Your Complete Amsterdam Travel Guide

We applaud you if you have decided on Amsterdam as your next destination. The Dutch Capital is no less than otherworldly beautiful. Famous for its iconic canals, ancient townhomes, cobblestone streets, historic attractions, flower-adorned bridges, and old soul charm, the Dutch Capital can grant you the soul-cleansing experience you need. 

Whether you try to divide your time in the city among the country’s incredible attractions and sights or wander around the city’s quaint streets and take in all of its stunning charms, you will most definitely have the time of your life in the Dutch Capital.

To help ensure this, we have prepared a complete Amsterdam travel guide that answers all your potential questions so you can make the most of your time in the charming Dutch Capital. 

When is the best time to go to Amsterdam? 

The Dutch Capital is equally beautiful and pleasant all year round. However, late spring is the best time to visit Amsterdam, as the mild weather is perfect for strolling down the city’s old alleys or biking around the city and exploring its hidden gems. Early April is when the legendary tulips start to bloom, so make sure to be there to witness it. 

How to get around Amsterdam? 

There are several ways to get around the city. Here are some of them: 

• Trams: Amsterdam’s famous blue and white trams are still the most authentic Dutch way to move around the city. There are 14 tram lines in the Dutch Capital alone, convening at Amsterdam Central Station. 
• Ferries: Thanks to Amsterdam’s several canals, ferries are a reliable means of transportation around the city. 
• Buses: Amsterdam’s bus system is highly efficient. It has 35 bus lines all over the city and operates at night, making them more practical than trams and metros for night outings. 
• Metros: The Amsterdam metro system has five routes and 39 stations, making it the only transportation system that accesses the city’s outlying suburbs. 
• Bicycles: Granted, cycling is not precisely public transportation, but in Amsterdam, it is one of the most popular and common ways to get around the city. It gives you a great chance to experience the beauty of Amsterdam up close. 

Where to stay in Amsterdam? 

As one of the world’s most beautiful cities and tourist destinations, Amsterdam is filled with class-A hotels to cater to the vast masses that visit it every year. Here are the most recommended five hotels in the Dutch Capital:

The Hoxton

The Hoxton Hotel is a great place to stay in Amsterdam. It has quirky rooms, a cosy lobby bar, and a superb location over the Herengracht Canal. 

Pillows Anna Van den Vondel 

This charming boutique hotel is housed in three grand, red-and-white-striped 19th-century mansions. Its rooms overlook its gorgeous private English garden. 

Volkshotel

The Volkshotel is a place for artists and young hip minds. It was developed in vintage Amsterdam fashion. Its quirky rooms feature unique designer touches and bold colours. 

Sir Albert Hotel

Housed in a 19-century diamond factory, Sir Albert Hotel has 90 uniquely designed rooms and suites with high ceilings, large windows, custom-made linens, and Illy espresso machines. 

Ambassade Hotel

With its excellent central location, a mix of contemporary and traditional designs, friendly staff, and reasonable rates, the Ambassade Hotel is a traveller’s favourite and one of the highest-rated hotels in Amsterdam. 

Where to eat in Amsterdam? 

Just as rich as it is in history and culture, Amsterdam thrives in the culinary and entertainment scene with a collection of superb restaurants and cafes that cater to every taste and culinary need. Here are the top restaurant choices in the city: 

Restaurant Floreyn

Restaurant Floreyn is a local hub that gives tourists and out-of-towners a chance to try out and enjoy fine Dutch cuisine while surrounded by state-of-the-art interior and decor work. 

Vegan Junk Food Bar 

The Vegan Junk Food Bar is a hip, edgy, plant-based joint that serves cruelty-free vegan fast food, such as non-meat ‘beef’ burgers and vegan seafood dishes like crispy shrimp or sashimi. 

De Kas

De Kas is a unique, airy dining space with glass walls and ceilings modelled after greenhouses. It serves farm-to-table multi-course menus in this perfect, greenhouse-like setting, making it the ideal spot for relaxed, fresh midday lunches. 

Vleminckx de Sausmeester

Vleminckx de Sausmeester is the perfect street food hub. Since 1887, it has served fried potatoes so well that you can’t get them anywhere else. This is why there are always lines in front of it of people waiting to taste its famous fries, which are worth the wait. 

De Silveren Spiegel 

Built in an elegant and vintage 1614 red-brick townhouse, De Silveren Spiegel or Silver Mirror is a beautiful spot for fancy yet relaxed dinners that serve delicious and unique plates such as lobster stuffed with North Sea crab with vintage Gouda foam.

Top things to do in Amsterdam? 

The places, sights, and attractions in the Netherland’s Capital could go on forever. Therefore, deciding where to go or what to do could be challenging when you have a limited time and budget, as most do during vacations. So, we have compiled a list of must-see attractions and must-do activities that will help you obtain the whole Amsterdam experience. 

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is the most visited in the Netherlands, with a record of 2.165 million visitors in 2018.

 The Van Gogh Museum features a collection of over 200 of Vincent Van Gogh’s stunning paintings,  including The Potato Eaters, Wheatfield with Crows, Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette, as well as 500 of his drawings, including Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet and more.

The Van Gogh Museum offers more than that. Inside the museum, you will find about 700 handwritten letters by Vincent himself that take you along Gogh’s journey and his depression. 

Anne Frank House

You can’t visit and leave Amsterdam without visiting the iconic Ann Frank House; without it, your Amsterdam experience would never be complete. 

Anne Frank is one of the 107,000 Jews who took shelter in the Netherlands until deported to concentration camps during World War II. However, sadly, she was not one of the 5000 who eventually survived. 

Inside this 17th-century canal house, you will be able to see and stand in the one and only Secret Annexe, which is where the worldly famous teenage diarist Anne Frank hid from the Nazis with her family for over two years. While in the Secret Annex, you will get to view and read Anne Frank’s iconic diary, where she told the story of her and her family and what it felt like to live in hiding for two years under the Nazi’s reign of terror. 

Although the line to enter the Anne Frank House seems to go on for days on end, it is entirely worth it once you get inside and experience one of Amsterdam’s most profound and significant experiences. 

Vondelpark

Spanning over 120 acres over the Canal Ring, Vondelpark is considered the Dutch version of Central Park. 

The vast green spaces, the iconic Fish statue by Pablo Picasso, and the live entertainment performances at the park’s open-air theatre are some of the reasons why Amsterdam’s Vondelpark is a must-see attraction in the Dutch Capital. So don’t miss out on visiting one of Amsterdam’s biggest and most beautiful parks. 

Royal Palace

Initially opened in 1655 as a town hall, the Royal Palace was declared a palace in the 19th century. It is one of Amsterdam’s most prestigious buildings and attractions for its spectacular interior work, especially that with marble. 

When designed, the elegant structure reflected Amsterdam’s wealth and status, making the Royal Palace one of the grandest European buildings at the time. 

Leidseplein

One of Amsterdam’s busiest squares, Leidseplein Square features historic architecture, steakhouses, restaurants, and clubs. 

Leidseplein is also a significant hub for nightlife and partying. It has many pubs and clubs, several restaurants, and pavement cafes lined at the northern end of the square, perfect for watching from the sidelines. To truly experience Amsterdam’s party scene, you must visit Leidseplein. 

Now that your travel plans are in order, you can book your plane ticket and ENJOY the time of your life in one of the world’s most beautiful capitals, Amsterdam.