You won’t get bored in this city since it has everything, from peaceful boat excursions through canals shaded by trees to world-class art museums and stylish boutique shopping. After crossing off the items on your bucket list that are most important to you, leave the Canal Ring, the fan-shaped network of waterways dominating the old city. Choosing how to spend time is the real issue when touring Europe’s best-preserved 17th-century city.

Everyone can find something to like in Amsterdam. Since there are more bikes than people in the city, it is a cycling enthusiast’s dream come true. With its gorgeous canals and cobblestone alleys, Amsterdam is stunning and may be explored for hours. A delightful café where even renowned Dutch painters drank coffee should also be visited as you end your journey.

Ferry to Amsterdam-Noord:

The free ferry service in Amsterdam is an essential aspect of the city’s transport network, ferrying people on foot, bicycles, and mopeds to Amsterdam-Noord daily across the IJ River. The most popular path, to Buiksloterweg, takes less than five minutes and essentially places you at the base of the A’DAM Tower and the spectacular EYE Film Institute.

Brouwerij ‘t IJ:

Expect to discover a number of beers made in the Belgian style at Brouwerij ‘t IJ, the pub division of the Amsterdam brewery of the same name. Full-bodied ales made with organic ingredients top the menu, but the occasional seasonal beer also shines. On a warm day, it’s worth relaxing with a decent beer next to the canal.

Foodhallen:

The Foodhallen distinguishes itself from other food halls because of its outstanding selection, including everything from Vietnamese and Mexican delicacies to reinvented Dutch classics. The facility, housed inside a disused tram depot, is lively all day. If you do manage to secure a table, make sure to guard it aggressively.

Albert Cuyp Markt:

Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat on Albert Cuypstraat have had a street market there for over a century. With 260 stands selling fruit, vegetables, seafood, flowers, apparel, and other items, it’s one of the biggest markets in Europe. It’s open from Monday through Saturday. Stock up on groceries and various trinkets while searching for the ultimate shopping prize: a wheel of Gouda cheese.

Portuguese Synagogue:

One of Europe’s largest and oldest operational synagogues may be in the Jewish Cultural Quarter just east of the city center. With its original tall stone columns, vaulted timber ceiling, and wooden pews encircling a sizable Torah ark made of glistening wood, its spectacular interior still retains much of its 1675 appearance. Evening services are lit by hundreds of candles inside the massive brass chandeliers because the structure still has no electricity.

Rijksmuseum:

The largest of Amsterdam’s “big three” museums, the Rijksmuseum was reborn in 2013 following a decade-long, $441 million renovation. Yes, many galleries are dedicated to paintings from the Golden Age, but with 8,000 masterworks on display, this isn’t a specialty show. The museum’s historical journey from the Middle Ages to Mondrian is well-paced and includes model ships, luxurious clothes, and Asian art.

Café de Sluyswacht:

The charmingly crooked architecture, the amazing canal views, the reasonably priced beers—everything about this old-school pub symbolizes Dutch gezellig. In this friendly, enjoyable environment, people feel completely at home. When you enter Café de Sluyswacht, everything tilts to one side, from the stone floors to the staircase to the wood-beamed ceilings, giving you the impression that you’ve already had too much before you’ve ever taken a sip. This is part of the appeal of the establishment.

Oude Kerk:

It seems strange that a Gothic cathedral would be situated in the Red-Light District and surrounded by brothels, but that is how Amsterdam is. Oude Kerk, dedicated in 1306, is the city’s oldest still-standing structure. Rembrandt, a famous Dutch painter, frequently visited; his kids were christened here. Even though the structure has many characteristics of a typical medieval church, such as vaulted ceilings, paintings that date back hundreds of years, and ancient gravestones embedded in the floor, it was formally recognized as a museum in 2016.

Van Gogh Museum:

This Dutch establishment, which had over 2.1 million visitors in 2019, is the most frequented museum in the country. The 200-piece painting collection includes the Wheatfield with Crows, Potato Eaters, and the picture-perfect Sunflowers series. But this isn’t just a list of van Gogh’s most notable works.

Stubbe’s Haring:

Around 550 yards from Centraal Station, you’ll probably see the lines along the Singel Canal before you even notice the worn-out, flag-draped fish stand. Dutch matrons in striped aprons offer slippery herring, salty, a rite of passage for Amsterdammers, below the odd sign—the superscript of Stubbe’s is appealingly slapdash—at the establishment. The dish you desire is raw herring; the menu includes smoked eel, anchovies, and prawns.

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Anne Frank House:

This canal mansion from the 17th century is solely notable for the enormous queue outside. Entry is exclusively available through online reservations, with timed tickets released 2 months in advance and a small number on the actual event day. The most moving museum in the city is well worth the inconveniences caused by crowds because of the moving exhibits, especially the attic where the Frank family camped from the Nazis and where young Anne wrote her famous diary.

Nieuwe Diep Distillery:

This canal mansion from the 17th century is solely notable for the enormous queue outside. Entry is available exclusively through online reservations, with timed tickets released 2 months in advance and a small number on the actual event day. The most moving museum in the city is well worth the inconveniences caused by crowds because of the moving exhibits, especially the attic where the Frank family camped from the Nazis and where young Anne wrote her famous diary.

The 9 Streets:

De Negen Straatjes (the Nine Streets), a maze-like neighborhood in the western portion of the Canal Ring, is dotted with independent stores. Shopping becomes an entire afternoon pastime as you stroll the brick pavements searching for the ideal unusual gift or keepsake. It is teeming with trendy galleries, small cafes, fashionable and vintage boutiques, as well as delightfully crammed antique shops.

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