Amsterdam’s attractions are unusually close together. Almost everything below is inside the canal belt or one free ferry ride from it, and the two furthest apart — the Anne Frank House and the A’DAM Lookout — are twenty minutes apart including the crossing. Several are free.
The attractions, and where they are
| Attraction | Where | What it is | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Anne Frank House | Prinsengracht | Six weeks ahead, online only. € 16.50 | Book |
| Madame Tussauds | Dam Square | Wax figures on the Dam, with a view over the square | Book |
| The A’DAM Lookout | Overhoeks, across the IJ | Observation deck, a swing over the edge and a revolving restaurant | — |
| THIS IS HOLLAND | Amsterdam-Noord | A nine-minute 5D flight over the Netherlands, five minutes by free ferry | Book |
| The Amsterdam Dungeon | Rokin | Live actors and the darker side of the city’s history | Book |
| The Royal Palace | Dam Square | Still a working palace; open to visitors most days | Book |
| The Westerkerk tower | Prinsengracht | The tallest church tower in the city. Closed for restoration — the church below is free | — |
| The Oude Kerk | De Wallen | The oldest building in Amsterdam, from around 1306, in the middle of De Wallen | Book |
| Artis Zoo | Plantage | The oldest zoo in the Netherlands, twenty minutes east on foot | Book |
| The Heineken Experience | De Pijp | How the brewery worked, on its original site | Book |
| The flower market | Singel | Free, on the water since 1862, and now mostly bulbs and souvenirs | — |
The free ones
Four of the best things in this list cost nothing. The flower market on the Singel floats on the water and is open every day. The Begijnhof, entered through an unmarked alley off the Kalverstraat, is a fourteenth-century courtyard in the middle of the shopping district. The archaeological display inside Rokin metro station holds about ten thousand objects dug out of the Amstel. And the ferries behind Centraal Station cross the IJ all day and all night without a ticket.
Attractions by neighbourhood
| Neighbourhood | What you find there |
|---|---|
| The Red Light District | The oldest part of the city, built around two canals, five minutes from Centraal Station |
| The Nine Streets | Nine short streets crossing four canals: independent shops, cafes and 140 listed buildings |
| The Jordaan | The former workers’ quarter west of the Prinsengracht, with markets and hidden courtyards |
| Museumplein | The museum square: Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk, Moco and the Concertgebouw |
| The Kalverstraat | The main shopping street, from Dam Square to the Munttoren |
Getting there
| Route | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tram line 2 | Centraal Station to the Museumplein across the canal belt in fifteen minutes |
| Metro line 52 | The blue line, under the old city from Noord to Zuid, with a free archaeological display at Rokin |
| Map of the canal district | How the four canals, the neighbourhoods and the tram routes fit together |
What to book ahead
The Anne Frank House is the only one that genuinely requires planning — six weeks, online, Tuesday morning. The rest can wait until you are here, except on a wet weekend afternoon, when the indoor ones fill up.
- Anne Frank House tickets — released every Tuesday at 10:00 for six weeks later.
- Madame Tussauds — on Dam Square, at the top of the Kalverstraat.
- The Amsterdam Dungeon — on the Rokin, indoors and reliably busy when it rains.
- I amsterdam City Card — covers most of this list plus unlimited GVB transport.
The Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht, the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum on the Museumplein, a canal cruise, and Madame Tussauds on Dam Square. The A’DAM Lookout across the IJ gives the best view over the city and is reached by a free ferry.
The floating flower market on the Singel, the Begijnhof courtyard off the Kalverstraat, the archaeological display inside Rokin metro station, the passage under the Rijksmuseum, the ferries across the IJ, and walking the canal belt itself.
Only the Anne Frank House really requires it: tickets are online only and released every Tuesday at 10:00 for a visit six weeks later. Museums with timed entry are worth booking a day or two ahead in summer. The rest you can do on the day.
The A’DAM Lookout on the north bank of the IJ, reached by the free F3 ferry from behind Centraal Station. Inside the canal belt, the Westerkerk tower next to the Anne Frank House gives the best view of the canals themselves.
Take the free ferry from behind Centraal Station to Buiksloterweg. The crossing takes about three minutes and costs nothing. Do not take the metro to Noord — that station is much further north.
More to do
- Museums — the indoor half of the same list.
- Canal cruises — the attraction the city is actually built around.
- Everything to do — the full index.
More on our own pages: the Moco Museum
