Amsterdam Attractions

Introduction

Amsterdam is a must-see for most people when visiting the Netherlands. You're not just visiting the capital of the Netherlands, you're visiting one of the most open and inviting cities in the world. If you haven't seen this city, you haven't seen Holland!

Feel free to browse this page for hints and tips on the coolest places to visit. After all, you'll enjoy your stay much more if you're prepared!

Most likely, your airplane will land at Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol), which gives you a unique opportunity to travel to Amsterdam, with its unique atmosphere. The downtown area of Amsterdam is especially interesting and worth your while, whether you only have a few hours to spare or several days.

Amsterdam has something to offer for everyone:

• If you'd like to get a taste of true Dutch history and culture, make sure you visit the Jordaan neighborhood and include a trip to a flower market in your itinerary.
• Are you more interested in Dutch art? Amsterdam offers a large variety of museums and art galleries, the most interesting of which are described in the art section of this article. Whatever you do, make sure you pay a visit to the Rijksmuseum to see Rembrandt's most famous work "De Nachtwacht" ("The Night Watch").
• If you're more of a partygoer, then Amsterdam has a dazzling array of festivals, concerts and open-air theaters for you to enjoy year-round. Of course, all this is in addition to the traditional nightlife attractions.

This page provides extensive information on Amsterdam’s attractions, and offers links to pages containing more information, just in case you’d like to learn more about this fascinating city in Holland. Perhaps you’d even like to extend your stay after reading this article… in which case it might be handy to check out the hotels in Amsterdam.

Attractions: things to do

There is virtually nothing that Amsterdam can't offer you. Among foreign travelers, Amsterdam is most well-known for the liberal drug policy and the "red light district". However, as you can see below, there are far more interesting things to see and do during the short time you'll be visiting.

Museums

Amsterdam is a city rich in museums. If you love museums, you won't want to miss the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, as well as the small but impressive Anne Frank House and the Amsterdam Historical Museum. Below, you can find a short introduction to each of these museums.

• Rijksmuseum

  The Rijksmuseum is the largest museum in the Netherlands and has an international reputation to defend when it comes to exhibitions. This museum without any doubt is a must-see for every visitor! If you haven't been here, you haven't been to Amsterdam. You can find the Rijksmuseum at the head of the Museumplein; the architecturally interesting building alone is well worth a visit.

  You can reach the museum by tram lines 2, 5, 6, 7, and 12.

  

• Van Gogh Museum

  When you're done with the Rijksmuseum, why not add a visit to the Van Gogh Museum? It's very close to the Rijksmuseum and boasts the largest collection of paintings from Holland's most famous painter, Vincent van Gogh. The museum also regularly has exhibitions on other works from the Van Gogh-era or works from artists that were inspired by Van Gogh's work.

  The Van Gogh Museum can be reached by tram lines 2, 5, and 12.

• Anne Frank House

  The Anne Frank House is the hideaway used by the Jewish Frank family during World War II; and it's also the place where young Anne Frank wrote her world-famous diary. The original diary is part of the permanent collection of the museum, which also has a copy of every one of the hundreds of translations of the book. Of course, Anne's refuge (behind the closet) can also be visited.

  A visit to this house will make clear in which cramped circumstances the family lived and which prompted Anne to write her diary. It will also give the visitor a sense of the fear the family must have felt when they were discovered.

  The Anne Frank House is located on Prinsengracht behind the Westertoren and can be reached by tram lines 13 and 14.

• Amsterdam Historical Museum

  If you're interested in the history of the city, make sure you pay a visit to the Amsterdam Historical Museum. This museum will teach you more about the origins of the capital of the Netherlands and will show you how the city developed through the ages.

  This museum can be reached by taking tram lines 1, 2 or 5.

Parks

• Vondelpark

  Amsterdam has many parks, including the famous Vondelpark, located right behind Leidseplein. Vondelpark is especially busy during the summer, when many residents spend their time in this park to relax, read a good book, enjoy the sun, drink some wine, play some sports, practice or play their musical instrument or perform a (juggling) act.

  

  During the summer months (June, July, and August), you can attend many performances in the open-air theater in the park during the second half of the week, both by national and international artists. Wednesday afternoons are reserved for the kids, Thursday night is for lovers of classical music, and during the weekend, you can enjoy a wide variety of different types of entertainment, ranging from dancing (including some workshops) and singing to theater acts.

  Vondelpark also boasts several cafés where you can enjoy a drink in the summer sun, as well as a movie theater.

• Other parks

  Other parks include the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), which is an important recreational area for many residents. However, this park is located a good distance away from the city center and is not easily accessible, so you might want to go to some of the other parks instead, like Martin Luther King park or Oosterpark. Both boast different kinds of festivals during the summer; the tourist information center can give you more information on the latest events in those parks.

Festivals

Many free festivals are organized in Amsterdam every year; the largest of these popular events are listed below.

• Queen's Day (Koninginnedag): April 30

  Queen's Day is an official holiday in all of Holland. Every year on April 30th you can enjoy a huge display of national pride throughout the nation. Amsterdam also has a lot to offer on this day, as hundreds of thousands of Dutch people flock to the city to celebrate Queen's birthday (and, of course, to enjoy themselves in the process). The downtown area of Amsterdam becomes a "Vrijmarkt", a huge flea market where everyone can sell anything they want. As a result, you will find many people selling the strangest things they found, usually in their own homes.

  

  The whole city gets transformed into one huge marketplace that is known for its typically Dutch coziness ("gezelligheid") with lots of music, food, street games and lots of merchandise.

• Independence Day Festival (Bevrijdingsfestival): May 5

  Every year on May 5, Independence Day, commemorating the liberation of the country from the Germans by the Allied Forces in World War II, is celebrated throughout the Netherlands. Amsterdam has one of the largest festivals called the "Bevrijdingsfestival". This festival starts around noon and ends around 11pm. The Liberation Festival has two or three large podiums where a variety of Dutch artists give performances, but it also has many small-scale activities (including theater acts).

• The Vondelpark open-air theater: summer

  During the summer months (June, July, and August), you can attend many performances at the open-air theater in Vondelpark during the second half of the week, both by national and international artists. Wednesday afternoons are reserved for the kids, Thursday night is for lovers of classical music, and during the weekend, you can enjoy a wide variety of different types of entertainment, ranging from dancing (including some workshops) and singing to theater acts.

• Amsterdam Pride Festival: first weekend in August

  The first weekend of August is dedicated to Gay Amsterdam; during this weekend, you can visit the largest gay pride event in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Pride Festival. The most important part of the event is the Canal Parade on Saturday, when spectacularly dressed-up boats filled with gays and lesbians cruise through the city. The Amsterdam Pride Festival draws so many national and international visitors that it is listed among the top three of largest annual events in Amsterdam.

• Cultural Uitmarkt: last weekend of August

  The last weekend of August is dedicated to the new cultural season. Many podiums can be found around Museumplein and Leidseplein, each of which shows a short preview of acts that you can see in the city's theaters during the coming year. You can also attend a free preview of some shows in theaters around both squares. The Cultural Uitmarkt, as this event is known, is therefore an excellent way to enjoy the full range of theatrical events: from classical concerts to cabaret and musicals.

(Flea)markets

If you enjoy strolling around a traditional marketplace, Amsterdam is the place to be. In this section, you can find an overview of the city's most important marketplaces.

• Waterlooplein

  The most famous flea market of the city is the one on Waterlooplein. It's not large, but it's very nostalgic and offers a large selection of clothing and jewelry, as well as old radio's, records and other gadgets.

  You can reach the Waterlooplein flea market by tram lines 9 and 14. It is within walking distance of Rembrandtplein and is located behind city hall, the Stopera.

• Albert Cuyp market

  The Albert Cuyp market is a well-known daily market in Amsterdam that can be especially busy on Saturdays. You can find anything you want at this market, from clothing and shoes to flowers, fruits, fish, and vegetables. The market is located a little bit out of the city center, but it's easy to reach and is well worth a visit.

  You can reach the Albert Cuyp market by tram lines 16, 24, and 25; the market is within walking distance of Museumplein.

• Bloemenmarkt (Flower Market)

  You can find the Bloemenmarkt smack-dab in the city center. If you enjoy seeing large quantities of the famous Dutch flowers, you should definitely visit the Bloemenmarkt.

  The Bloemenmarkt is located at the Singel and can be reached by many tram lines (1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 14, 16, 24, and 25).

Shopping in Amsterdam

Amsterdam has a large shopping center, enough to satisfy every possible shopping need you may have. When shopping, you will definitely want to take a look at Kalverstraat, the busiest shopping street in the city. Kalverstraat starts at the Dam and runs all the way to Muntstraat. Along this street you will find a large selection of department stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, bookstores, drug stores, and fast-food places.

When you return to the Dam after your shopping spree and still haven't had enough, you can continue your tour of the Amsterdam shops across from the Dam along the Nieuwendijk, which runs to the central train station.

In case of bad weather, consider visiting the Magna Plaza shopping mall behind the Palace on the Dam (Paleis op de Dam). The mall, housed in an old post office building, boasts many specialty stores that you can't find anywhere else.

Are you in the mood for luxury shopping? In that case, make sure you find your way to PC Hooftstraat. Most of Amsterdam's luxury shops are located here.

If you're tired of the crowded shopping areas mentioned earlier, perhaps a visit to the so-called "nine streets of Amsterdam" is worth your while. The name "nine streets" refers to the small streets that are located perpendicular to the three main canals (Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht), so you can easily combine your visit to these three streets with a visit to the canals.

The "nine streets" area is de -marcated by Raadhuisstraat, Singel, Leidsestraat, and the Prinsengracht. You can crisscross the canals by walking through each of these streets and encounter many small and picturesque stores and restaurants. The area has many unique shops, including one that sells buttons in hundreds of shapes, a store with small paintings, and a sign store.

Going out in Amsterdam: nightlife

At night, the Dutch capital is all about nightlife activities, like restaurants, bars, nightclubs, cinemas and theaters; in essence, a whole other world. There are two main nightlife areas in Amsterdam you can visit: the Rembrandtplein area, and the Leidseplein area.

• Restaurants

  The best variety of restaurants can be found in the streets just behind the Leidseplein or at the Damrak. The number of cuisines you can try is highly diverse, ranging from Dutch (bistro) and Indonesian to Italian, Greek and Chinese. Feel free to walk around and take in the aroma!

  During the summer months, many restaurants in Amsterdam (and around the Netherlands, for that matter) have outside terraces so you can enjoy your dinner in the warm summer weather.

• Bars

  If you're interested in visiting some authentic Amsterdam bars, be sure to go to Rembrandtplein. You can find many pubs here where Dutch music is played and all the guests are singing along to the tunes, a beer in hand. If you'd like to experience the more modern bars tailoring to a younger crowd, you'll need to walk over to Leidseplein.

• Gay

  Amsterdam offers a host of bars especially for gay and lesbian people, especially near Rembrandtplein. You can recognize these bars anytime by the rainbow flag they're displaying outside. A well-known gay club is the "IT" on Amstelstraat near Rembrandtplein. Just across the street from the IT, you can find the lesbian bar "VivelaVie". Behind Rembrandtplein, at the Amstel, is the lesbian club "YouII", where you can dance till the wee hours of the night.

  A final well-known street containing many gay bars is Reguliersdwarsstraat, which runs parallel to the Bloemenmarkt and contains many restaurants and gay bars. This street is well worth a visit, even if you're not gay!

• Nightclubs

  When the bars and pubs close around 2am, and you're not done partying yet, you can visit one of the many nightclubs in Amsterdam and keep on partying till twilight. When you're near Leidseplein, the club "De Melkweg" is a good choice, as is the "Paradiso". Both nightclubs often offer special concerts. Make sure you ask around for the after-parties!

• Cinemas

  As you would expect from a well-known nightlife area, both Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein have cinemas close-by. A unique cinema is the Tuschinski on the Rembrandtplein; this cinema used to be a theater, which is still noticeable in the building itself.

  Leidseplein offers two cinemas: "City" (on the square itself) and "Bellevue Cinerama" (behind the Stadsschouwburg music hall). All foreign films are subtitled, so even visitors like you can catch a movie without any problems.

The "Jordaan"

A final special mention is reserved for the Jordaan neighborhood, where you can still enjoy the traditional Amsterdam life and culture, just as in the olden days. You can find it in the area bordered by Prinsengracht, Elandsgracht, Marnixstraat and Noordermarkt. The Jordaan is a world of its own that doesn't have any particular attractions, except the neighborhood itself.

Feel free to stroll around this unique, very relaxed neighborhood for a while to take in Amsterdam as it used to be; enjoy the easy going atmosphere and visit a few typical (flea)markets, especially around the Noordermarkt.

Related articles about Amsterdam

• History of Amsterdam
• Getting to and around Amsterdam
• Accommodation/hotels in Amsterdam

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