One day in Amsterdam
The essential twelve hours, in one easy arc through the city.
Turkish breakfast at Simit Sarayi or your hotel, then tram to the Museum Quarter.
Rijksmuseum at opening. Go straight to the Gallery of Honour and the Night Watch (about 2.5 hours).
Walk across Museumplein and photograph the museum from the gardens.
Lunch near the museums or a halal grill on the Overtoom. Pray Dhuhr at El Tawheed or a quiet corner of Vondelpark.
Walk through the Nine Streets, the prettiest boutiques on the canal ring.
Anne Frank House (book six weeks ahead), or the Westerkerk and Jordaan lanes.
Mint tea in the Jordaan. Asr at the Fatih Mosque, two streets away.
Canal cruise from the centre as the light turns golden (about 1 hour).
Dinner: charcoal grill at Ali Ocakbaşı, or Indonesian rijsttafel if you booked ahead.
Maghrib and Isha, then a last walk past the illuminated Seven Bridges of the Reguliersgracht.
The classics, then the character
Day one follows the route above. Day two takes the free ferry to Amsterdam-Noord and the A'DAM Lookout, lunch in the Javastraat halal quarter, the Dappermarkt, the Van Gogh Museum or Maritime Museum, and a Surinamese roti dinner in De Pijp.
Add windmills or tulips
Choose your third day: Zaanse Schans and Volendam, Keukenhof in tulip season (mid-March to mid-May), or a connoisseur's city day with Museum Van Loon, the Begijnhof and Jumu'ah at the Westermoskee.
The unhurried Amsterdam
| Day | Theme | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Golden Age centre | Rijksmuseum, Nine Streets, canal cruise at dusk, charcoal-grill dinner |
| 2 | Memory & the Jordaan | Anne Frank House, Westerkerk, Jordaan lanes, Fatih Mosque, Indonesian rijsttafel |
| 3 | Across the water | Ferry to Noord, A'DAM Lookout, NEMO roof, Javastraat halal lunch, De Pijp evening |
| 4 | Windmills & villages | Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken |
| 5 | Your Amsterdam | Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark picnic from halal delis, shopping, farewell dinner |
Travelling over a Friday? Put Jumu'ah at the Westermoskee on day three or five and have lunch on the West side afterwards.