By rail
Amsterdam Centraal, the national rail hub
Europe · Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Canals, museums and bicycles
Getting there
By air
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), ~20 min by train
Best time to visit
April to May for tulips; June to September for long days
Don't miss
The Rijksmuseum
The Van Gogh Museum
The Anne Frank House
The canal ring
Things to do
A canal cruise
The Rijksmuseum
The Van Gogh Museum
Cycling to the Vondelpark
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Swimmerguy269 · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
A rain jacket, comfortable shoes
A quieter corner
The Jordaan's hidden courtyard gardens (hofjes)
Questions travellers ask
When is tulip season in Amsterdam?
April to May. For long days, come from June to September — and pack a rain jacket and comfortable shoes either way.
How do I get from Schiphol into Amsterdam?
By train — Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) is about 20 minutes away. Amsterdam Centraal is the national rail hub.
What are Amsterdam's essential sights?
The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House and the canal ring. Take a canal cruise, cycle to the Vondelpark, and seek out the Jordaan's hidden courtyard gardens (hofjes).
What are the must-try foods in Amsterdam?
Stroopwafels and raw herring. The Albert Cuyp market is the place to graze.
About Amsterdam
- Riverside
Where it is
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, where the Amstel river meets the IJ; much of it lies below sea level, laced with more than 100 km of canals crossed by over 1,200 bridges.
History
Named after a dam on the Amstel, the town received its charter around 1300. In the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age it became one of the world's great trading cities: the Amsterdam office of the Dutch East India Company became the first stock exchange in 1602, and merchants built the canal ring that became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. During the German occupation in the Second World War, Anne Frank wrote her diary in hiding here.
People
Amsterdammers speak Dutch, English is widely spoken too, and the city is home to people of some 180 nationalities. Life moves by bicycle and along the canals, brown cafés serve as neighbourhood living rooms, and on King's Day in late April the city turns orange with street markets and boat parties.
Known for
- The 17th-century canal ring
- The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum
- The Anne Frank House
- Cycling
- Herring, stroopwafels and bitterballen
Did you know?
Although Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, the government, parliament and foreign embassies are based in The Hague.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.