Amsterdam travel guide
Tours, attractions, events and places to stay, picked by people who know the city.
- Currency
- Euro (€)
- Main airport
- Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), about 15 km south-west
- Time zone
- CET (UTC+1), CEST (UTC+2) in summer
- Language
- Dutch; English is very widely spoken
- Paying for transport
- Contactless bank card or phone on trams, metro, buses and trains; GVB day ticket €10; Schiphol train €5.50
- Tourist tax
- 12.5% of the room price excluding VAT in 2026; a rise to 16% is planned for 2027
- Emergency number
- 112
The Dutch capital packs a remarkable amount into a small, walkable centre. A ring of 17th-century canals, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, wraps around the medieval core, lined with gabled merchants' houses from the Golden Age, when Amsterdam was the richest port in the world. That wealth paid for the art now in the Rijksmuseum, and the city's later history is told at the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House and the Stedelijk. Beyond the museums, Amsterdam is a place to wander: along the Jordaan's quiet canals, through the markets of De Pijp, into brown cafés and across the IJ by free ferry to the creative north. Windmills, cheese towns and, in spring, the Keukenhof bulb fields are all within an hour.
Most-booked tours
Ratings and prices from verified bookings.
ViatorAmsterdam Luxury Canal Cruise + Unlimited Drinks and Bites Option
1 hourFrom €17.30
ViatorDay Trip to Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam and Marken from Amsterdam
6.5 hoursFrom €35
ViatorAmsterdam Anne Frank Small-Group Guided Walking Tour
1 hourFrom €18.50
ViatorAmsterdam Food and Cultural Tour with 10 Tastings
3.5 hoursFrom €79
ViatorRijksmuseum Amsterdam Exclusive Guided Tour w/ Reserved Entry
2 hoursFrom €99
ViatorAmsterdam Classic Saloon Boat Cruise with Drinks and Cheese
1 hourFrom €16.49
ViatorAmsterdam: Keukenhof Entry & Shuttle Bus with Flexible Return
4 hoursFrom €42.49
ViatorAbsolutely Amsterdam - the Essential Introductory Walking Tour
2.5 hoursFrom €4.90
Top Amsterdam attractions
The sights most visitors build a trip around.
Rijksmuseum
€25, free for under 18s
Tickets from €27Van Gogh Museum
€25, free for under 18s, online only
Tickets from €27Anne Frank House
€16.50, official website only
Tickets from €32.50Amsterdam Canal Cruises
From about €15 for one hour
Tickets from €13.18Heineken Experience
From €24.95, includes one beer
Tickets from €24.95A’DAM Lookout
From €16.50 online
More attraction tickets
- Madame Tussauds Amsterdam4.5 (1,387)From €15.20
- Fabrique des Lumieres: Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo - The Renaissance Masters4.4 (247)From €18
- Amsterdam: Train Transfer To/From Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam4.5 (477)From €5.90
- Wereldmuseum Amsterdam4.4 (136)From €11.70
- Fabrique des Lumières: From Vermeer to Van Gogh4.7 (3,512)From €18
- THIS IS HOLLAND4.7 (680)From €24
- Amsterdam: Luxury Cruise with Onboard Bar4.6 (545)From €18.82
- Barbie - The Dream Experience4.7 (41)From €26
Tickets via Tiqets. Prices checked at each build.
What's on
Tickets via Ticketmaster and Tiqets. Updated nightly.
Where to stay
Pick a neighbourhood first. Each one suits a different kind of trip.
Canal Ring and the Jordaan
Canal-house hotels and boutique stays on the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, close to the Anne Frank House, the Nine Streets and the Jordaan's cafés11 places we rate
Old Centre (Dam Square and Centraal)
First-timers who want Centraal, Dam Square, the Royal Palace and the canal cruise piers on the doorstep, with a wide range of budgets10 places we rate
Museum Quarter and Vondelpark
Art lovers and families, with the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Vondelpark a short walk away and quieter streets at night12 places we rate
De Pijp
Food, markets and local nightlife around the Albert Cuyp Market and Sarphatipark, near the Heineken Experience and Museumplein10 places we rate
Local guides
Plans and tips for getting the most out of Amsterdam.
Christmas in Amsterdam 2026: lights, markets and skating
Christmas in Amsterdam 2026: the Light Festival on the canals, the Museumplein Christmas market and ice rink, Winter Paradise at the RAI and Sinterklaas.
Read the guide · 3 minDay trips from Amsterdam
The best day trips from Amsterdam: Zaanse Schans windmills, Haarlem, Utrecht, Volendam and Marken, The Hague and Delft, Rotterdam, Keukenhof and Giethoorn.
Read the guide · 3 minFirst time in Amsterdam: a three-day plan
A three-day Amsterdam itinerary for first-timers: the canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House and the Jordaan, with booking tips.
Read the guide · 3 minFree things to do in Amsterdam
Free things to do in Amsterdam: the canals, the Begijnhof, the Vondelpark, markets, free ferries across the IJ, museum gardens and the Light Festival route.
Read the guide · 3 minDay trips from Amsterdam
Easy days out by train or coach.
- Zaanse SchansAbout 17 minutes by train to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, then a 15-minute walk
- HaarlemAbout 15 minutes by train
- UtrechtAbout 25 minutes by train
- Volendam and MarkenAbout 30 minutes by bus, or on a guided tour
- The Hague and DelftAbout 50 minutes by train to Den Haag Centraal
- RotterdamAbout 40 minutes by direct train
- KeukenhofSpring only (18 March to 9 May 2027), by train to Schiphol and then bus
- GiethoornA long day trip, best on a guided tour
Getting around
Walking and cycling
Central Amsterdam is compact and flat. Amsterdam Centraal to Dam Square is about ten minutes on foot, and Dam Square to Museumplein about 25 minutes. Cycling is how locals get around, on a network of separate bike lanes; rental shops are everywhere, but keep to the bike lanes, use lights after dark and watch for trams.
Trams, metro, buses and ferries
GVB runs the city's trams, metro, buses and ferries. You can tap in and out with a contactless bank card or phone (OVpay): in 2026 each journey costs a base fare of €1.16 plus €0.217 per kilometre. Always tap out, or you are charged extra. GVB tickets cost €3.40 for one hour, €10 for a day, €16 for 48 hours and €21.50 for 72 hours. The ferries across the IJ from behind Amsterdam Centraal, including the F3 to A'DAM Lookout and the boat to the NDSM wharf, are free.
Airport transfers
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is about 15 km south-west of the centre, with a railway station beneath the terminal. NS trains run to Amsterdam Centraal in about 17 minutes, up to eight times an hour by day; a second-class single costs €5.50 in 2026 (€5.80 from 1 January 2027). Tap in with a contactless card or buy an e-ticket; a paper ticket from a machine adds a €1.60 surcharge. The Amsterdam Travel Ticket (€20 for one day, €27 for two, €34 for three in 2026) covers the train between Schiphol and the city plus all GVB transport. Bus 397 runs from Schiphol to Museumplein and Leidseplein. Taxis wait outside arrivals and run on the meter; expect roughly €55 to €95 to the centre, depending on traffic and destination.
Compare Amsterdam airport transfers and book ahead →
Trains beyond the city
NS trains link Amsterdam Centraal with Haarlem, Utrecht, Leiden, The Hague, Rotterdam and the Zaanse Schans. Fares depend on distance, and the same contactless card works on the gates. Off-peak travel is cheaper only with Dutch discount cards, so visitors pay the full fare.
Tourist tax
Amsterdam charges one of the highest tourist taxes in Europe: in 2026 it is 12.5% of the overnight price excluding VAT, on every kind of paid accommodation, from hotels and hostels to B&Bs, holiday rentals and campsites. It is added on top of the room rate, which since 1 January 2026 also carries 21% VAT. Cruise passengers visiting for the day pay a day tourist tax of €15 per passenger, usually built into the cruise fare. The city's coalition agreement of June 2026 plans to raise the overnight rate to 16% in 2027 and then by one percentage point a year to 20% in 2031; check the City of Amsterdam's tax page for the confirmed 2027 rate.