52.37° N · 4.89° E
17th-century canals, the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh and the Anne Frank House, all on foot or by tram. And less than an hour away by train, windmills and fishing villages.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Museum · 2–3 h · Rembrandt, Vermeer and 800 years of Dutch history. €25, free for under-18s; entry time slot compulsory.
Museum · 2 h · The sunflowers, the self-portraits and the letters. €25, free for under-18s; online tickets with a time slot only.
Museum · 1 h · The Frank family's hiding place on the Prinsengracht. €16.50 adults; tickets online only, on sale every Tuesday for six weeks later.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Getaways from Amsterdam
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to June and in September: long days, flower fields in April and May and fewer people than in summer. In winter it is cold and damp, but the illuminated canals and the museums make up for it.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Amsterdam Schiphol has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, taking about two and a half hours. It is one of the best-connected airports in Europe with its city: the station is beneath the terminal and the train drops you at Amsterdam Centraal in a quarter of an hour. You do not need a car either in the city or for the day trips.
Amsterdam is a city to visit without a car: parking is very expensive, the centre is small and the tram, bike and ferries reach everywhere. From Central Station also leave the trains and buses for all the day trips. The budget per person per day includes a bed in a mid-range double room, food and getting around on public transport.
The 17th-century canal houses turned into hotels are the prettiest way to sleep in Amsterdam. Choose one on the canal ring, book an unhurried dinner and let the boat and the museums be the plan for the day. The budget per person per day includes a room in a four- or five-star hotel, meals and a private boat trip.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Amsterdam works very well with children of any age: it is flat, the big museums are free for under-18s and the canal boat pleases everyone. The difficult part is the bike traffic: teach them not to step on the red lane before anything else.
With children up to six years old, Amsterdam is easier than it seems: everything is flat, there are playgrounds in every district and trams accept pushchairs. Plan one museum a day at most and leave the rest for the water and the parks.
From age twelve, Amsterdam gives them plenty to do: cycling around the city like the locals, the A'DAM Lookout swing, Van Gogh and the Anne Frank House, which at this age really makes an impression. Give them some free time in the Nine Streets or at Foodhallen.
Amsterdam is best enjoyed at water level and on two wheels, and both plans are easy to share in a group. There is little to organise: hire a bike, book a boat, eat at a market and leave the museum for a morning with a fixed time slot. What does take time is the night, so spread the museums over the hours before noon.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A large hostel beside the main entrance to the Vondelpark, three minutes from Leidseplein, with private rooms with bathroom and a direct bus from Schiphol.
Why we like it: A four-star hotel in several houses on the Singel, run by the same family for more than 80 years, five minutes from Dam Square.
Why we like it: A five-star hotel spread over 25 canal houses of the 17th and 18th centuries between the Prinsengracht and the Keizersgracht, with inner gardens.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a savoury bacon and cheese pannenkoek to share and a sweet apple one.
What to order: the stamppot, mashed potato with vegetables and smoked sausage, the winter dish of Dutch homes.
Takeaway and markets
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
52.47° N · 4.82° E
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52.48° N · 5.09° E
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Tips
That is when Anne Frank House tickets go on sale for six weeks later.
On trains, trams and buses, tap the same contactless card or the same phone when you get on and off.
It is red and runs right alongside the pavement. Do not walk along it or stop on it to take photos.
The wind makes an umbrella useless.
The wax attractions and gimmicky museums around Dam Square and the Damrak. For the same money you get half the Rijksmuseum, which is also free for under-18s.
Amsterdam is the gateway to the Netherlands for anyone travelling from Spain: direct flights from almost every city, a train that drops you in the centre in a quarter of an hour and a compact city you can cover on foot. In three days you see the canals, the three museums almost everyone wants to see and a couple of quiet neighbourhoods. With one or two more days, you can take the train to the windmills of the Zaanse Schans, to Haarlem or to Delft and come back to sleep.
By train. The station is beneath Schiphol Plaza, the arrivals hall, and the journey to Amsterdam Centraal takes between 14 and 17 minutes, with several trains an hour by day and night trains in the small hours. You do not need a ticket: tap your contactless card or phone on the reader when you enter the platform and when you leave, always using the same one. If you are staying near the Museumplein or the Vondelpark, bus 397 takes you there directly, every fifteen minutes.
Better not to come by car: parking in the centre is very expensive, many streets beside the canals are one-way and you will not need one even for day trips.
The three big visits require booking, and one of them weeks ahead:
The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh are on the same square, five minutes from each other, but two big museums on the same day is very tiring: better one in the morning of each day.
Day 1, canals and the Jordaan. Walk around the 17th-century canal ring to the Begijnhof, the Anne Frank House at your booked time and the afternoon in the Jordaan and the Nine Streets. At nightfall, a canal cruise: with the houses and bridges lit up is when it looks its best.
Day 2, Museumplein. The Rijksmuseum first thing, lunch at the Albert Cuyp Market, a while in the Vondelpark and, if it is a Friday, the Van Gogh Museum in the evening.
Day 3, the north and the bike. The free ferry behind Central Station to the A'DAM Lookout and, in the afternoon, a bike ride around the city or a route through the Waterland countryside.
The Netherlands is small and trains are frequent, so almost all the classics are less than an hour from Amsterdam Centraal:
April, May, June and September are the best months: long days, mild temperatures and, in April and May, the bulb fields in bloom between Haarlem and Leiden. July and August are pleasant but crowded. From November to March it is cold and damp and gets dark early, although that is when the illuminated canals are at their prettiest and hotels are cheapest. Avoid King's Day (27 April) if you do not want a city in orange party mode with no hotels free.
Inside the canal ring or next to the Museumplein, so you can do everything on foot. Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark has private rooms at hostel prices beside the park; the Hotel Estheréa is a family-run four-star on the Singel, and the Pulitzer is the treat, in canal houses. Amsterdam is expensive: book early and allow for the tourist tax, which is charged separately.
Questions
Three days for the city at a relaxed pace; four or five if you want to make day trips to the Zaanse Schans, Haarlem or Delft.
By train, 14 to 17 minutes to Amsterdam Centraal, paying with a contactless card. Bus 397 goes to the Museumplein and Leidseplein.
Only online at annefrank.org, every Tuesday at 10:00 for visits six weeks later. There are no sales at the door.
Yes. The Zaanse Schans is less than twenty minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal, plus a quarter-hour walk.
A valid ID card is enough: the Netherlands is in the European Union and the Schengen area.
Yes, if you are comfortable in traffic. If not, start with the Vondelpark or a two-hour guided route.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/amsterdam
