8, includes audioguide, Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun and holidays 13:00-17:00, no photos, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40, tel. 020/624-6604, opsolder.nl.
Europe’s most popular ladies of the night tease and tempt here, as they have for centuries, in several hundred display-case windows around Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Oudezijds Voorburgwal, surrounding the Old Church (Oude Kerk, described later). Drunks and druggies make the streets uncomfortable late at night after the gawking tour groups leave (about 22:30), but it’s a fascinating walk earlier in the evening.
The neighborhood, one of Amsterdam’s oldest, has hosted prostitutes since 1200. Prostitution is entirely legal here, and the prostitutes are generally entrepreneurs, renting space and running their own businesses, as well as filling out tax returns and even paying union dues. Popular prostitutes net about €500 a day (for what’s called “S&F” in its abbreviated, printable form, charging €30-50 per customer).
Amsterdam has two sex museums: one in the Red Light District and another one a block in front of Central Station on Damrak street. While visiting one can be called sightseeing, visiting both is harder to explain. The one on Damrak is cheaper and more interesting. Here’s a comparison:
The Erotic Museum in the Red Light District is five floors of uninspired paintings, videos, old photos, and sculpture (€7, not covered by Museumkaart, daily 11:00-1:00 in the morning, along the canal at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 54, tel. 020/624-7303).
The Damrak Sex Museum tells the story of pornography from Roman times through 1960. Every sexual deviation is revealed in various displays. The museum includes early French pornographic photos; memorabilia from Europe, India, and Asia; a Marilyn Monroe tribute; and some S&M displays (€4, not covered by Museumkaart, daily 9:30-23:00, Damrak 18, a block in front of Central Station, tel. 020/622-8376).
This 14th-century landmark—the needle around which the Red Light District spins—has served as a reassuring welcome-home symbol to sailors, a refuge to the downtrodden, an ideological battlefield of the Counter-Reformation, and, today, a tourist sight with a dull interior.
Cost and Hours: €5, more for temporary exhibits, Mon-Sat 11:00-17:00, Sun 13:00-17:00, tel. 020/625-8284, oudekerk.nl. It’s 167 steps to the top of the church tower (€7, April-Sept Thu-Sat 13:00-17:00, closed Sun-Wed and Oct-March).
Three related establishments cluster together along a canal in the Red Light District. The Hash, Marijuana, and Hemp Museum, worth ▲, is the most worthwhile of the three; it shares a ticket with the less substantial Hemp Gallery. Right nearby is Cannabis College, a free nonprofit center that’s “dedicated to ending the global war against the cannabis plant through public education.” For more information, see “Smoking in Amsterdam” on here.
Cost and Hours: Museum and gallery—€9, daily 10:00-23:00, Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148, tel. 020/624-8926, hashmuseum.com. College—free, daily 11:00-19:00, Oudezijds Achterburgwal 124, tel. 020/423-4420, cannabiscollege.com.
This huge, striking, multistory building holds almost 1,400 seats—many with wraparound views of the city—and lots of Internet terminals, not to mention Wi-Fi (€1/30 minutes, sign up at the desk). It’s a classy place to check email. The library, which opened in 2007, demonstrates the Dutch people’s dedication to a freely educated populace (the right to information, they point out, is enshrined in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Everything’s relaxed and inviting, from the fun kids’ zone and international magazine and newspaper section on the ground floor to the cafeteria, with its dramatic view-terrace dining on the top (La Place, €10 meals, salad bar, daily 10:00-21:00). The library is a 10-minute walk from the east end of Central Station.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 10:00-22:00, tel. 020/523-0900, oba.nl.
This kid-friendly science museum is a city landmark. Its distinctive copper-green building, jutting up from the water like a sinking ship, has prompted critics to nickname it the Titanic. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano (known for Paris’ Pompidou Center and Berlin’s Sony Center complex on Potsdamer Platz), the building’s shape reflects its nautical surroundings as well as the curve of the underwater tunnel it straddles.
Several floors feature permanent and rotating exhibits that allow kids (and adults) to explore topics such as light, sound, and gravity, and play with bubbles, topple giant dominoes, and draw with lasers. The museum’s motto: “It’s forbidden NOT to touch!” Whirring, room-size pinball machines reputedly teach kids about physics. English explanations are available. Up top is a restaurant with a great city view, as well as a sloping terrace that becomes a popular “beach” in summer, complete with lounge chairs, a sandbox, and a lively bar. On the bottom floor is a cafeteria offering €5 sandwiches.
Cost and Hours: €13.50, June-Aug daily 10:00-17:00, Sept-May generally closed Mon, tel. 020/531-3233, e-nemo.nl. The roof terrace—open until 19:00 in the summer—is generally free.
Getting There: It’s above the entrance to the IJ tunnel at Oosterdok 2. From Central Station, you can walk there in 15 minutes, or take bus #22, #42, or #43 to the Kadijksplein stop.
This huge, kid-friendly collection of model ships, maps, and sea-battle paintings fills the 300-year-old Dutch Navy Arsenal (cleverly located a little ways from the city center, as this was where they stored the gunpowder). The museum’s core collection, on the east side of the courtyard, includes globes, an exhibit on the city’s busy shipping port, original navigational tools, displays of ship ornamentation, and a beautifully lit gallery of maritime paintings, depicting dramatic 17th-century naval battles against the British and Romantic seascapes from the 19th century. On the west side of the courtyard are exhibits on whaling, and seafaring in the Dutch Golden Age. Just outside the museum is a replica of the Amsterdam, an 18th-century cargo ship. Given the Dutch seafaring heritage, this is an appropriately important and impressive place.
Cost and Hours: €15 covers both museum and ship, both open daily 9:00-17:00, bus #22 or #48 from Central Station to Kattenburgerplein 1, tel. 020/523-2222, scheepvaartmuseum.nl.
he newest and most striking feature of the Amsterdam skyline is EYE, a film museum and cinema housed in an übersleek modern building immediately across the water from Central Station. Heralding the coming gentrification of the north side of the IJ, EYE (a play on “IJ”) is a complex of museum spaces and four theaters playing mostly art films (shown in their original language, with selections organized around various themes). Its many other offerings include a monthly program of silent films with live musical accompaniment, special exhibits on film-related themes, a free permanent exhibit in the basement, a shop, and a trendy terrace café with great waterside seating. Helpful attendants at the reception desk can get you oriented.
Cost and Hours: General entry is free, films cost €10, and exhibits cost around €10 (no cash accepted, but standard US credit cards OK), exhibits open 11:00-18:00, cinemas open daily at 10:00 until last screening (ticket office usually closes at 22:00 or 23:00), tel. 020/589-1400, eyefilm.nl.
Getting There: From the docks behind Central Station, catch the free ferry (labeled Buiksloterweg) across the river and walk left to IJpromenade 1.
To reach the following sights from the train station, take tram #9 or #14. All of these sights (except the Tropical Museum) are close to one another and can easily be connected into an interesting walk—or, better yet, a bike ride. Several of the sights in southeast Amsterdam cluster near the large square, Waterlooplein, dominated by the modern opera house.
For more than a hundred years, the Jewish Quarter flea market has raged daily except Sunday (at the Waterlooplein metro station, behind Rembrandt’s House). The long, narrow park is filled with stalls selling cheap clothes, hippie stuff, old records, tourist knickknacks, and garage-sale junk.
A middle-aged Rembrandt lived here from 1639 to 1658 after his wife’s death, as his popularity and wealth dwindled down to obscurity and bankruptcy. As you enter, ask when the next etching demonstration is scheduled and pick up the excellent audioguide.
Tour the place this way: Explore Rembrandt’s reconstructed house (filled with exactly what his bankruptcy inventory of 1656 said he owned); imagine him at work in his reconstructed studio; marvel at his personal collection of exotic objects, many of which he included in paintings; attend the etching demonstration and ask the printer to explain the etching process (drawing in soft wax on a metal plate that’s then dipped in acid, inked up, and printed); and then, for the finale, enjoy several rooms of original Rembrandt etchings. You’re not likely to see a single painting, but the master’s etchings are marvelous and well-described. I came away wanting to know more about the man and his art.
Cost and Hours: €10, includes audioguide, daily 10:00-17:00, etching demonstrations almost hourly, Jodenbreestraat 4, tel. 020/520-0400, rembrandthuis.nl.
Many shops in this “city of diamonds” offer tours. These tours come with two parts: a chance to see experts behind magnifying glasses polishing the facets of precious diamonds, followed by a visit to an intimate sales room to see (and perhaps buy) a mighty shiny yet very tiny souvenir.
The handy and professional Gassan Diamonds facility fills a huge warehouse one block from Rembrandt’s House. A visit here plops you in the big-tour-group fray (notice how each tour group has a color-coded sticker so they know which guide gets the commission on what they buy). You’ll get a sticker, join a free 15-minute tour to see a polisher at work, and hear a general explanation of the process. Then you’ll have an opportunity to sit down and have color and clarity described and illustrated with diamonds ranging in value from $100 to $30,000. Before or after, you can have a free cup of coffee in the waiting room across the parking lot (daily 9:00-17:00, Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 173, tel. 020/622-5333, gassan.com, handy WC). Another company, Coster, also offers diamond demos. They’re not as good as Gassan’s, but convenient if you’re near the Rijksmuseum (described on here).
This 1687 townhouse is a must for devotees of Hummel-topped sugar bowls and Louis XVI-style wainscoting. For others, it’s a pleasant look inside a typical (rich) home with much of the original furniture and decor. Forget the history and just browse through a dozen rooms of beautiful saccharine objects from the 19th century.
Cost and Hours: €8, audioguide-€3, Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-17:00; take tram #4, #9, or #14 to Rembrandtplein—it’s a 2-minute walk southeast to Herengracht 605, tel. 020/523-1822, willetholthuysen.nl. The museum also hands out a free brochure that covers the house’s history.
This hardworking little museum fills an elegant 1664 canal house with 500 years of bag and purse history—from before the invention of pockets through the 20th century. The collection, with lots of artifacts, is well-described in English and gives a fascinating insight into fashion through the ages that fans of handbags will love, and their partners might even enjoy. The creative and surreal bag styles of the 1920s and 1930s are particularly interesting.
Cost and Hours: €8.50, daily 10:00-17:00, three floors—one houses temporary exhibits and two hold the permanent collection, start on top floor, behind Rembrandtplein at Herengracht 573, tel. 020/524-6452, tassenmuseum.nl.
The famous Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, loans art to Amsterdam for a series of rotating, and often exquisitely beautiful, special exhibits in the Amstelhof, a 17th-century former nursing home that takes up a whole city block along the Amstel River.
Why is there Russian-owned art in Amsterdam? The Hermitage collection in St. Petersburg is so vast that they can only show about 5 percent of it at any one time. Therefore, the Hermitage is establishing satellite collections around the world. The one here in Amsterdam is the biggest, filling the large Amstelhof. By law, the great Russian collection can only be out of the country for six months at a time, so the collection is always changing (check the museum’s website to see what’s on during your visit). Curators in Amsterdam make a point to display art that complements—rather than just repeats—what the city’s other museums show so well. The one small permanent “History Hermitage” exhibit explains the historic connection between the Dutch (Orange) and Russian (Romanov) royal families.
Cost and Hours: Generally €15, but price varies with exhibit; audioguide-€4, daily 10:00-17:00; come later in the day to avoid crowds, mandatory free bag check, café, Nieuwe Herengracht 14, tram #9 from the train station, recorded info tel. 020/530-7488, hermitage.nl.
This is a unique oasis of tranquility within the city (no mobile phones are allowed, because “our collection of plants is a precious community—treat it with respect”). One of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, it dates from 1638, when medicinal herbs were grown here. Today, among its 6,000 different kinds of plants—most of which were collected by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries—you’ll find medicinal herbs, cacti, several greenhouses (one with a fluttery butterfly house—a hit with kids), and a tropical palm house. Much of it is described in English: “A Dutch merchant snuck a coffee plant out of Ethiopia, which ended up in this garden in 1706. This first coffee plant in Europe was the literal granddaddy of the coffee cultures of Brazil—long the world’s biggest coffee producer.”
Cost and Hours: €7.50, not covered by Museumkaart, daily 10:00-17:00, Plantage Middenlaan 2A, tel. 020/625-9021, dehortus.nl. The inviting Orangery Café serves tapas.
This interesting museum tells the story of the Netherlands’ Jews through three centuries, serving as a good introduction to Judaism and Jewish customs and religious traditions. Originally opened in 1932, the museum was forced to close during the Nazi years. Recent renovations have brought it into the 21st century. Its current location comprises four historic former synagogues that have been joined by steel and glass to make one modern complex.
The centerpiece of the museum is the Great Synagogue. First see its ground floor (for an overview of Jewish culture), then go upstairs to the women’s gallery (for history from 1600 to 1900). From there, follow the sky bridge to the New Synagogue (for the 20th century story), and poke into the Aanbouw Annex (contemporary exhibits). Then, with the same ticket, finish your visit by crossing the street to the Portuguese Synagogue, with its treasury.
Cost and Hours: €12, includes Portuguese Synagogue, more for special exhibits, ticket also covers Dutch Theater—see next listing; museum daily 11:00-17:00, Portuguese Synagogue daily 10:00-16:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing; free audioguide, displays all have English explanations, children’s museum, Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 2, tel. 020/531-0310, jhm.nl. The museum has a modern, minimalist, kosher café.
Once a lively theater in the Jewish neighborhood, and today a moving memorial, this building was used as an assembly hall for local Jews destined for Nazi concentration camps. On the wall, 6,700 family names pay tribute to the 104,000 Jews deported and killed by the Nazis. Some 70,000 victims spent time here, awaiting transfer to concentration camps. Upstairs is a small history exhibit with a model of the ghetto, plus photos and memorabilia (such as shoes and letters) of some victims, putting a human face on the staggering numbers. Television monitors show actual footage of the Nazis rounding up Amsterdam’s Jews. You can also see a few costumes from the days when the building was a theater. While the exhibit is small, it offers plenty to think about. Back in the ground-floor courtyard, notice the hopeful messages that visiting school groups attach to the wooden tulips.
Cost and Hours: Covered by €12 Jewish Historical Museum ticket, daily 11:00-16:00, Plantage Middenlaan 24, tel. 020/531-0340, hollandscheschouwburg.nl.
This is an impressive look at how the Dutch resisted (or collaborated with) their Nazi occupiers from 1940 to 1945. You’ll see propaganda movie clips, study forged ID cards under a magnifying glass, and read about ingenious and courageous efforts—big and small—to hide local Jews from the Germans and undermine the Nazi regime.
The museum does a good job of presenting the Dutch people’s struggle with a timeless moral dilemma: Is it better to collaborate with a wicked system to effect small-scale change—or to resist outright, even if your efforts are doomed to fail? You’ll learn why some parts of Dutch society opted for the former, and others for the latter. While proudly describing acts of extraordinary courage, it doesn’t shy away from the less heroic side of the story (for example, the fact that most of the population, though troubled by the persecution of their Jewish countrymen, only became actively anti-Nazi after gentile Dutch men were deported to forced-labor camps). The exhibit is interspersed with riveting first-person accounts of what it was like to go underground, strike, starve, or return from the camps—with every tragic detail translated into English.
Cost and Hours: €8 includes audioguide; Tue-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Mon 11:00-17:00, English descriptions, no flash photos, mandatory and free bag check, tram #9 from station or #14 from Dam Square, Plantage Kerklaan 61. Tel. 020/620-2535, verzetsmuseum.org.
Nearby: Two recommended eateries—Restaurant Plancius and Café Koosje—are on the same block as the museum (see listings on here), and Amsterdam’s famous zoo is just across the street.
As close to the Third World as you’ll get without lots of vaccinations, this imaginative museum offers wonderful re-creations of tropical life and explanations of Third World problems (largely created by Dutch colonialism and the slave trade). Ride the elevator to the top floor, and circle your way down through this immense collection, opened in 1926 to give the Dutch people a peek at their vast colonial holdings. Don’t miss the display case where you can see and hear the world’s most exotic musical instruments. The Ekeko cafeteria serves tropical food.
Cost and Hours: €10, Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, closed Mon, tram #9 to Linnaeusstraat 2, tel. 020/568-8200, tropenmuseum.nl.
Many Amsterdam hotels serve breakfast until 11:00 because so many people—visitors and locals—live for nighttime in this city.
On summer evenings, people flock to the main squares for drinks at outdoor tables. Leidseplein is the liveliest square, surrounded by theaters, restaurants, and nightclubs. The slightly quieter Rembrandtplein (with adjoining Thorbeckeplein and nearby Reguliersdwarsstraat) is the center of gay clubs and nightlife. Spui features a full city block of bars. And Nieuwmarkt, on the east edge of the Red Light District, is a bit rough, but is probably the least touristy.
The Red Light District (particularly Oudezijds Achterburgwal) is less sleazy in the early evening, and almost carnival-like as the neon lights come on and the streets fill with tour groups. But it starts to feel scuzzy after about 22:30.
Newsstands sell Time Out Amsterdam and Dutch newspapers (Thu editions generally list events). The free, irreverent Boom! has the basics on the youth and nightlife scene, and is packed with practical tips and countercultural insights (includes €5 discount on Boom Chicago comedy theater act described on next page; available at TIs and many bars). Uitkrant is in Dutch, but it’s just a calendar of events, and anyone can figure out the name of the event and its date, time, and location (available at TIs, bars, and bookstores).
Box Office: The AUB/Last Minute Ticket Shop at Stadsschouwburg Theater is the best one-stop-shopping box office for theater, classical music, and major rock shows. The Last Minute window sells half-price, same-day tickets to certain shows; half-price sales start at noon (Mon-Fri 10:00-19:00, Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 12:00-18:00, Leidseplein 26, tel. 0900-0191—€0.40/minute, lastminuteticketshop.nl).
You’ll find classical music at the Concertgebouw (free 12:30 lunch concerts on Wed; arrive at 12:00 for best first-come, first-serve seating; at far south end of Museumplein, tel. 0900-671-8345, concertgebouw.nl). For chamber music and contemporary works, visit the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, a mod concert hall on the waterfront, near the train station (Piet Heinkade 1, tel. 020/788-2000, muziekgebouw.nl). For opera and dance, try the opera house in the Stopera building (Waterlooplein 22, tel. 020/625-5455). In the summer, Vondelpark hosts open-air concerts.
Three of Amsterdam’s historic churches have extensive music programs. In summer, the Westerkerk has free lunchtime concerts on Fridays at 13:00 (April-Oct) plus an annual Bach organ concert cycle in August (Prinsengracht 281, tel. 020/624-7766, westerkerk.nl). The New Church offers periodic organ concerts and a religious music festival in June (included in €8 church entry, covered by Museumkaart, Dam Square, tel. 020/638-6909, nieuwekerk.nl). The Red Light District’s Old Church (Oude Kerk) has carillon concerts Tuesday at 14:00 and Saturday at 16:00, and holds an organ music competition in early September (Oudekerksplein, tel. 020/625-8284, oudekerk.nl).
Two rock music (and hip-hop) clubs near Leidseplein are Melkweg (Lijnbaansgracht 234a, tel. 020/531-8181, melkweg.nl) and Paradiso (Weteringschans 6, tel. 020/626-4521, paradiso.nl). They present big-name acts that you might recognize...if you’re younger than I am.
Jazz has a long tradition at the Bimhuis nightclub, now housed in a black box jutting out from the Muziekgebouw performance hall, right on the waterfront. Its great bar has citywide views, and is open to the public after concerts (Piet Heinkade 3, tel. 020/788-2188, bimhuis.nl).
The nearby town of Haarlem offers free pipe-organ concerts on Tuesday evenings in summer at its 15th-century church, the Grote Kerk (at 20:15 mid-May-mid-Oct, additional concerts Thu at 16:00 July-Aug; see next chapter).
Boom Chicago, an R-rated comedy improv act, was started 15 years ago by a group of Americans on a graduation tour. They have been entertaining tourists and locals ever since. The two-hour English-only show is a series of rude, clever, and high-energy improvisational skits offering a raucous look at Dutch culture and local tourism (€22 weekdays, generally €26 Fri-Sat; Sun-Fri shows at 20:15, Sat at 22:00, no Tue shows Jan-March; confirm times when you buy your ticket, ticket office open from 16:00 until 15 minutes after curtain time, tel. 0900-266-6244, boomchicago.nl). It all happens at the Rozentheater in the Jordaan district (Rozengracht 117, bar service available).
They do Can’t Dutch This (a collection of their greatest hits over the years) as well as new shows for locals and return customers. They also host stand-up comics on their European tours.
Amsterdam is one of the world centers for experimental live theater (much of it in English). Many theaters cluster around the street called the Nes, which stretches south from Dam Square.
In the Netherlands, most movies are subtitled, rather than dubbed, so English-only speakers have plenty of cinematic options. It’s not unusual for movies at many cinemas to be sold out—consider buying tickets during the day. Catch modern movies in the 1920s setting of the classic Tuschinski Theater (between Muntplein and Rembrandtplein, described on here).
The new and splashy EYE Film Institute Netherlands, across the water from Central Station, is a very memorable place to see a movie (described on here).
Several museums stay open late. The Anne Frank House always stays open until at least 19:00 year-round; it’s open daily until 22:00 in July and August and closes late on Saturday year-round (22:00 peak-season, 21:00 off-season). The Hermitage Amsterdam stays open until 20:00 on Wednesday, and the Stedelijk Museum’s collection of modern art is on view until 22:00 on Thursday. The Van Gogh Museum is open on Friday until 22:00 and sometimes has music and a wine bar in the lobby.
The Hash, Marijuana, and Hemp Museum is open daily until 23:00. And the sex museums always stay open late (Damrak Sex Museum until 23:00, Erotic Museum until 1:00 in the morning).
Amsterdammers get their skating fix every Friday night in summer and early fall in Vondelpark. Huge groups don inline skates and meet at the round bench near the Vondel Pavilion (around 20:15, fridaynightskate.com). Anyone can join in. You can rent skates at the shop at the far end of the park (Vondeltuin Rental, daily 11:00-20:00 in good weather; first hour-€5, then €2.50/hour, €20 deposit and ID required; price includes helmet, wrist guards, and knee guards; at southeastern edge of park, mobile 0627-565-576, vondeltuin.nl).
Greeting a new day by descending steep stairs and stepping into a leafy canalside scene—graceful bridges, historic gables, and bikes clattering on cobbles—is a fun part of experiencing Amsterdam. But Amsterdam is a tough city for budget accommodations, and any hotel room under €140 (or B&B room under €100) will have rough edges. Still, you can sleep well and safely in a great location for €100 per double.
I’ve grouped my hotel listings into three neighborhoods, each of which has its own character.
West Amsterdam (which includes the Jordaan) has Old World ambience, with quiet canals, old gabled buildings, and candle-lit restaurants. It’s also just minutes on foot to Dam Square. Many of my hotels are charming, friendly gabled mansions. The downside here is that you’ll pay more and likely have lots of stairs to climb.
Southwest Amsterdam has two main areas for accommodations: near Leidseplein (more central) and near Vondelpark (farther away). The streets near the bustling Leidseplein have restaurants, tourist buzz, nightlife, canalside charm, B&B coziness, and walkable (or easy tram) access to the center of town. Farther afield is the quieter semi-suburban neighborhood around Vondelpark and Museumplein, close to the Rijks and Van Gogh museums. You’ll find good hotel values and ready access to Vondelpark and the art museums, but it’s a half-hour walk (or 10-minute tram ride) to Dam Square.
Staying in Central Amsterdam is ideal for people who like shopping, tourist sights, and easy access to public transportation (including Central Station). On the downside, the area has traffic noise, concrete, and urban grittiness, and the hotels can lack character.
Some national holidays merit your making reservations far in advance. Amsterdam is jammed during tulip season (late March-mid-May), conventions, festivals, and on summer weekends. During peak season, some hoteliers won’t take weekend bookings for those staying fewer than two or three nights.
Around just about every corner in downtown Amsterdam, you’ll see construction: cranes for big transportation projects and small crews of bricklayers repairing the wobbly, cobbled streets that line the canals. Canalside rooms can come with great views—and early-morning construction-crew noise. If you’re a light sleeper, ask the hotelier for a quiet room in the back. Smoking is illegal in hotel rooms throughout the Netherlands. Parking in Amsterdam is even worse than driving—if you must park a car, ask your hotelier for advice.
Canal houses were built tight. They have steep stairs with narrow treads; almost none have elevators. If steep stairs are potentially problematic, book a hotel with an elevator.
If you’d rather trade big-city action for small-town coziness, consider sleeping in Haarlem, 20 minutes away by train (see next chapter).
These hotels, a half-mile apart, both face historic canals. They come with lovely lobbies (some more ornate than others) and rooms that can feel like they’re from another century. This area oozes elegance and class, and it is fairly quiet at night.
$$$ The Toren is a chandeliered, historic mansion with a pleasant, canalside setting and a peaceful garden out back for guests. Run by Eric and Petra Toren, this smartly renovated, super-romantic hotel is classy yet friendly, with 38 rooms in a great location on a quiet street two blocks northeast of the Anne Frank House. The capable staff is a great source of local advice. The gilt-frame, velvet-curtained rooms are an opulent splurge (tiny Sb-€115, Db-€200, deluxe Db-€250, third person-€40, prices bump way up during conferences and decrease in winter, rates do not include 6 percent tax, breakfast buffet-€14, air-con, elevator, Internet access and Wi-Fi, Keizersgracht 164, tel. 020/622-6033, thetoren.nl, info@thetoren.nl). To get the best prices, check their website for their “daily rate,” book direct, and in the “remarks” field, ask for Rick Steves cash discount.
$$$ Hotel Ambassade, lacing together 59 rooms in a maze of connected houses, is elegant and fresh, sitting aristocratically on Herengracht. The staff is top-notch, and the public areas (including a library and a breakfast room) are palatial, with antique furnishings and modern art (Sb-€210, Db-€265, more expensive deluxe canal-view doubles and suites, Tb-€245-295, extra bed-€40, ask for Rick Steves discount when booking, see website for specials, rates do not include 6 percent tax, breakfast-€18, air-con, elevator, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, Herengracht 341, for location see map on here, tel. 020/555-0222, ambassade-hotel.nl, info@ambassade-hotel.nl, Roos—pronounced “Rose”).
These places have basic rooms—some downright spare, none plush—and most do without an elevator or other extras. Each of them, however, offers a decent night’s sleep in a lovely area of town.
$$$ Wiechmann Hotel’s 37 pricey rooms are sparsely furnished with just the dark-wood essentials, but they’re spacious, and the gezellig public areas are chock-full of Old World charm (Sb-€70-110, Db-€150-170, Tb-€210, Qb-€225, Db suite-€265, check online for best price, 15 percent cheaper for 3 or more nights if booking through their website, some canal views, back rooms are quiet, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, nicely located at Prinsengracht 328-332, tel. 020/626-3321, hotelwiechmann.nl, info@hotelwiechmann.nl, John and Taz the welcome dog).
$$ Hotel Brouwer is a woody and homey old-time place. It’s situated in a tranquil yet central location on the Singel canal and rents eight rooms with canal views, old furniture, and soulful throw rugs. It’s so popular that it’s often booked four or five months in advance—reserve as soon as possible (Sb-€60, Db-€95, Tb-€120, rates don’t include 6 percent tax, cash only, breakfast-€7, small elevator, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, located between Central Station and Dam Square, near Lijnbaanssteeg at Singel 83, tel. 020/624-6358, hotelbrouwer.nl, akita@hotelbrouwer.nl).
$$ Hotel Hoksbergen is a welcoming, well-run canalside place in a peaceful location where helpful, hands-on owners Tony and Bert rent 14 rooms with newly remodeled bathrooms (Db-€98, Tb-€143, five Qb apartments-€165-198, fans, free Wi-Fi, Singel 301, tel. 020/626-6043, hotelhoksbergen.com, info@hotelhoksbergen.nl).
$$ Hotel Hegra is cozy, with nine rooms filling a 17th-century merchant’s house overlooking the canal (Db-€80-€160, Tb-€119-149, breakfast-€6.50, some rooms with canal view, pay Internet access, free Wi-Fi, bike and boat rentals, just north of Wolvenstraat at Herengracht 269, tel. 020/623-7877, hotelhegra.nl, info@hotelhegra.nl, Robert).
$$ Hotel Chic & Basic Amsterdam has a boutique-hotel feel, even though it’s part of a Spanish chain. With its mod utilitarian design and younger clientele, it provides a break from all the lace curtains. Located in a quiet neighborhood near Central Station, it offers 25 minimalist rooms and public areas that are bathed in space-age white. Rooms with canal views are pricier and breezier (Sb-€95-130, Db-€120-155, €20 more on holiday weekends, less in winter, cheaper prices are for less sleek “vintage” rooms without canal views, free coffee, continental breakfast, fans on request, tangled floor plan connecting three canalside buildings, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, Herengracht 13, tel. 020/522-2345, chicandbasic.com, amsterdam@chicandbasic.com, manager Bernardo Campo).
$$ Hotel Van Onna has 41 simple, industrial-strength rooms, some with canal views. The price is right, and the leafy location makes you want to crack out your easel. The popular top-floor attic rooms are cozy hideaways (Sb-€45-65, Db-€80-110, Tb-€125-145, Qb-€170-200, price depends on season, 5 percent more with credit card, cot-like beds are sufficient, no phones or TVs, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, in the Jordaan at Bloemgracht 104, tel. 020/626-5801, hotelvanonna.nl, info@hotelvanonna.nl, Leon and Tsibo).
B&Bs offer a chance to feel like a local during your visit. The first and third listings here are in a peaceful residential neighborhood that’s a short walk from Central Station; the second and fourth are in slightly busier areas. The last two listings are services that manage and rent many apartments and rooms in West Amsterdam.
$$ Boogaard’s B&B is a delightful pad on a narrow lane right out of Mister Rogers’ neighborhood. The B&B, which has four comfortable rooms and an inviting public living room, is run by Peter, an American expat opera singer. Peter, who clearly enjoys hosting Americans in his home, serves his fresh-baked goodies at breakfast and treats you royally. As his place is popular with my readers, it’s smart to book as soon as possible—even as much as six months in advance (Db-€130, 2-night minimum; furnished family apartment with kitchen-€250 for 4 people, 3-night minimum; prices don’t include 6 percent tax, air-con, free Wi-Fi, DVD library, free laundry, loaner cell phones and laptops, Langestraat 34, tel. 064/358-6835, boogaardsbnb.com, info@boogaardsbnb.com).
$$ Maes B&B (pronounced “mahss”) is a dynamite value, renting tastefully cozy rooms for much less than you’d pay at a hotel. Instead of a reception desk, you get antique-filled rooms, the use of a full kitchen, and a warm welcome from Ken and Vlad. They also run Heren B&B, a crisply modern space around the corner from Maes, with large rooms—one with a canal view (both locations: Sb-€105, Db-€125, extra bed-€30, suites and full apartments also available, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, if street noise bothers you ask for room in back, Herenstraat 26, tel. 020/427-5165, bedandbreakfastamsterdam.com, maesinfo@xs4all.nl).
$$ Herengracht 21 B&B has two stylish, intimate rooms in a canal house filled with art and run by lovely Loes Olden (2-floor Db-€125, canal-view Db-€135, air-con, free Wi-Fi, Herengracht 21, tel. 020/625-6305, mobile 06-2812-0962, herengracht21.nl, loes@herengracht21.nl).
$$ Sunhead of 1617 B&B justifiably calls itself a “bed and delicious breakfast,” but you’re just as likely to remember the thoughtfully decorated, flower-filled rooms and the personality of owner Carlos (Db-€90-150, Db apartment-€130-150, more on holidays, free Wi-Fi, mobile 06-2865-3572, Herengracht 152, sunhead.com, carlos@sunhead.com).
$$ With Truelove Guesthouse, a room-rental service, you’ll feel like you’re staying at your Dutch friends’ house while they’re out of town. Sean and Paul—whose tiny antique store on Prinsenstraat doubles as the reception desk for their rental service—have 15 rooms and apartments in houses sprinkled throughout the northern end of the Jordaan neighborhood. The apartments are stylish and come with kitchens and pull-out beds (Db-€90-140, Db apartment-€130-150, prices soft in off-season and midweek, 10 percent more with credit card, 2-night minimum on weekends, no breakfast, pick up keys in store at Prinsenstraat 4, store tel. 020/320-2500, mobile 06-2480-5672, cosyandwarm-amsterdam.com, trueloveantiek@zonnet.nl).
$ Frederic Rent-a-Bike & Guestrooms, with a bike-rental shop as the reception, is a collection of private rooms on a gorgeous canal just outside the Jordaan, a five-minute walk from Central Station. Frederic has amassed about 100 beds, ranging from dumpy €75 doubles behind the bike-rental shop, to spacious and elegant apartments (from €46/person; these places require a 2-night minimum, occasionally more). Some places are ideal for families and groups of up to eight. He also rents houseboat apartments. All are displayed on his website (phone bookings preferred, book with credit card but pay with cash, no breakfast, Brouwersgracht 78, tel. 020/624-5509, frederic.nl, info@frederic.nl, Frederic and Marjolijn). His excellent bike shop, which serves as the reception, is open daily 9:00-17:30 (€15/24 hours). My readers who rent a houseboat or apartment get a discount on Frederic’s bikes.
The area around Amsterdam’s rip-roaring nightlife center (Leidseplein) is colorful, comfortable, and convenient. These canalside mom-and-pop places are within a five-minute walk of rowdy Leidseplein, but generally are in quiet and typically Dutch settings. Within walking distance of the major museums, and steps off the tram line, this neighborhood offers a perfect mix of charm and location.
$$ Hotel de Leydsche Hof, a hidden gem located on a canal, doesn’t charge extra for its views. Its four large rooms are a symphony in white, some overlooking a tree-filled backyard, others a canal. Frits and Loes give their big, elegant, old building a stylish air, but be prepared for lots of stairs. Breakfast is served in the grand canal-front room (Db-€120, cash only, 2-night minimum, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, Leidsegracht 14, tel. 020/638-2327, mobile 06-5125-8588, freewebs.com/leydschehof, loespiller@planet.nl).
$$ Wildervanck B&B, run by Helene and Sjoerd Wildervanck, offers two tasteful rooms in an elegant 17th-century canal house (big Db on first floor-€135, Db with twin beds on ground floor-€130, extra bed-€35, 2-night minimum, breakfast in their pleasant dining room, free Wi-Fi, family has three girls, just west of Leidsestraat at Keizersgracht 498, tel. 020/623-3846, wildervanck.com, info@wildervanck.com).
$$ Hotel Keizershof is wonderfully Dutch, with six bright, airy rooms—some with canal views—in a 17th-century canal house with a lush garden and a fine living room. A very steep spiral staircase leads to rooms named after old-time Hollywood stars. The enthusiastic hospitality of Mrs. de Vries and her daughter, Hanneke, give this place a friendly, almost small-town charm (S-€70, D-€95, Ds-€110, Db-€115, 2-night minimum, reserve with credit card but pay with cash, free Internet access and Wi-Fi; tram #16, #24, or #25 from Central Station; Keizersgracht 618, where Keizersgracht crosses Nieuwe Spiegelstraat; tel. 020/622-2855, hotelkeizershof.nl, info@hotelkeizershof.nl).
These options cluster around Vondelpark in a safe neighborhood. Though they don’t have a hint of Old Dutch or romantic canalside flavor, they’re reasonable values and only a short walk from the action. Unless noted, these places have elevators. Many are in a pleasant nook between rollicking Leidseplein and the park, and most are a 5- to 15-minute walk to the Rijks and Van Gogh museums. They are easily connected with Central Station by trams #1, #2, and/or #5.
$$$ Hotel Piet Hein offers 81 stylishly sleek yet comfortable rooms as well as a swanky lounge, good breakfast, and a pleasant garden, all on a quiet street (Sb-€100, Db-€165, extra-posh Db-€200-250, Tb-€205, extra bed-€30, specials on website, breakfast-€15, air-con in some rooms, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, Vossiusstraat 51-53, tel. 020/662-7205, hotelpiethein.nl, info@hotelpiethein.nl).
$$$ Hotel Fita has 15 bright rooms in a great location—100 yards from the Van Gogh Museum, an even shorter hop from the tram stop, and on a corner with no car traffic. The decor may not be the latest, but all the amenities are there—including espresso machines in every room—and the welcome is very warm (Sb-€109, two small ground-floor Db-€139, Db-€139-169 depending on size, Tb-€205, free Internet access and Wi-Fi in lobby, free laundry service, Jan Luijkenstraat 37, tel. 020/679-0976, fita.nl, info@fita.nl, owner Roel de Haas).
$$ Hotel Filosoof greets you with Aristotle and Plato in the foyer and classical music in its generous lobby. Its 38 rooms, some across the street from reception, are decorated with themes; the Egyptian room has a frieze of hieroglyphics. Philosophers’ sayings hang on the walls, and thoughtful travelers wander down the halls or sit in the garden, rooted in deep discussion. The rooms are small, but the hotel is endearing (Db-€110-130 weeknights, €130-150 Fri-Sat, bigger “deluxe” rooms-€20 extra, suites-€60 extra, prices depend on season and don’t include 6 percent tax; breakfast-€15, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, 3-minute walk from tram line #1, get off at Jan Pieter Heijestraat, Anna van Den Vondelstraat 6, tel. 020/683-3013, hotelfilosoof.nl, reservations@hotelfilosoof.nl).
$$ Hotel Alexander is a modern, newly renovated 32-room hotel on a quiet street. Some of the rooms overlook the garden patio out back (Db-€135, prices soft in winter—call or check their website for best deal, breakfast-€10, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, tel. 020/589-4020, Vondelstraat 44-46, hotelalexander.nl, info@hotelalexander.nl).
$$ Tulips B&B, with a bunch of cozy rooms—some on a canal—is run by a friendly Englishwoman, Karen, and her Dutch husband, Paul. Rooms are clean, white, and bright, with red carpeting, plants, and flowers (D-€85, Db-€120, suite-€150, extra bed-€30, discounts for longer stays, cash only, prefer 3-night stays on weekends, includes milk-and-cereal breakfast, no shoes, no elevator but not a lot of stairs, free Wi-Fi, south end of Vondelpark at Sloterkade 65, 7-minute walk from trams #1 and #2, directions sent when you book, tel. 020/679-2753, bedandbreakfastamsterdam.net, rooms@bedandbreakfastamsterdam.net).
$$ Hotel Hestia, on a safe street, is efficient and family-run, with 18 clean, airy, and generally spacious rooms (Sb-€83-93, very small Db-€101-107, standard Db-€128-148, Tb-€158-176, Qb-€188-206, Quint/b-€218-236, can be less in winter—check website for best price, Roemer Visscherstraat 7, tel. 020/618-0801, hotel-hestia.nl, info@hotel-hestia.nl, Arnaud).
$$ Hotel Parkzicht, an old-fashioned, no-frills, dark-wood place with extremely steep stairs, rents 13 big, plain, and somewhat frayed rooms on a street bordering Vondelpark (S-€49, Sb-€59, Db-€79-92, Tb-€120-140, closed Nov-March, no elevator, free Wi-Fi, some noise from neighboring youth hostel, Roemer Visscherstraat 33, tel. 020/618-1954, parkzicht.nl, hotel@parkzicht.nl).
You won’t get a warm welcome at either of the two following hotels. But if you’re looking for a no-nonsense room that’s convenient to plenty of tram lines, these hotels fit the bill.
$$$ Hotel Résidence Le Coin offers 42 larger-than-average rooms complete with small kitchenettes. Located near the Mint Tower, this hotel is a two-minute walk to the Flower Market and a five-minute walk to Rembrandtplein (Sb-€125, small Db-€145, bigger Db-€160, Qb-€240, extra bed-€37, breakfast-€12, pay Wi-Fi, by the University at Nieuwe Doelenstraat 5, tel. 020/524-6800, lecoin.nl, hotel@lecoin.nl).
$$$ Hotel Ibis Amsterdam Centre, located next door to the Central Station, is a modern, efficient, 363-room place. It offers a central location, comfort, and good value, without a hint of charm (Db-€140-160 Nov-Aug, Db-€200 Sept-Oct, breakfast-€16, check website for deals, book long in advance—especially for Sept-Oct, air-con, elevators, free Wi-Fi, pay Internet access; facing Central Station, go left toward the multistory bicycle garage to Stationsplein 49; tel. 020/522-2899, ibishotel.com, h1556@accor.com). When business is slow, usually in mid-summer, they occasionally rent rooms to same-day drop-ins for around €110.
Inexpensive, well-worn hotels line the convenient but noisy and unromantic main drag, Raadhuisstraat. Expect a long, steep, and depressing stairway, with noisy rooms in the front and quieter rooms in the back. Though neither of the places below serves breakfast, they’re both steps from a recommended pancake house. For locations, see the map on here.
$ Hotel Pax has 11 large, plain, but airy rooms with Ikea furniture—a lot like a European dorm room (S-€35-45, D-€65, Db-€85, T-€100, Tb-€120, prices drop dramatically in winter, no breakfast, five rooms share two showers and two toilets, Raadhuisstraat 37, tel. 020/624-9735, hotelpax@tiscali.nl, run by go-getters Philip and Pieter).
$ Hotel Aspen, a few doors away and a great value for a budget hotel, has eight tidy, stark, and well-maintained rooms (S-€40, tiny D-€55-65, Db-€75-80, Tb-€95, Qb-€110, prices same 365 days a year, no breakfast, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, Raadhuisstraat 31, tel. 020/626-6714, hotelaspen.nl, info@hotelaspen.nl, run by kindhearted Rudy and Esam).
Amsterdam has a world of good, cheap hostels located throughout the city. Most are designed for the party crowd, but here are a few quieter options. They all offer dorm beds; Stayokay Vondelpark also has some basic doubles.
In the Jordaan: $ The Shelter Jordan is a scruffy, friendly, Christian-run, 90-bed place in a great neighborhood. Although most of Amsterdam’s hostels are pretty wild, this place is drug- and alcohol-free, with boys on one floor and girls on another. These are Amsterdam’s best budget beds (bunks dorms-€26-31; higher prices for 4-5-bed rooms; includes sheets and breakfast, Internet access in lobby, free Wi-Fi, near Anne Frank House at Bloemstraat 179, tel. 020/624-4717, shelter.nl, jordan@shelter.nl). The Shelter serves hot meals; runs a snack bar in its big, relaxing lounge; offers lockers; and leads nightly Bible studies.
In the Red Light District: $ The Shelter City is Shelter Jordan’s sister—similar, but definitely not preaching to the local choir. And though its 180 beds are buried in the heart of the red lights, it feels very well-run and perfectly safe (same prices as Shelter Jordan, bunks in Qb-€6 extra, D-€49 for spouses or single-sex; same amenities, rules, and Bible study; Barndesteeg 21, tel. 020/625-3230, shelter.nl, city@shelter.nl).
In Vondelpark: $ Stayokay Vondelpark (IYHF), with 536 beds in 130 rooms, is one of Amsterdam’s top hostels for the under-25 set—but over-25s will feel comfortable here too (€21-42/bed in 4- to 20-bed dorms, D-€60-105—most with bunk beds, higher prices are for March-Oct, members save €2.50, price depends on demand—cheapest when booked in advance, family rooms, lots of school groups, lockers, laundry, pay Internet access, free Wi-Fi, bike rental, right on Vondelpark at Zandpad 5, tel. 020/589-8996, stayokay.com, vondelpark@stayokay.com). Though Stayokay Vondelpark and Stayokay Stadsdoelen (listed next) are generally booked long in advance, occasionally a few beds open up each day at 11:00.
Near Waterlooplein: $ Stayokay Stadsdoelen (IYHF), smaller and simpler than its Vondelpark sister (listed above), has only large dorms and no private bathrooms, but is free of large school groups. Because of the lower prices, this one caters mostly to twentysomethings (€18-35/bed with sheets and breakfast in 10-bed dorms, members save €2.50, price depends on demand—cheapest when booked in advance, lockers, pay Internet access, free Wi-Fi, bike rental, Kloveniersburgwal 97, see map on here, tel. 020/624-6832, stayokay.com, stadsdoelen@stayokay.com).
Farthest East: $ Stayokay Zeeburg (IYHF) is a 500-bed hostel with all the modern services. While it’s pretty far from the center, by tram or bike you’re just 15 minutes from Damrak street. Oldsters fit in here with the youngsters (€24-42/bed in 4- to 9-bed dorms, price depends on demand—cheapest when booked in advance, pay Internet access, free Wi-Fi, lockers, games, restaurant, bike rental, tram #14 to Timorplein 21, tel. 020/551-3190, stayokay.com, zeeburg@stayokay.com).
Of Amsterdam’s thousand-plus restaurants, no one knows which are best. I’d pick an area and wander. The rowdy food ghetto thrives around Leidseplein; if you don’t mind eating in a touristy area, wander along “Restaurant Row” (on Leidsedwarsstraat). The area around Spui Square and that end of Spuistraat is also trendy, and not as noisy. For fewer crowds and more charm, find something in the Jordaan district. Most hoteliers keep a reliable eating list for their neighborhood and know which places keep their travelers happy. I’ve listed some handy places to consider.
To dine cheaply yet memorably alongside the big spenders, grab a meal to go, then find a bench on a lively neighborhood square or along a canal. Sandwiches (broodjes) of delicious cheese on fresh bread are cheap at snack bars, delis, and broodjes restaurants. Ethnic restaurants serve cheap, splittable carryout meals. Ethnic fast-food stands abound, offering a variety of meats wrapped in pita bread. Easy to buy at grocery stores, yogurt in the Netherlands (and throughout northern Europe) is delicious and often drinkable right out of its plastic container.
For the locations of these eateries, see the “Hotels and Restaurants in Central Amsterdam” map on here.
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Central Amstserdam” map, here.)
Restaurant Kantjil en de Tijger is a thriving place with a plain and noisy ambience, full of happy eaters who know a good value. The food is purely Indonesian; the waiters are happy to explain your many enticing options. Their three rijsttafels (traditional “rice tables” with about a dozen small courses) range from €24 to €30 per person. Though they are designed for two people, three people can make a meal by getting a rijsttafel for two plus a soup or light dish (daily 12:00-23:00, reservations smart, mostly indoor with a little outdoor seating, Spuistraat 291, tel. 020/620-0994).
Kantjil to Go, run by Restaurant Kantjil, is a tiny take-out bar serving up inexpensive but delicious Indonesian fare. Their printed menu explains the mix-and-match plan (€5 for 300 grams, €6.50 for 600 grams, vegetarian specials, daily 12:00-21:00, storefront at Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 342, around the back of the sit-down restaurant listed above, tel. 020/620-3074). Split a large box, grab a bench on the charming Spui Square around the corner, and you’ve got perhaps the best cheap, hot meal in town.
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Central Amstserdam” map, here.)
Café ’t Gasthuys, one of Amsterdam’s many brown cafés (so called for their smoke-stained walls), has a busy dumbwaiter cranking out light lunches, sandwiches, and reasonably priced, if uncreative, dinners. It offers a long bar, a lovely secluded back room, peaceful canalside seating, and sometimes slow service (€6-10 lunch plates, €10 three-course dinner, €11-15 main courses, daily 11:00-16:30 & 17:30-22:00, Grimburgwal 7—from the Rondvaart Kooij boat dock, head down Langebrugsteeg, and it’s one block down on the left; tel. 020/624-8230).
De Jaren Café (“The Years”) is a chic yet inviting place—clearly a favorite with locals. Upstairs is a minimalist restaurant with a top-notch salad bar and canal-view deck (serving €16-20 dinners after 17:30, prices include salad bar plus fish, meat, and veggie dishes; €14 for salad bar only). Downstairs is a modern café, great for light lunches (soups, salads, and sandwiches served all day and evening) or just coffee over a newspaper. On a sunny day, the café’s canalside patio is a fine spot to nurse a drink; this is also a nice place to go just for a drink in the evening and to enjoy the spacious Art Deco setting (daily 9:30-23:00, a long block up from Muntplein at Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22, tel. 020/625-5771, cafedejaren.nl).
Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs is a tiny, characteristic perch up some extremely steep stairs, where Arno and Ali cook and serve delicious €6-12 pancakes to four tables throughout the afternoon. They’ll tell you that I discovered this place long before Anthony Bourdain did (Mon-Fri 12:00-19:00, Sat 12:00-18:00, Sun 12:00-17:00, Grimburgwal 2, tel. 020/626-5603).
La Place, on the ground floor of the V&D department store, has an abundant, colorful array of fresh, appealing food served cafeteria-style. A multistory eatery that seats 300, it has a small outdoor terrace upstairs. Explore before you make your choice. This bustling spot has a lively market feel, with everything from made-on-the-spot beef stir-fry, to fresh juice, to veggie soups (€4 pizza and €5 sandwiches, Sun-Mon 11:00-19:00, Tue-Wed 10:00-19:30, Thu-Sat 10:00-21:00, at the end of Kalverstraat near Mint Tower, tel. 020/622-0171). For fast and healthy take-out food (sandwiches, yogurt, fruit cups, and more), try the bakery on the department store’s ground floor. (They run another branch, which has the city’s ultimate view terrace, on the top floor of the Central Library—Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam—near Central Station.)
Atrium University Cafeteria, a three-minute walk from Mint Tower, feeds travelers and students from Amsterdam University for great prices, but only on weekdays (€7 meals, Mon-Fri 11:00-15:00 & 17:00-19:30; from Spui, walk west down Landebrug Steeg past canalside Café ’t Gasthuys three blocks to Oudezijds Achterburgwal 237, then go through arched doorway on the right; tel. 020/525-3999).
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Central Amstserdam” map, here.)
Brasserie Restaurant de Roode Leeuw (“Red Lion”) offers a peaceful respite from the crush of Damrak. While this old standby is somewhat overpriced these days, you can still get a menu filled with traditional Dutch food, good service, and the company of plenty of tourists. The stamppot (pickled pork loin with bacon and mashed potatoes) is an adventure in Dutch comfort food. Call ahead to reserve a window seat (€17-25 entrées, €33 three-course fixed-price meal with traditional Dutch choices; daily 12:00-22:00, Damrak 93-94, tel. 020/555-0666).
Dam Café, on the first floor of the De Bijenkorf department store on Dam Square, has a small lineup of tasty salads, sandwiches, and desserts. Enjoying views of busy Damrak, comfortable (but limited) seating, and an upscale café vibe, you’ll feel miles above the chaotic streets below (€8-11 salads; Sun-Mon 11:00-20:00; Tue-Sat 10:00-20:00, Thu-Fri until 21:00; Dam 1, tel. 088-245-9080). For a much wider range of dishes and lots of seating—but no Dam views—head up to Kitchen, the store’s swanky fifth-floor self-service restaurant (similar prices and hours as café).
Traditional fish stands sell €4 herring sandwiches and other salty treats, usually from easy photo menus. Stubbe’s Haring, where the Stubbe family has been selling herring for 100 years, is handy and well-established, a few blocks from Central Station (Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-17:00, closed Sun-Mon, at the locks on Singel canal, near the train station, see map on here). Grab a sandwich and have a canalside picnic.
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Central Amstserdam” map, here.)
Supermarkets: You’ll see Albert Heijn grocery stores (daily 8:00-22:00) all over town. They have great deli sections with picnic-perfect take-away salads and sandwiches. Helpful, central locations include behind the Royal Palace on Dam Square (Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 226), near the Mint Tower (Koningsplein 4), on Leidsestraat (at Konigsplein, on the corner of Leidsestraat and Singel), and inside Central Station (far end of passage under the tracks). Be aware that none of their stores accept US credit cards: Bring cash, and don’t get in the checkout lines marked PIN alleen.
Nearly all of these places are within a few scenic blocks of the Anne Frank House, providing handy lunches and atmospheric dinners in Amsterdam’s most charming neighborhood. For locations, see the map on here.
Restaurant de Luwte is romantic, located on a picturesque street overlooking a canal. It has lots of candles, a muted but fresh modern interior, spacious seating, a few cool outdoor canalside tables, and French Mediterranean cuisine (€20 main dishes, €30 three-course fixed-price dinners, big salads for €18, daily 18:00-22:00, Leliegracht 26-28, tel. 020/625-8548, manager Maarten, restaurantdeluwte.nl).
De Bolhoed has serious vegetarian and vegan food in a colorful setting that Buddha would dig, with a clientele that appears to dig Buddha (big splittable portions, €15 dinners, light lunches, daily 12:00-22:00, dinner starts at 17:00, Prinsengracht 60, tel. 020/626-1803).
Café Restaurant de Reiger must offer the best cooking of any eetcafé in the Jordaan. Famous for its fresh ingredients and delightful bistro ambience, it’s part of the classic Jordaan scene. In addition to an English menu, ask for a translation of the daily specials (€18-20) on the chalkboard. They’re proud of their fresh fish and French-Dutch cuisine. The café, which is crowded late and on weekends, takes no reservations, but you’re welcome to have a drink (€3 house wine and fun little bar munchies menu) at the bar while you wait (Tue-Sun 17:00-24:00, closed Mon, veggie options, Nieuwe Leliestraat 34, tel. 020/624-7426).
Café ’t Smalle is extremely charming, with three zones where you can enjoy a light lunch or a drink: canalside, inside around the bar, and up some steep stairs in a quaint little back room. The café is open late, and simple meals (salads, soup, and fresh sandwiches) are served 11:00-17:30 (plenty of fine €3-4 Belgian beers on tap, interesting wines by the glass, at Egelantiersgracht 12—where it hits Prinsengracht, tel. 020/623-9617).
Thai Fusion, despite the name, serves straight-up top-quality Thai food in a sleekly modern, black-and-white room wedged neatly in the middle of the Nine Little Streets action (€15-20 main courses, €25-30 two-course meals, daily 16:30-22:30, good veggie options, Berenstraat 8, tel. 020/320-8332, thai-fusion.nl).
Toscana Italian Restaurant is the Jordaan’s favorite place for good, inexpensive Italian cuisine, served in a woody, Dutch-beer-hall setting (€6-9 pizza and pastas, €16 main courses, Sun-Wed 16:00-23:30, Thu-Sat 12:00-23:30, fast service, Haarlemmerstraat 130, tel. 020/622-0353).
Winkel, the North Jordaan’s cornerside hangout, serves appetizing Euro-Dutch meals at its plentiful outside tables and easygoing interior. It really gets hopping on Monday mornings, when the Noordermarkt flea market is underway, but Amsterdammers come from across town all week for the appeltaart (€11-14 dinner plates, €5 snacks served after 16:00, daily 8:00-late, Noordermarkt 43, tel. 020/623-0223).
Sara’s Pancake House is a basic pancake diner where extremely hardworking Sara cranks out sweet and savory €8-12 flapjacks made from fresh, organic ingredients (daily until 22:30, later on weekends, breakfast served until noon, Raadhuisstraat 45, tel. 020/320-0662).
Restaurant ’t Stuivertje is a small, family-run neighborhood eatery tucked away in the Jordaan, serving French-inspired Dutch cuisine in an elegantly cozy but unpretentious atmosphere (€15-25 main courses, dinner salads, Wed-Sun 17:30-22:00, closed Mon-Tue, near Elandsgracht at Hazenstraat 58, tel. 020/623-1349).
Ristorante Toscanini is an up-market Italian place that’s always packed. It’s so popular that the staff can be a bit arrogant, but the lively, spacious ambience and great Italian cuisine more than make up for that—if you can get a seat. Reservations are essentially required (the staff recommends two weeks’ notice for Fri and Sat). Otherwise your best bet is to arrive when they open at 18:00 (€10-14 first courses, €16-25 main courses, Mon-Sat 18:00-22:30, closed Sun, deep in the Jordaan at Lindengracht 75, tel. 020/623-2813).
Villa Zeesicht has all the romantic feel of a classic European café. The cozy interior is crammed with tiny tables topped by tall candlesticks, and wicker chairs outside gather under a wisteria-covered awning. The menu is uninventive—come here instead for the famous appeltaart and for the great people-watching on Torensluis bridge (€11-16 plates, daily 9:00-21:30, Torensteeg 7, tel. 020/626-7433).
Drinks Only: Café ’t Papeneiland is a classic brown café with Delft tiles, an evocative old stove, and a stay-awhile perch overlooking a canal with welcoming benches. It’s been the neighborhood hangout since the 17th century (drinks but no food, overlooking northwest end of Prinsengracht at #2, tel. 020/624-1989). It feels a little exclusive; patrons who come here to drink and chat aren’t eager to see it overrun by tourists. The café’s name means “Papists’ Island,” since this was once a refuge for Catholics; there used to be an escape tunnel here for priests on the run.
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Southwest Amstserdam” map, here.)
Stroll through the colorful cancan of eateries on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat, the “Restaurant Row” just off Leidseplein, and choose your favorite (but don’t expect intimacy or good value). Nearby, busy Leidsestraat offers plenty of starving-student options (between Prinsengracht and Herengracht) offering fast and fun food for around €5 a meal.
To escape the crowds without too long a walk from Leidseplein, wander a few blocks away from the hubbub to Lijnbaansgracht (via Kleine Gartmanplantsoen, the street to the right of The Bulldog Café). At Restaurant Dubbel, for example, the steak, fish, and veggie dishes are reasonably priced (€12-15), the bartenders are extra friendly, and you’ll actually hear customers speaking Dutch (daily 17:00-24:00, Lijnbaansgracht 256, tel. 020/620-0909).
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Southwest Amstserdam” map, here.)
Restaurant Bazar offers one of the most memorable and fun budget eating experiences in town. Converted from a church, it has spacious seating and mod belly-dance music, and is filled with young locals enjoying good, cheap Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. Reservations are a good idea if you plan to eat after 20:00 (fill up with the €8.50 daily plate, delicious €13 couscous, or €16 main dishes; Mon-Fri 11:00-late, Sat-Sun 9:00-late, Albert Cuypstraat 182, tel. 020/675-0544). Restaurant Bazar marks the center of the thriving Albert Cuyp market, which is wrapped up by about 17:00, though the restaurant stays busy late into the evening.
For locations of the following eateries, see the map on here.
Restaurant Plancius, adjacent to the Dutch Resistance Museum, is a handy, modern spot for lunch. Its good indoor and outdoor seating make it popular with the museum staff and broadcasters from the nearby local TV studios (creative breakfasts, hearty fresh sandwiches, light €6-9 lunches and €16-19 dinners, daily 10:00-22:00, Plantage Kerklaan 61a, tel. 020/330-9469).
Café Koosje, located halfway between the Dutch Resistance Museum and the Dutch Theater, is a corner lunchtime pub/bar ringed with outdoor seating. Inside, casual wooden tables and benches huddle under chandeliers, and the hip, young waitstaff serve beer and salads big enough for two (€5 sandwiches, €11 salads, €14-17 dinners, food served daily 9:00-22:00, on the corner of Plantage Kerklaan at Plantage Middenlaan 37, tel. 020/320-0817).
A quarter of Dutch people smoke tobacco. Holland has a long tradition as a smoking culture, being among the first to import the tobacco plant from the New World. (For a history of smoking, visit the fascinating Pipe Museum, described on here.)
Since 2008, a Dutch law has outlawed smoking tobacco almost everywhere indoors: trains, hotel rooms, restaurants, bars...and even marijuana-dealing coffeeshops.
For tourists from lands where you can do hard time for lighting up, the open use of marijuana here can feel either somewhat disturbing, or exhilaratingly liberating...or maybe just refreshingly sane. Several decades after being legalized in the Netherlands, marijuana causes about as much excitement here as a bottle of beer. When tourists call an ambulance after smoking too much pot, medics just say, “Drink something sweet and walk it off.”
Throughout the Netherlands, you’ll see “coffeeshops”—cafés selling marijuana, with display cases showing various joints or baggies for sale.
Rules and Regulations: The retail sale of marijuana is strictly regulated, and proceeds are taxed. The minimum age for purchase is 18, and coffeeshops can sell up to five grams of marijuana per person per day. It’s also illegal for these shops (or anyone) to advertise marijuana. In fact, in many places, the prospective customer has to take the initiative, and ask to see the menu. In some coffeeshops, you actually have to push and hold down a button to see an illuminated menu—the contents of which look like the inventory of a drug bust.
Shops sell marijuana and hashish both in pre-rolled joints and in little baggies. Joints are generally sold individually (€3-5, depending on the strain you choose), though some places sell only small packs of three or four joints. Baggies usually cost €10-15. Some shops charge per gram. The better pot, though costlier, is actually a better value, as it takes less to get high—and it’s a better high.
Each coffeeshop is allowed to keep an inventory of about a pound of pot in stock: The tax authorities don’t want to see more than this on the books at the end of each accounting cycle, and a shop can lose its license if it exceeds this amount. A popular shop—whose supply must be replenished five or six times a day—simply has to put up with the hassle of constantly taking small deliveries. A shop can sell a ton of pot with no legal problems, as long as it maintains that tiny stock and just refills it as needed. The reason? Authorities want shops to stay small and not become export bases.
In recent years, various Dutch politicians have proposed new laws that would forbid sales of marijuana to nonresidents. Their big worry is European drug dealers who drive over the Dutch border, buy up large quantities of pot, and return home to sell it illegally. This law would be devastating for these Dutch businesses, who depend on out-of-towners to stay in business. The current mayor of Amsterdam is adamant that the city’s coffeeshops will remain open—for the sake of the businesses, and because the city believes that the law would just drive business back into a black market, and cause an increase in street crime.
Smoking Tips: The Dutch (like most Europeans) are accustomed to mixing tobacco with marijuana—but any place that caters to Americans will have joints without tobacco; you just have to ask specifically for a “pure” joint. Shops have loaner bongs and inhalers, and dispense rolling papers like toothpicks. As long as you’re a paying customer (e.g., you buy a cup of coffee), you can pop into any coffeeshop and light up, even if you didn’t buy your pot there.
Tourists who haven’t smoked pot since their college days are famous for overindulging in Amsterdam. Coffeeshop baristas nickname tourists about to pass out “Whitey”—the color their faces turn just before they hit the floor. They warn Americans (who aren’t used to the strength of the local stuff) to try a lighter leaf. If you do overdo it, the key is to eat or drink something sweet to avoid getting sick. Cola is a good fast fix, and coffeeshops keep sugar tablets handy.
Don’t ever buy pot on the street in Amsterdam. Well-established coffeeshops are considered much safer, and coffeeshop owners have an interest in keeping their trade safe and healthy. They’re also generally very patient in explaining the varieties available.
Most of downtown Amsterdam’s coffeeshops feel grungy and foreboding to American travelers who aren’t part of the youth-hostel crowd. The neighborhood places (and those in small towns around the countryside) are much more inviting to people without piercings, tattoos, and favorite techno artists. I’ve listed a few places with a more pub-like ambience for Americans wanting to go local, but within reason. For locations, see the maps in the “Sleeping in Amsterdam” section, earlier.
Paradox is the most gezellig (cozy) coffeeshop I found—a mellow, graceful place. The managers, Ludo and Wiljan, and their staff are patient with descriptions and happy to walk you through all your options. This is a rare coffeeshop that serves light meals. The juice is fresh, the music is easy, and the neighborhood is charming (single tobacco-free joints-€3, loaner bongs, games, free Wi-Fi, daily 10:00-20:00, two blocks from Anne Frank House at Eerste Bloemdwarsstraat 2, tel. 020/623-5639, paradoxcoffeeshop.com).
The Grey Area—a hole-in-the-wall spot with three tiny tables—is a cool, welcoming, and smoky place appreciated among local aficionados as a perennial winner of Amsterdam’s Cannabis Cup awards. Judging by the autographed photos on the wall, many famous Americans have dropped in (say hi to Willie Nelson). You’re welcome to just nurse a bottomless cup of coffee. It’s run by friendly American Jon, with helpful Adam and Stevan. They even have a vaporizer if you want to try “smoking” without smoking (daily 12:00-20:00, they close relatively early out of consideration for their neighbors, between Dam Square and Anne Frank House at Oude Leliestraat 2, tel. 020/420-4301, greyarea.nl).
Siberië Coffeeshop is a short walk from Central Station, but feels cozy, with a friendly canalside ambience. Clean, big, and bright, this place has the vibe of a mellow Starbucks (daily 11:00-23:00, Fri-Sat until 24:00, free Wi-Fi for customers, helpful staff, English menu, Brouwersgracht 11, tel. 020/623-5909, coffeeshopsiberie.nl).
La Tertulia is a sweet little mother-and-daughter-run place with pastel decor and a cheery terrarium atmosphere (Tue-Sat 11:00-19:00, closed Sun-Mon, sandwiches, brownies, games, Prinsengracht 312).
The Bulldog Café is the high-profile, leading touristy chain of coffeeshops. These establishments are young but welcoming, with reliable selections. They’re pretty comfortable for green tourists wanting to just hang out for a while. The flagship branch, in a former police station right on Leidseplein, is very handy, offering alcohol upstairs, pot downstairs, and fun outdoor seating. It’s the rare place where you can have a beer while you smoke and watch the world skateboard by (daily 10:00-1:00 in the morning, Fri-Sat until 3:00, Leidseplein 17, tel. 020/625-6278, thebulldog.com). Their original café still sits on the canal near the Old Church in the Red Light District.
The Dampkring is a rough-and-ready constant party. It’s a high-profile, busy place, filled with a young clientele and loud music, but the owners still take the time to explain what they offer. Scenes from the movie Ocean’s Twelve were filmed here (daily 10:00-1:00 in the morning, close to Spui at Handboogstraat 29, tel. 020/638-0705, dampkring.nl).
Dutch Flowers, conveniently located near Spui square on Singel canal, has a very casual “brown café” ambience, with a mature set of regulars. A couple of tables overlooking the canal are perfect for enjoying the late-afternoon sunshine (daily 10:00-23:00, until later Fri-Sat, on the corner of Heisteeg and Singel at Singel 387, tel. 020/624-7624).
Sprinkled across the city are plenty of “smartshops,” little grocery stores selling mind-bending natural ingredients. They’re clean, well-lit, fully professional retail outlets that sell powerful drugs, many of which are illegal in America. Prices are clearly marked, with brief descriptions of the drugs, their ingredients, and effects. The knowledgeable salespeople can give you more information on their “100 percent natural products that play with the human senses.”
Their “natural” drugs include harmless nutrition boosters (such as royal jelly), harmful but familiar tobacco, and herbal versions of popular dance-club drugs (such as herbal Ecstasy). Marijuana seeds, however, are the big sellers. You’ll also see mind-bending truffles, a recent trend that caught on after the EU forbade the retailing of hallucinogenic mushrooms. (Truffles grow underground—so they’re technically not mushrooms.)
Still, my fellow travelers, caveat emptor! We’ve grown used to thinking, “If it’s legal, it must be safe. If it’s not, I’ll sue.” Though perfectly legal and aboveboard in the Netherlands, some of these substances can cause powerful, often unpleasant reactions.
The Netherlands is so small, level, and well-covered by trains and buses that transportation is a snap. The easy-to-navigate airport is well-connected to Amsterdam and other destinations by bus and train. Use the comprehensive transit website 9292.nl to plan connections inside the Netherlands by train, bus, or both.
Amsterdam is the country’s hub, but all major cities are linked by speedy trains that come and go every 15 minutes or so. Dutch rail schedules are online at ns.nl (domestic) and nshispeed.nl (international).
Amsterdam’s Central Station may be undergoing some messy construction during your visit (see “Arrival in Amsterdam” on here for more details on the station). The station’s train-information center can require a long wait. Save lots of time by getting train tickets and information at a small-town station (such as Haarlem), at the airport upon arrival (wonderful service), or at a travel agency. You can buy tickets ahead of time for travel the next day.
If you have a rail pass, it’s quicker to validate it when you arrive at Schiphol Airport than in Amsterdam’s Central Station, where ticket-counter lines are long; you can stretch your rail pass by buying an inexpensive ticket from the airport into Amsterdam and using your first “flexi” day for a longer trip.
From Amsterdam Central Station by Train to: Schiphol Airport (4-6/hour, 15 minutes, €4.30, have coins handy to buy from a machine to avoid lines), Haarlem (6/hour, 20 minutes, €3.80 one-way, €7.60 same-day round-trip), Delft (3/hour direct, 1 hour, more with transfer in Leiden or The Hague), Bruges (hourly, 3 hours, transfer at Antwerp Central or Brussels Midi; transfer can be tight—be alert and check with conductor), Brussels (hourly, 2 hours), Ostend (for ferries to UK; hourly, 4 hours, 3 changes), London (6/day, 4.75-5.5 hours, with transfer to Eurostar Chunnel train in Brussels; Eurostar discounted with rail pass, ricksteves.com/eurostar or eurostar.com), Copenhagen (3/day, 11.25 hours, multiple transfers; one direct night train), Bacharach/St. Goar (roughly every 2 hours, 4.5-6 hours), Frankfurt (every 2 hours, 4 hours direct), Berlin (5/day, 6.5 hours; 1 direct night train, 9.5 hours), Munich (roughly hourly, 7.5-8.75 hours, 1-2 transfers; one direct night train, 10.5 hours), Bern (5/day, 8-9 hours, fastest trains change once in Frankfurt), Paris (nearly hourly, 3.25 hours direct on fast Thalys train or 4 hours with change to Thalys train in Brussels, thalys.com). When booking Thalys trains, even rail pass holders need to buy a seat reservation (generally €26-33 in second class or €41-54 in first class—the first-class reservation generally gets you a meal). If your rail pass covers France but not Benelux, the reservation will cost more. (Rail passes that don’t include France are not accepted on Thalys trains.) Save money by taking a bus to Paris—described next.
To Paris by Bus: If you don’t have a rail pass, the cheapest way to get to Paris is by Eurolines bus (about 6/day, 8 hours, €46 one-way, €70-86 round-trip; price depends on demand—nonrefundable, advance-purchase one-way tickets as cheap as €17 and round-trip as cheap as €28, check online for deals, Julianaplein 5, Amstel Station, five stops by metro from Central Station, tel. 020/560-8788, eurolines.com).
Schiphol (SKIP-pol) Airport is located about 10 miles southwest of Amsterdam’s city center.
Information: Schiphol flight information can give you flight times and your airline’s contact info (airport code: AMS, toll tel. 0900-0141, from other countries dial +31-20-794-0800, schiphol.nl).
Orientation: Schiphol has four terminals. Terminal 1 is for flights to the Schengen European countries (not including the UK); Terminals 2 and 3 are for flights to the UK, US, and other non-European countries; and the new, smaller Terminal 4 (attached to Terminal 3) is for low-cost carriers. Inside the airport, the terminal waiting areas are called lounges; an inviting shopping and eating zone called Holland Boulevard runs between Lounges 2 and 3.
Arrival at Schiphol: Baggage-claim areas for all terminals empty into the same arrival zone, called Schiphol Plaza—with ATMs, shops, eateries, a busy TI (near Terminal 2, daily 7:00-22:00), a train station, and bus stops for getting into the city. You can validate your rail pass and hit the rails immediately, or, to stretch your rail pass, buy an inexpensive ticket into Amsterdam today and start the pass later.
Airport Services: The ABN/AMRO banks offer fair exchange rates (in both arrivals and lounge areas). Service Point, in Schiphol Plaza at the end of the shopping mall near Terminal 4, is a useful all-purpose service counter that sells SIM cards, has an ATM, and ships packages. The GWK Travelex currency-exchange office is located in Arrivals 3 and sells SIM cards for mobile phones. Avoid the Orbitel mobile shop just outside Terminal 2; it sells only one brand of SIM cards, and for an exorbitant rate.
You can surf the Internet (for a price) and make phone calls at the Communication Centres (one on the top level of Lounge 2, another on the ground floor of Lounge 1; both are behind customs and not available once you’ve left the security checkpoint). Convenient luggage lockers are at various points around the airport—allowing you to leave your bag here on a lengthy layover (both short- and long-term lockers, credit card only; biggest bank of lockers near the train station at Schiphol Plaza).
Airport Train Ticket Counter: To get train information, buy a ticket, or validate your rail pass, take advantage of the fantastic “Train Tickets and Services” counter (Schiphol Plaza ground level, just past Burger King). They have an easy info desk, almost no lines, and issue tickets for a fee (€0.50 for domestic tickets, €3.50 for tickets to Belgium, Luxembourg, and nearby German cities; up to €10 for other international tickets). They’re much quicker than the ticket desk at Amsterdam’s Central Station—but they don’t accept US credit cards unless they have a chip. You’ll need cash to buy a ticket.
Time-Killing Tips: If you have extra time at Schiphol, check out the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol, a little art gallery and museum store on Holland Boulevard, the lively shopping/eating zone between Lounges 2 and 3. The Rijksmuseum loans a dozen or so of its minor masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age to this unique airport museum, including actual Dutch Masters by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and others (free, daily 6:00-20:00).
To escape the airport crowds, follow signs for the Panorama Terrace to the third floor of Terminal 2, where you’ll find a quieter, full-of-locals cafeteria, a kids’ play area, and a view terrace where you can watch planes come and go while you nurse a coffee. If you plan to visit the terrace on arrival, stop there before you pass through customs.
From Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam: Direct trains to Amsterdam’s Central Station run frequently (4-6/hour, 15 minutes, €4.30). The Connexxion shuttle bus takes you to your hotel neighborhood; there are three different routes, so ask the attendant which one works best for your hotel (2/hour, 20 minutes, €16 one-way, €26 round-trip, one route stops at Westerkerk near Anne Frank House and many recommended hotels, other routes may cost a couple euros more, departs from lane A7 in front of airport, reserve at least 2 hours ahead for shuttles to airport, tel. 088-339-4741, airporthotelshuttle.nl). Allow about €60-70 for a taxi to downtown Amsterdam. Bus #197 is handiest for those staying in the Leidseplein district (€4, buy ticket from driver, departs from lane B9 in front of airport).
From Schiphol Airport to Haarlem: The big red #300 bus departs from lane B6 in front of airport; for details, see “Haarlem Connections” at the end of the next chapter.