Amsterdam

Why go

Amsterdam is a 17th-century city still in daily use. The ring of canals that merchants dug in the Golden Age is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is also the route people take to work, to school and to the shops. You hear the city before you see it: bicycle bells, tram bells, a bike rattling over a brick bridge. Then the light comes off the water and onto the gables, the same light the Dutch painters made famous.

The Rijksmuseum hangs Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid, and the Van Gogh Museum holds the largest collection of his work anywhere. The Anne Frank House preserves the Secret Annex where Anne Frank hid and wrote her diary. For all that, the city is small. You can cross the centre on foot in under an hour, and a free ferry takes you to the old shipyards of Noord in a few minutes.

The city has also tightened its rules. Amsterdam taxes overnight stays at 12.5%, bans smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol on the streets of the centre, and closes the Red Light District's bars at 2am. None of that touches a morning at the Rijksmuseum or a long evening on a canal-side terrace.

The lay of the land

Amsterdam grew around Centraal Station, which sits on the IJ, the broad waterway to the north, and the city spreads south from it in half-rings. The medieval core, with Dam Square, the Royal Palace and the Red Light District (De Wallen), lies closest to the station. Around it curve the Golden Age canals: Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, in that order outwards.

West of the Prinsengracht is the Jordaan, once a workers' quarter and now one of the most sought-after addresses in the city. South of the canal ring is Museumplein, with the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw. South-east is De Pijp and its market. North across the IJ is Amsterdam-Noord, a former industrial district reached by free ferries from behind Centraal. East is Oost, with the Oosterpark and the old harbour islands.

The city is smaller than its reputation, with about 942,000 residents on 1 January 2026. Much of it sits at or below sea level, about 2 metres below at Dam Square. The canal ring is easy to get turned around in, so use the canals as your guide: the ring canals curve around the centre, and the radial streets cut across them towards the station.

When to go

Amsterdam has a cool, wet maritime climate. At the KNMI weather station at Schiphol, average highs run from about 6 °C in January to 23 °C in July (1991–2020 normals), and rain falls in every month. April is the driest month, at about 40 mm. August is the wettest, at nearly 100 mm, and autumn brings wind and storms.

April to early June is the best window. Tulip season peaks in mid-April, and Keukenhof will be open from 18 March to 9 May in 2027. King's Day on 27 April turns the whole city orange, with street markets and parties on every canal. Remembrance Day on 4 May and Liberation Day on 5 May follow. In June the light lasts until after 10pm.

July and August are warm and busy, with the highest hotel prices of the year, and Pride Amsterdam's Canal Parade usually takes place in early August. September is a calmer second choice. October brings the Amsterdam Dance Event, which runs from 21 to 25 October in 2026 and fills hotels across the city.

From November to February the days are short, cold and damp. The Amsterdam Light Festival brightens them: its 15th edition runs from 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, with artworks along the canals lit every evening from 4:30pm. Museums are quieter, and room rates fall after New Year.

What it costs

Amsterdam is one of Europe's most expensive cities to sleep in, and 2026 made it more so. A 3-star double typically costs €180–280 a night before tourist tax, and a hostel dorm bed €40–75.

Eating and drinking is easier to control. Coffee runs €3–3.50, a small glass of beer in a brown café €4–6, and a herring sandwich or a cone of fries €5–9. A mid-range dinner for two with drinks costs €90–130. Lunch is the Dutch light meal, so a sandwich and soup at a café is the cheap way to eat well.

Transport is reasonable. A GVB 1-hour ticket costs €3.40, and the train from Schiphol starts at €5.50. Museums are the big line item, at €25 each for the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, though under-18s enter both free. A day's bike hire from MacBike costs €17.95.

Food and drink prices here are typical ranges compiled from menus and price surveys, not official figures. Transport, tax and museum prices come from the operators and the city and were checked on 12 October 2026.

Getting there and around

Schiphol is one of the easiest big airports in Europe to leave. NS trains run up to eight times an hour to Amsterdam Centraal in 15 to 20 minutes, with e-tickets from €5.50, and you can also tap in and out with a contactless bank card. Taxis are metered under a legal maximum, which in 2026 is €4.31 to start, €3.17 per kilometre and €0.52 per minute; expect €55–65 to the centre. Some low-cost airlines use Eindhoven (EIN), about 1 hour 20 minutes away by bus and train. Eurostar trains from London, Brussels and Paris arrive at Centraal.

GVB runs the city's trams, buses, metro and ferries. Under the OVpay system, the simplest ticket is your own bank card: tap in when you board and tap out when you leave, on every tram, bus, metro and train in the country. If you forget to tap out, GVB lets you correct it online. A GVB 1-hour ticket costs €3.40 and day tickets start at €10. The Amsterdam Travel Ticket (€20 for one day, €27 for two, €34 for three) adds trains to and from Schiphol, and the Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket (€23 a day) extends to regional buses and trains for day trips.

Most visitors end up walking, and many rent bikes. The centre is flat and compact, and a bike makes the outer neighbourhoods easy. Ride on the right, signal with your arm, use lights at night, keep your wheels out of tram tracks and lock the frame to something solid. On foot, stay out of the red-surfaced bike lanes. Smartraveller warns that collisions between cyclists and pedestrians are common, and it notes that e-scooters are illegal.

Only take licensed taxis, which have blue number plates; Smartraveller says unlicensed taxis are a problem in Amsterdam. Ride-hailing apps are legal and easy to find.

Where to stay

The canal ring and the Nine Streets are the classic base, walkable to everything, with canal views at canal prices. The Jordaan is quieter and more residential, with brown cafés on most corners. For a museum-heavy trip, the Museum Quarter around Museumplein is elegant and calm at night.

For better value, look at De Pijp, Oud-West or Oost, all a short tram ride from the centre. Amsterdam-Noord, across the IJ, has some of the city's most interesting budget and mid-range stays, a few minutes from Centraal by free ferry.

If you sleep lightly, avoid De Wallen. Its bars close at 2am and the window workplaces at 3am, and the streets stay loud until they do. Also check if your room is a canal-house walk-up. Steep, narrow Dutch stairs and small hotels without lifts make heavy luggage hard work.

What to do

Book three things before you fly: the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum and a time slot at the Rijksmuseum. Everything else can wait until you arrive.

The Rijksmuseum costs €25 (free for 18 and under) and opens daily from 9:00 to 17:00. Head first for the Gallery of Honour, with the Night Watch at its end, then let the rest of the building surprise you. The Van Gogh Museum, a few minutes across Museumplein, sells tickets online only for a fixed date and time, at €25 for adults until 31 December 2026 and €26 from January 2027.

Then get on the water. A canal cruise shows the canal ring from the angle it was built to be seen, and the small open electric boats are quieter than the big glass-roofed ones. For a free crossing, walk out the back of Centraal Station and take a GVB ferry over the IJ to the EYE film museum, the A'DAM Tower or the NDSM wharf, a former shipyard full of studios and bars.

Give an afternoon to the Jordaan and the Nine Streets. The Noordermarkt holds a farmers' market on Saturdays and a flea market on Monday mornings. At dusk, sit outside a brown café with a beer as the canal lights come on.

For day trips, Haarlem is about 15 minutes by train: a smaller Golden Age city with the Frans Hals Museum and a broad market square. The Zaanse Schans, a short train ride north, has working windmills and green wooden houses. The village stays free to enter in 2026 after Zaanstad postponed a planned entry fee, and a combined ticket (adults €29.50) covers the Zaans Museum. Arrive early, before the tour coaches. In spring, Keukenhof's seven million bulbs near Lisse peak in mid-April.

Eat and drink

Breakfast and lunch are light and often bread-based, and dinner starts early, from about 6pm, and kitchens often close by 10pm.

Start with herring. Hollandse nieuwe, the new season's catch, arrives in early summer; eat it with chopped onion and pickles at a stall such as Stubbe's Haring on the Singel, near Centraal. For fries, Vleminckx de Sausmeester has served thick-cut friet with a wall of sauces from a hatch on the Voetboogstraat since 1957. Rudi's Original Stroopwafels bakes them fresh on the Albert Cuyp Market, which trades Monday to Saturday from 9:30 to 17:00.

Order bitterballen, crisp balls of beef ragout, with mustard and a small beer, at Café Hoppe on the Spui or any brown café with dark wood and candles. For jenever, the juniper spirit that came before gin, Wynand Fockink's tasting room near Dam Square has poured it since 1679.

A rijsttafel, the Indonesian spread of a dozen or more small dishes, is a colonial-era legacy, and Tempo Doeloe on the Utrechtsestraat is a long-standing address for it. For something sweet, Winkel 43 on the Noordermarkt is known for its apple pie, and The Pancake Bakery on the Prinsengracht has made pannenkoeken since 1973.

On etiquette, the Dutch are direct and won't take offence if you are too. Splitting the bill is normal. Service is included, so round up or leave 5–10% for good table service.

Practicalities

Money and cards. Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere, and some cafés take no cash at all. The US State Department notes that most retailers need a chip-and-PIN card. Carry a few euros for market stalls.

Data. EU-issued SIM cards roam at home rates. An Airalo Netherlands eSIM cost US$34 for 10 days on 12 October 2026.

Water and power. Tap water is excellent. Plugs are types C and F, at 230 V.

Safety. The US rates the Netherlands at Level 2 (exercise increased caution) because of terrorism, while Australia rates it at its lowest level. Petty theft is the everyday risk, especially around Centraal and on trains to Schiphol. The UK Foreign Office warns of fake police who ask to check your cash or cards; real officers rarely do this, and you can call 0900 8844 to check.

ID. Carry your passport or ID card. Dutch police can ask anyone aged 14 or over to show ID, and those aged 16 or over who cannot are fined €100.

LGBTQ+ travellers. The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage, in 2001, and Amsterdam has long been one of Europe's most open cities. The Homomonument by the Westerkerk commemorates gay men and lesbians persecuted for their sexuality.

Accessibility. Cobbles, narrow pavements and steep canal-house stairs are the main obstacles. Older hotels often have no lift, and the Anne Frank House has steep stairs and a high step.

A few phrases. English is widely spoken, but these help: hallo or dag (hello), dank je wel (thank you), alstublieft (please, or here you are), proost (cheers), mag ik pinnen? (can I pay by card?).

What nobody tells you

The bikes are the real danger. Cyclists ride fast, in numbers, and expect pedestrians to know the rules. Step into a red lane while looking at your phone and you will hear about it, or worse.

The canals have no railings along most quays. Every year people drown in them, and the UK Foreign Office says most drownings follow heavy drinking or cannabis. Police fine anyone caught swimming in the city canals €160, and they also fine people for urinating into them.

The Red Light District is a crush on weekend nights. Guided tours there are banned, the bars close at 2am, and the women in the windows do not want to be photographed. See the Oude Kerk, the city's oldest building, in daylight.

Coffeeshop and café are different things. A coffeeshop sells cannabis and a café sells coffee. Edibles are much stronger than they look, so go slowly.

The cheapest-looking dinner is often the worst. The picture menus on the Damrak and around Dam Square cost more than better food a few streets away in the Jordaan or De Pijp.

Pack for rain that arrives sideways. Wind off the IJ turns umbrellas inside out, so a hooded waterproof works better.

Budget for the tax at check-out. If a booking site shows a price without the 12.5% tourist tax, the hotel will add it, and on a week's stay that is real money.