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Best experiences:

The Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam , North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Exterior view of the museum during daytime

World-leading art museum packed with Dutch Golden Age masterpieces, showcasing the finest works of Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer. Over 8,000 exhibits are displayed in 80 rooms trace 800 years of Dutch art and culture.

Adult price: £16

Best for ages 18+

Drive or cycle the Flower Route

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Field full of red tulips and a traditional old wooden windmill

This 44-mile drive or cycle takes you through some of the Netherland’s most spectacular tulip fields. Beguiling, colour-rich fields of tulips as far as the eye can see, peppered with iconic windmills.

Best for ages 18+

Duration: 3 hours

Boat tours of Amsterdam’s canals

Amsterdam, North, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Boat under a bridge at daytime

Sedate and enjoyable tours (with audio commentary) are a great way to see the city and to learn some of its secrets.

Adult price: £20

Best for ages 4+

Duration: 75 minutes

Van Gogh Museum

Amsterdam , North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Close up of a painting with a man pointing to it in the background

The world’s largest collection of works by post-Impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh – including over 200 paintings and 400 drawings.

Adult price: £15

Best for ages 18+

World-class art in Amsterdam

Amsterdam , North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Group of people viewing a historical painting

Amsterdam’s world-class art museums traces the rich artistic heritage of the Netherlands, from the Golden Age to the present day.

Best for ages 18+

Anne Frank House

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Exterior view of the Anne Frank House Museum with long queues outside

The canal-house annexe – now a moving museum – is where Anne Frank hid and wrote her world-famous diary. It’s a poignant, moving experience, and an Amsterdam must-see.

Adult price: £12

Best for ages 13+

Hermitage Amsterdam

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Exterior view during daytime

A 17th-century old people’s that is now the overseas outpost for St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum. Lavish, must-see exhibitions of exquisite treasures selected from the Hermitage’s vast collections.

Adult price: £22

Best for ages 18+

Heineken Experience

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
view down a modern interior display room

One of the city’s most popular attractions is the historic 1867 Heineken brewery, which has retained the original brewing room with its enormous vintage copper vats and antique brewing equipment.

Adult price: £18

Min age 18

Best for ages 18+

Keukenhof Gardens

Lisse, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Keukenhof Gardens

This springtime visual feast features seven million tulips, blooming in one of the world’s largest flower gardens.

Adult price: £15

Best for ages 18+

Amsterdam’s Gay Pride

Amsterdam , North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Parader on boats in the city

Amsterdam’s massive gay pride celebration attracts over a half-million supporters from around the globe, to watch the world-famous Canal Parade. Unique, spectacular and an electric atmosphere.

Best for ages 13+

Duration: 9 days

When: 1st weekend August

Frequency: annually

Amsterdam’s best food & drink

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
Chips and mayonnaise

The typical foods, ingredients and flavours, cooking styles, dining scene and best foodie experiences in Amsterdam.

Best for ages 18+

Duration: -

Rembrandt House Museum

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Exterior view of the museum during daytime

From 1639 to 1656, Rembrandt lived and worked in this graceful townhouse, which features a recreation of his studio and period furnishings from the Golden Age; a modern addition displays his prints and lesser paintings.

Adult price: £13

Best for ages 18+

Stedelijk Museum

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Exterior view of the museum at daytime

One of the city’s ‘Big Three’ museums highlights international artists of the 19th to 21st centuries, and features a fine collection of works by Piet Mondrian.

Adult price: £17

Best for ages 18+

Amsterdam’s Brown Cafes

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
External view of a brown cafe with red awning

These cosy, centuries-old neighbourhood pubs are the most authentic place for a local pint.

Best for ages 18+

Duration: Any

The Nine Streets

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
view of the pretty facades of several shops on a street

Stroll the city’s most stylish streets, packed with independent boutiques and vintage fashion stores, the latest Dutch and Flemish brands, and locally-made soaps and luxe toiletries.

Best for ages 18+

Portuguese Synagogue

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

interior view of the synagogue during the daytime

One of Europe’s largest synagogues, this magnificent building has been in continuous use since its founding in 1675 and is still lit entirely by candlelight. 

Adult price: £17

Best for ages 18+

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Our Lord in the Attic

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

interior view of the small chapel, hidden within 3 townhouses

One of the few remaining ‘clandestine churches’ of the 17th century, when Catholics were forced to worship in secret, this Baroque-style jewel is tucked inside the attic of a stately Red Light District canal house.

Adult price: £12

Best for ages 18+

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NEMO Science Museum

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

External view of the striking green building shaped like the prow of a ship

An interactive science centre offering the best indoor kids’ entertainment in Amsterdam – and a superb roof terrace for coffee with a view.

Adult price: £15

Best for ages 4+

Moco Museum Amsterdam

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Moco Museum Amsterdam

A privately-owned museum that specialises in contemporary art and exhibitions from famous artists such as Banksy, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Salvador Dali.

Adult price: £17

Best for ages 18+

Climb the Westerkerk Church Tower

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Tower of the Westerkerk church, autumn trees and people boating

From April to October the Westerkerk church (Prinsengracht 281) offers guided tours up its 85m-high tower delivers knock-out views of the surrounding canals and gabled houses. Open Monday to Saturday 11am-3pm.

Best for ages 6+

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Hortus Botanicus

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Exterior view of the Hortus Botanicus and a lake in the front

The unheralded but delightful Hortus Botanicus is one of the world’s oldest botanical gardens – founded in 1638. It’s just east of the city centre and well worth a visit.

Adult price: £10

Best for ages 4+

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De Hallen

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

View fo the empty foodhall with food stalls on either

A sprawling food, shopping and cultural complex tucked inside a turn-of-the-century red-brick complex, that includes an indoor food hall with over 20 different international street food stalls.

Best for ages 18+

Albert Cuyp Market

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

People shopping in daytime

Stretching a half-mile, Amsterdam’s biggest street market has over 250 stands hawking everything from fresh produce to clothing to kitchenware and small electronics. Fuel up on local delicacies like stroopwafels, kibbling (fried fish) and Gouda cheese.

Best for ages 18+

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National Maritime Museum

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Bucket List Experience
external view of the museum at daytime

The second-largest maritime collection in the world charts the golden age of Dutch seafaring, with interactive exhibits and memorabilia including a replica 18th-century sailing ship.

Adult price: £12

Best for ages 8+

Van Loon Museum

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Exterior view of the entrance - housed in a grey stone canal house building

Owned by the founders of the Dutch East India Company, this beautifully preserved Canal District house museum gives you of taste of how the 19th-century aristocracy lived.

Adult price: £8

Best for ages 18+

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Amsterdam Flower Market

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Close up of lots of flower stands at midday

The only floating flower market in the world, this unique market has existed since 1862, with blooms, bulbs and bouquets sold directly from the houseboats.

Best for ages 18+

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Vondelpark

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Gate at entrance to the park

Amsterdam’s iconic 111-acre park in the city centre is a focal point of relaxation for locals – and perfect for a leisurely bike ride.

De Bijenkorf

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Exterior view of De Bijenkorp during the daytime

The Netherlands’ equivalent of Harrods, De Bijenkorf is one of the oldest and grandest department stores in Amsterdam, with over 20,000 square metres of fashion, jewellery and pretty much everything else.

Best for ages 18+

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King’s Day

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

People on boats enjoying celebrations

Amsterdam’s biggest event of the year is a riotous, city-wide street party where everyone dresses in orange.

Best for ages 13+

Duration: 1 day

When: 26th April

Frequency: annually

EYE

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Exterior view of the EYE during the daytime

In a spectacular new white zig-zag building by the IJ river, the EYE Film Institute Netherlands is worth visiting, if only for a drink in its dramatic café.

Adult price: £10

Best for ages 18+

Duration: 1-3 hours

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Madame Tussauds Amsterdam

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

People viewing the Madame Tussauds figures

Alongside Tussauds’ world-famous waxworks, the revamped Amsterdam boasts multi-media exhibits, and uses real-life actors and extras to add to the celebrity illusions.

Adult price: £19

Best for ages 4+

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Huis Marseille Museum for Photography

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

External facade of the building looking up, with a large red sign hanging down

Set in two beautiful canal houses along the Keizersgracht, this museum showcases contemporary (mainly European) photographers in its permanent collection and hosts several photo exhibits annually.

Adult price: £7

Best for ages 18+

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Cafe ‘t Smalle

Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Canal spring scene with green trees, boats and people relaxing in small cafe.

Dating from 1780, small in scale, wood-panelled, with candles on the gleaming, low-slung bar, ’t Smalle ticks all the boxes of a classic brown café. The icing on the cake is its dreamy terrace, projecting out over a picturesque Jordaan canal. Though discovered by tourists, it’s still a locals’ haunt, too.

Min age 18

Best for ages 18+

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