THE 30 best things TO SEE and do in AMSTERDAM

Last updated: 9/13/21 | September 13th, 2021

Amsterdam is known as a party city, full of wild nights and all kinds of questionable debauchery. It’s a fun, eclectic, and party-focused destination popular with young backpackers seeking to let loose.

I’ve checked out Amsterdam a lot more times than I can count (it’s one of my favorite cities in the world) and I’m never disappointed. but there’s a lot more to the city than just a fun night out.

Amsterdam as we know it dates to the 12th century and is home to all kinds of medieval and Renaissance buildings, a lot of of which date to the Dutch golden Age, a time from 1588-1672 when Amsterdam was the center of the world economy. lots of of the canals themselves are hundreds of years old as well and have UNESCO world Heritage status.

Today, Amsterdam is a city filled with a lot more history than you know what to do with, a lot of art museums, chill cafes, loads of outdoor activities, and a wild nightlife. There’s plenty to see and do no matter what you’re interested in.

To help you make the most of your trip, here are the best 32 things to see and do in Amsterdam:

1. Take a complimentary walking Tour

Whenever I arrive in a new city I start off by taking a complimentary walking tour. They help you get oriented and give you an introduction of the city, culture, and the main sights worth seeing. You learn some history and can ask a local guide all the questions you have, which is the best way to get insider tips.

Free walking excursions Amsterdam and new Europe both offer daily complimentary walking tours. They last 2-3 hours and give you the best introduction to the city. just be sure to idea your guide at the end!

If you’re not on a tight budget and want an thorough alternative tour, check out Black Heritage Tours. While their excursions aren’t free, they are exceptionally informative and eye-opening. They focus on the impact of slavery during the growth of the Dutch empire and highlight Black culture and contributions to the country. It’s sobering but educational.

And for a lot more general excursions (walking tours, museum tours, food tours), check out get Your Guide. They have a ton of different excursions so there’s something for everybody!

2. check out the Van Gogh Museum

This museum is home to lots of of Van Gogh’s best works. It’s also the largest collection of Van Gogh’s works in the entire world. The museum does an exceptional job of outlining his life, chronicling his works from beginning to end so you can better understand and appreciate his style and evolution (as well as his life beyond painting). opened in 1973, it’s one of the most popular (read: crowded) sites in the city, but don’t let that stop you from visiting. The museum also has paintings by other popular artists of the period, like Monet, Manet, and Matisse as well as by artists who inspired Van Gough or were inspired by him.

Museumplein 6, +31 20 570 5200, vangoghmuseum.nl. open daily from 9am to 6pm in the summer with minimized hours in the spring, fall and winter. Admission is 19 EUR.

3. explore Jordaan

Jordaan is a trendy residential area. While it’s become a lot more popular in recent years, it’s still one of the most overlooked parts of the city. The area is full of relaxing shops and boutiques, bars and pubs, and hip restaurants. It’s also the area of the city where the Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-1669) lived during the final years of his life. It’s a quiet place to explore away from the crowds if you want to get a better feel for the city outside its main vacationer areas.

In addition to eating and drinking there, you can shop at the Westerstraat Market (Monday mornings) or the Lindengracht Market (on Saturdays).

4. Take a Canal Tour

Amsterdam is a beautiful, picturesque city thanks to the picturesque canals that break up the city’s sprawl. To see the city from a new perspective, take a canal tour. There are large excursion boats that can take you up and down the waterways, but you can also rent your own boat for a self-guided excursion (if you’re comfortable driving a boat). Self-guided rentals are for small, open-air boats that give you a a lot more intimate, special experience. They cost around 50 EUR per hour, which makes it incredibly cost effective if you have a few pals to join you. For a conventional guided excursion on a larger boat, expect to pay around 18 EUR per person.

5. See Anne Frank House

This is one of the most popular vacationer sites in the entire city. While it’s an crucial and sad place to visit, it’s also exceptionally overcrowded. You just shuffle through the house and never really have time to digest what you’re seeing. Personally, I think the Jewish history museum does a better job of highlighting her life but this is still worth seeing as it is such an famous and crucial site.

Prinsengracht 263–267, +31 20 556 71 05, annefrank.org. open daily from 9am–9pm (shorter hours in the winter). Admission is 14 EUR. Tickets are only sold online.

6. check out the Rijksmuseum

Established in 1798, The Rijksmuseum is an art and history museum located ideal next to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum, recently renovated, features an substantial Rembrandt collection including the popular painting “The night Watch.” In addition to works by Rembrandt, the museum is also home to a robust collection of other classic Dutch painters, like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. There are over 1 million items in the collection (it’s the largest museum in the country) with over 8,000 on display so you can easily spend a few hours here.

Museumstraat 1, +31 20 674 7000, rijksmuseum.nl. open daily from 9am–5pm. Admission is 20 EUR.

7. kick back in Oosterpark

If you need to get away from the crowds, head to Oosterpark. It’s a kicking back green space east of the city center and is best for lounging and enjoying a sunny day. It’s much less busy than the city’s popular Vondelpark and shows you a different, a lot more residential part of the city. There are sculptures (including the national Slavery Monument that commemorates the abolition of slavery in 1863), playgrounds, ponds, and plenty of space to picnic or lounge. It was the city’s first large park too, dating back to the 1890s

8. try the Heineken Experience

Heineken is one of the most popular (and popular) beers in the world. You can take an interactive self-guided excursion of this former brewery and learn about how the beer was made and how the company progressed over the centuries (the beer dates back to the 1870s). Admission also includes two beers, so if you’re a fan be sure to book a tour. It’s a fun way to learn some history.

Stadhouderskade 78, +31 020 261 1323, heinekenexperience.com. open daily from 12pm-9pm. Admission is 21 EUR (19.50 EUR if you book online).

9. See the Erotic museum and the Amsterdam Sex museum

Tucked away in an old storehouse in the Red Light district and has an exhibition about eroticism in all its various forms throughout the ages. It has sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, and other artwork. And, of course, there is a gift shop if you want a a lot more special souvenir from the city.

The Amsterdam Sex museum is the a lot more severe museum and is much a lot more informative than the Erotic museum (but also a little less fun). It was the world’s first sex museum, having opened in 1985. It highlights the history of sexual views and norms, as well as the lives of some of the world’s a lot of sexually popular individuals (like the Marquis de Sade).

Erotic Museum: Oudezijds Achterburgwal 54, +31 20 627 8954, erotisch-museum.nl. open daily from 11am-1am. Admission is 7 EUR.

Amsterdam Sex Museum: Damrak 18, +31 20 622 8376, sexmuseumamsterdam.nl. open daily from 11am-7pm. Admission is 9 EUR.

10. wander the Red Light District

Unsurprisingly, Amsterdam’s Red Light district is one of the city’s main draws. though much tamer than in previous years, the Red Light district manages to balance sex and seediness with being a major international vacationer attraction. While it’s worth seeing, I’d keep your time here brief. It’s quite calm and quiet during the day, at night the area is bursting with drunken revelers and gawking tourists that clog the sidewalks. but even if it’s not your scene, I’d still make sure to see the area with your own eyes. It’s certainly unique!

11. check out the Jewish historical Museum

This is the only Jewish history museum in the country, though it’s typically overlooked in favor of The Anne Frank House. Personally, I think the museum does a better job when it pertains to highlighting the history and struggles of Jewish people in the Netherlands. Specifically, they have an exceptional exhibit on world war II that highlights the Dutch resistance, complacency, and guilt over the Holocaust. well established in 1932 (and reopened in 1955, after the war), the museum houses over 11,000 items, artifacts, and works of art.

Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1, +31 20 531 0310, jck.nl. open daily from 11am–5pm. Admission is 17 EUR.

12. See the museum Amstelkring

Hidden inside a 17th-century canal house, this is one of the most interesting churches I’ve ever been to. Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (“Our Lord in the Attic”) is a clandestine Catholic church that was secretly built during Protestant policy on the 3rd floor of a regular house (it was never really a secret, but considering that it was out of sight the authorities didn’t crack down on them too harshly). built in the 1660s, the church has a stunning drawing room and the furnishings and artifacts make this one of the best 17th-century rooms still intact.

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38, +31 20 624 6604, opsolder.nl. open Tuesday–Friday from 10am-5pm, Saturdays from 10am–6pm and Sundays from 1pm–6pm. Admissions is 14 EUR.

13. check out Noord

Noord has progressed into one of the cooler and trendier districts in recent years. It’s one of the more affordable areas in the city so a lot of new bars and restaurants have opened here. The old industrial areas have been reclaimed and there is lots of green space too. It’s a fun, lively area with much fewer crowds than the central part of the city. rent a bike and explore — you won’t be disappointed!

14. check out the Tulip Museum

The Netherlands is known for its sensational and Insta-worthy tulip fields. This tiny museum, located in a tulip shop, does a terrific job of telling the history of tulips in country. It’s one of the best off-the-beaten-path attractions in Amsterdam. It’s never very busy and it’s only 5 EUR (which makes it one of the least expensive museums in the city).

Prinsengracht 116, +31 20 421 0095, amsterdamtulipmuseum.com. open daily from 10am-6pm. Admission is 5 EUR.

15. See the FOAM

Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum and home to a sensational collection of extraordinary pictures. surprisingly it also sees few crowds even though it’s in the main part of the city. opened in 2001, the museum is composed of four exhibitions that are regularly changing so you never know what you might see (check the web site to see what is on display during your visit). They have a stunning outdoor garden too. It’s a small museum and it doesn’t take long to see so don’t pass it by!

Keizersgracht 609, +31 20 551 6500, foam.org. open daily from 10am–6pm (9pm on Thursdays and Fridays). Admission is 12.50 EUR.

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16. Take an alternative Art Tour

Amsterdam is home to some extraordinary street art. You can see it all over while you explore, but if you really want to appreciate it and learn about the alternative art scene in Amsterdam then take a tour. Alltournative Amsterdam runs an amazing, insightful excursion where you can learn all about the alternative arts while getting to see the best murals in the city. All the people I took on the excursion loved it! prices start at 15 EUR.

17. Go windmill spotting

The Dutch are popular for their windmills and setting out on an adventure to check out the windmills surrounding Amsterdam is a terrific way to take in the city. There are eight in total — a lot of of which are in Amsterdam West. De Gooyer is the closest to the city center and also happens to be a brewery, making it the best place to start (and maybe never leave). It’s just a quick 20-minute train ride from Amsterdam Centraal. another windmill worth seeing is Sloten Mill, which is a reconstructed mill from 1847 that’s open to the public. excursions last 45 minutes and cost 7.50 EUR.

18. Take a Bike Tour

Bikes are to Amsterdam like white wine is to Bordeaux. The locals love to bike anywhere and there are supposedly a lot more bikes than people in the city. Bike usage has shot up 40% in the past two decades and locals collectively cycle over 2 million kilometers every day! If you want to explore the way the locals do, take a bike tour.

Mike’s Bike excursions is the best company to use, whether for a excursion or to rent a bike on your own. Not only do they offer city excursions but they also offer bike excursions of the surrounding countryside as well. A 2.5-hour city excursion costs 33 EUR.

19. check out the Rembrandt house Museum

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is widely considered to be one of the greatest artists in human history (his popular painting, The night Watch, is in the Rijksmuseum). This house, which he lived and worked in between 1639 and 1658 has been converted into a museum that highlights his life and wor