What Amsterdam costs
The money goes on the room and the museums, and the city is small enough for a bike and a one-hour ticket to cover most trips.
- Transport
- one-hour ticket €3.40
- Bike
- one day €17.95, three hours €13.95
- Anne Frank House
- €16.50, online only
Amsterdam is expensive in two places: the room, which carries the tourist tax and, since the start of 2026, VAT of 21 percent, and the big museums, which sell timed entry only. Everything else is small, because the city is compact and a bike or a one-hour ticket replaces most taxis.
Museums require a time slot.
The bill leaks first in the room. The nightly price is not in the table, since it depends on the area and the month, but the tourist tax comes on top, 12.5 per cent, and since 1 January 2026 VAT has been 21 percent instead of 9. The museums come second. The Anne Frank House is €16.50, the Rijksmuseum €25 and the Van Gogh Museum €25, and all three are entered with a time slot. Anne Frank tickets are sold online only, released on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. for a visit six weeks later, so plan that one before anything else. In food only the rijsttafel, the Indonesian rice table, is dear: €25–55.
Where to save
Eat the cheap Amsterdam. A herring from a street stall costs €4–5 and a stroopwafel from a market counter €3–4, and a plate of bitterballen with a beer, €8–10, makes a respectable dinner in a brown café. If you count every ride, take a bike for the whole day at €17.95, or for three hours at €13.95; the rental asks for a cash deposit of €50 or a card. A single one-hour ticket costs €3.40. Museumkaart, €75, pays off only with many museums in a short span, and for two or three visits it does not. The card on sale at the desk is a temporary one, good for five visits within 31 days, and the Anne Frank House stays outside the bargain: with the card you still pay the booking fee of €1. The Heineken Experience, €24.95, is worth the money only if beer is the point of your trip, and the rooftop version costs more.
Official ticket
- Price
- €24.95
- Rooftop version
- costs more
Through a partner
- options with a guide or audio guide
- usually costs more than the official ticket
Buy the plan before you go and switch it on when you land.
The same comparison for 156 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Where to next
Amsterdam behind the gates: courtyards and an attic church
→Courtyards behind gates, a church in an attic and a windmill with a brewery, seven things the canal cruise does not show.
Haarlem · 17 km
→The oldest museum and the oldest hofje in the Netherlands, a quarter of an hour from Amsterdam
How well does Amsterdam suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Amsterdam
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How much money do you need for two days in Amsterdam?
The room decides most of it: two nights with the tourist tax, plus 21 percent VAT. Add the three museums from the table, a one-hour ticket or a bike, and street food. There is no single total, because the room depends on the area and the month, and the rest is in the table.
Is the Museumkaart worth it?
For two or three museums it is not. It pays off with many visits in a short span. The Anne Frank House still takes its booking fee.
Ready for Amsterdam?
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