Amsterdam in 2 days
The Rijks, Van Gogh and the canals in two days — with one booking made six weeks earlier.
- How long
- 2 days
- Getting around
- On foot and by tram
- Rhythm
- A museum in the first slot
Two days in Amsterdam hang on one thing you cannot fix on the spot: the big museums sell tickets online only, for an exact hour, and the Anne Frank House releases them six weeks ahead. Everything else in the city takes improvisation; that does not.
Museumplein, then the water
The Rijksmuseum in the first slot. The Gallery of Honour with the Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid is on the second floor, and after eleven you queue inside it; in the morning you walk up to the canvas.
The Van Gogh Museum, five minutes across the square. Book both slots for the same day two and a half hours apart: that is what the Rijks needs, and anything tighter means running from one museum to the other.
Lunch at the Albert Cuyp market in De Pijp, 260 stalls. It trades Monday to Saturday, half past nine to five; on Sundays and public holidays there is no market, so if Day 1 falls on a Sunday, swap the days.
The canals from the water, an afternoon departure. The ring has been UNESCO-listed since 2010; after the boat you carry on west from the centre on foot, into the Jordaan.
The Jordaan and the brown cafés. You go to the bruine kroegen for a drink and pick dinner separately, at a restaurant in the same quarter.
Anne Frank, the West and the East
The Anne Frank House, on your booked slot. A visit takes an hour on average; a ticket with the introductory programme adds half an hour before it, and the next stop then moves to noon.
The western canals and the Negen Straatjes — nine lanes between the rings, with shops that are not chains. Nothing in particular is visited here, and that is the point.
The Vondelpark, south-west of the ring, as a break between the western and eastern halves of the day.
The East — Oosterpark, the Dappermarkt and Brouwerij 't IJ under the De Gooyer windmill. The quarter lies outside the canal ring, and it is the only part of the plan with no ticket and no slot.
Three things that wreck a day here
- Arriving with no museum bookings. The Rijks and Van Gogh do not sell at the door; even children, who enter free, need a slot.
- Standing on the red asphalt. That is a lane with its own traffic lights. Before you step: left, right, left again — a bike makes no noise.
- A canal cruise at noon on a Saturday. Same boat, same route, double the queue. The first morning or last evening departure is the same money and a different city.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How far ahead do I book the Anne Frank House?
Every Tuesday at 10am, Amsterdam time, all tickets go on sale for the day exactly six weeks later. They are sold online only; there is no ticket desk at the door and no queue for people without a slot.
Can I buy Rijksmuseum tickets on the spot?
No. The Rijks and the Van Gogh Museum sell online for an exact hour; even under-eighteens, who enter free, need a booked slot.
Is a bike a good idea for two days?
Only if you have ridden in dense traffic before. The centre is walked, the tram covers the rest, and the cycle lanes have rules that are expensive to learn as you go.
Ready for Amsterdam?
Where to next
Where to stay in Amsterdam
→The room tax is charged on top, so in Amsterdam the quarter is chosen by arithmetic as much as by taste.
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.
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.