Amsterdam in One Day: Best Itinerary + Map, Tips & Guide

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How to spend a perfect day in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a city packed with eclectic culture and life. There is a little bit of everything, be it architecture, cuisine, history, or nature.

With our Amsterdam one day itinerary you’ll explore the famous canals whilst dipping into fun museums, munching on stroopwafel, and soaking up the lively yet laid-back atmosphere of the Dutch capital.

In our Amsterdam travel guide, we’ll share an itinerary for a day in Amsterdam, highlighting the top attractions and hidden gems that you won’t want to miss. You’ll find information, tips, and recommendations for visiting Amsterdam, with an interactive map organized to make the best use of your one day in Amsterdam.

What to See & Do in Amsterdam

Interactive Map

ROUTE: Dam Square – Anne Frank’s House – Nine Streets – Bloemenmarkt – Museumplein – Heineken Experience – Damrak Canal Cruise

How to use this map – Use your fingers (or computer mouse) to zoom in and out. Click or touch the icons to get more info about a place, and click the arrow in the box top left to open the index. To add to your own Google Maps account, click the star next to the title of the map.

Amsterdam Itinerary Notes

Morning

Wander Dam Square

Start your day in Amsterdam by visiting one of the city’s most famous spots, Dam Square, in the heart of historic Amsterdam. Built in the 13th century, when a dam was built around the river Amstel to prevent the Zuiderzee Sea from flooding the city, this spot is one of the most important places in the city. 

The square is surrounded by several historic buildings, including the New Church, or Nieuwe Kerk, and the grand Royal Palace, or Koninklijk Palace, a 17th-century building that was once home to the Dutch royal family. You’ll also find the National War Memorial, built in 1956 to commemorate Dutch soldiers and members of the resistance who died in World War II. 

Although Dam Square is a must-see when you’re in Amsterdam for a day, it won’t take long to visit unless you hang around to watch the street performers and live musicians who play here or take a spin on the Ferris wheel, which appears in the warmer months.

Top Tip: If you want to see some cool cityscape views from above, you can visit Madame Tussauds or climb to the top floor of H&M, which is on the right side of the square.

Visit Anne Frank’s House

Many know the harrowing true story of Anne Frank, whose life and experiences have been preserved in her diaries, which were written while she was in hiding.

For those who don’t, Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl from Germany who was persecuted for her religion during the Nazi reign and forced into hiding in the annex of a townhouse in the Jordaan neighborhood.

She and her family were discovered after two years in hiding, and Anne was deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died in February 1945 at just fifteen years old.

After the war, Anne’s father Otto, the only member of the family to survive the Holocaust, decided to publish Anne’s diaries, and the young author became a symbol of hope in the face of adversity, with words so positive it’s hard to imagine the circumstances in which they were written.

The Diary of a Young Girl, also known as Anne Frank’s Diary, was published in 1947. It has since been translated into more than 70 languages and sold over 30 million copies.

The townhouse where she and her family lived for those two horrifying years has now been converted into the Anne Frank Museum, and you can visit and learn all about the true difficulties of life there and of life in Nazi Europe in general.

This can be a difficult museum to visit, and you have to be quiet and respectful of the surroundings, but if you are interested in European history, it is such an important place to see.

You’ll want to book as far in advance as possible as tickets are limited. Tickets are released two months in advance, so as soon as you book your trip, book the tickets here. If you would like to learn more about Anne Frank and the Jews of Amsterdam, book this excellent walking tour with a dedicated and knowledgeable guide.

RELATED POST: 32 of the Very Best Things to Do in the Netherlands

Check Out the Nine Streets Neighborhood

Spend the rest of your morning wandering around Amsterdam’s Negen Straatjes, or Nine Streets. This hip micro-neighborhood lies between the Singel and Prinsengracht canals. It is full of cute little streets filled with stylish hotels, independent boutiques, quirky cafés, and many Instagram-worthy photo opportunities.

The district’s canals date back to the 16th and 17th centuries and are lined with stunning gabled townhouses, distinctive of the Dutch Golden Age.

Since 2010, the canals have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which recognizes their significance in the development of Amsterdam. No wonder this city is known as ‘the Venice of the North.’

You could pop into a fun museum, like the Amsterdam Cheese Museum or the Amsterdam Tulip Museum, grab a coffee and watch the world go by, or simply walk around and take in the surroundings. This is the perfect way to finish your morning.

Top Tip: Cheese lovers should visit De Kaaskamer, which has a truly vast selection of Dutch and international cheeses which you can taste before you buy. If chocolate is more your thing, head to Polaberry for fabulous chocolate treats, including the most delicious chocolate-covered strawberries.

Afternoon

Marvel at the Bloemenmarkt

After a busy morning exploring the west of Amsterdam, head south and discover one of the city’s most unique attractions: the colorful and fragrant floating flower market, the only one of its kind in the world. 

Bloemenmarkt has been in the harbor since 1862. It is surrounded by a long line of canal boats. Visitors can see plenty of flowers, including tulips, bulbs to take home and grow themselves, and other traditional Dutch souvenirs.

Visit Museumplein

Amsterdam is absolutely full of museums, so a day in Amsterdam has to be full of them, too! The most famous museums are in Museumplein.

You can choose between the Rijksmuseum, which is dedicated to art and history from Amsterdam and the Netherlands, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and Design, and the MOCO Museum.

Of course, if the weather is nice during your visit, take some time to relax in the grassy area around Museumplein. This beautiful square is used for festivals and celebrations and is where Amsterdam locals meet to while away an afternoon. In the winter, the pond is transformed into an ice skating rink.

Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is the biggest and great if you want to discover more about the Netherlands. It displays art from the Dutch Golden Age, including pieces by Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt, most notably the Night Watch. This is a hugely popular museum, so we recommend getting your skip-the-line ticket online in advance.

Van Gogh Museum

Housed in a contemporary building, the Van Gogh Museum has the largest collection of Van Gogh art in the world, including 200 or so paintings, 500 drawings, and 700 letters. It is a fascinating place to visit if you are interested in the life and work of this famed artist. You can buy priority Van Gogh Museum tickets online before arriving.

Stedelijk Museum

The Stedelijk Museum is Amsterdam’s answer to the Tate Modern. Housed in a historic building from 1895 with a new wing, it is home to the Netherlands’s largest collection of modern and contemporary art and design, including works by Chagall, Matisse, Kandinsky, Pollock, de Kooning, and Warhol.

MOCO Museum

The MOCO Museum is best for those who aren’t as interested in traditional museums, as it is filled with modern art. There is a long-running Banksy exhibition filled with street art and a light and reflection exhibition, which is really fun. The exhibitions change in this museum, so you might come across something new, but it is guaranteed to be fun and modern.

Enjoy a Beer at the Heineken Experience

Of all the things that Amsterdam is known for, beer might just be the most exciting. There are several famous beers, but Heineken is the most famous worldwide.

At the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, you can take a tour through the company’s old brewery and learn all about the history of the beer-making process. Of course, your skip-the-line ticket includes some beer that you can enjoy!

Evening

Check out the Craft Beer Scene

Proeflokaal Arendsnest is one of the best places in Amsterdam to get a taste of the growing Dutch craft beer scene. With a range of over 52 Dutch craft beers on tap and over 100 beers by the bottle, you’ll be spoiled for choice.

The helpful and knowledgeable bartenders are happy to guide you through their selection. The bar snack menu offers excellent, traditional Dutch charcuterie and cheese if you get the munchies.

Take an Amsterdam Canal Cruise

One of the best things to do in Amsterdam is take one of the city canal cruises. You’ll spend your Amsterdam day wandering around them, which is a wonderful way to experience the city from a different perspective. We recommend booking a canal cruise in the evening as once the sun sets, you can see the city and the canal bridges lit up. 

It’s a unique experience, and there are countless options based on your budget – a regular highlights tour, dinner on a canal boat, a private tour – the list is endless. Most canal tours start at Damrak, and you can see the famous dancing houses when you pass by, a great way to end your perfect day in Amsterdam.

We recommend this highly-rated magical evening canal cruise as the best way of seeing Amsterdam after dark.

Where to Eat in Amsterdam

Van Wonderen Stroopwafels

You can’t visit Amsterdam and not have a stroopwafel! The cutest stroopwafels in the city are definitely from Van Wonderen Stroopwafels, and they’re delicious, too.

Visiting the shop is an experience in itself, as the decoration is so exquisite and mesmerizing. You can choose from a range of different toppings for your stroopwafel and then enjoy it warm after it’s made right before you.

Pluk & Ree 7

The cute cafés of Amsterdam’s Nine Streets neighborhood are perfect for lunch. Pluk and Ree7 are our top picks—they are sister cafés only a few doors away, both serving delicious brunch and lunch options. 

Grab a seat at either restaurant and enjoy sandwiches, eggs, salads, smoothie bowls, or pancakes! The best part about these cafés (aside from the food of course) is that the interior is an absolute dream! They are so well designed and have such a great atmosphere – at Ree7, you can even sit outside to watch the world go by.

Moeders

Moeders, or Mothers, is a quirky restaurant serving traditional Dutch cuisine in Amsterdam. Decorated in a shabby-chic antique style with a mother’s wall of fame, it’s a convivial (in the Netherlands, there is a word for this: gezellig, which translates roughly as ‘convivial’ or ‘cozy’) and lively place.

Their most famous dish is stamppot, a delicious combination of mashed potato, cabbage, bacon, and sausage that is comfort food personified.  

Top Tip: Come hungry. The portion sizes are large and the homemade Dutch cookie ice cream is to die for!

More Netherlands Travel Ideas

Top Five Amsterdam Travel Tips

More Than One Day in Amsterdam?

Tulip Fields

March to May is tulip season, and if you have a little longer in the city, visiting the tulip fields of the Netherlands makes for a perfect one-day trip from Amsterdam. Keukenhof Botanical Gardens, not far from the city, has some of the best tulip displays.

Zaanse Schans

Rent a bike and take an Amsterdam self-guided bike tour around the Zaanse Schans. These iconic Dutch windmills are just outside the city and can be easily reached. It’s a great way to dive even deeper into all things culture, and you can discover the history and legacy of the mills.

If you prefer not to cycle, book this highly rated Zaanse Scahns small group tour with a local guide. Not only can you step inside a real-life windmill, but you’ll also get to taste Dutch cheese and see traditional wooden clogs being made!

Hortus Botanicus

Visit the beautiful botanical gardens at Hortus Botanicus. The botanical gardens are right in the city center and perfect if you’re in Amsterdam for one day more.

A’DAM Lookout

Take a city ferry across to the north side of Amsterdam, and you can visit A’DAM Lookout. This attraction comes in the form of a huge tower and observation deck, where you can enjoy a drink or bite to eat with a view over Amsterdam.

If you feel brave enough, you can have a shot on their over-the-edge swing at the top of the tower, where you’ll swing off the edge of the building and see the city in all its glory.

Giethoorn & Afsluitdijk Day Trip & Boat Tour

If you take a one-day trip from Amsterdam, make it this highly recommended and well-organized Giethoorn nature hike with a professional guide.

On this day trip to Giethoorn from Amsterdam, you’ll see the typical landscapes of the Netherlands. You’ll glide past restored farmhouses by boat, see picturesque canals and wooden bridges, and explore Afsluitdijk, Amsterdam’s famous enclosing dike that connects Noord-Holland and Friesland.

Amsterdam Practicalities

When to Visit Amsterdam

Spring heralds the tulip season, and summer means you can enjoy beautiful warm weather and long days. Both seasons bring crowds and high prices, so book and organize everything in good time.

In the winter, you can see Amsterdam’s Christmas Markets and those unique Amsterdam canals frozen and dusted with snow. It’s also the season of the Amsterdam Light Festival, when magical light installations adorn canals, streets, and landmarks

Amsterdam is a very popular city year-round, but to avoid crowds as much as possible and get the best hotel and flight deals, choose the fall shoulder season and travel in the months of September and October.

Getting to Amsterdam

If you are flying to Amsterdam, you will land at Schipol International Airport, one of the largest international airports in Europe, and only 17km from the city center. You have several options to get into downtown Amsterdam:

Where to Stay in Amsterdam

Luxury: Located in the historic canal district, the Pulitzer Amsterdam is an iconic luxury hotel made up of 25 interconnected 17th—and 18th-century canal houses. The hotel’s unique blend of modern design and classic Dutch architecture creates an atmosphere that’s both elegant and inviting, perfect for a special occasion or splurge!

Mid-Range: Hotel The Craftsmen is a boutique hotel focusing on craftsmanship, design, and history. Located on the Singel Canal, the hotel is housed in a series of historic buildings, each with its own unique character. The Craftsmen emphasizes a fusion of modern comfort and traditional craftsmanship, making your stay a unique experience.

Budget: Hotel Des Arts is a charming and centrally located hotel emphasizing simplicity, comfort, and classic Dutch design. It’s a smaller, budget-friendly hotel ideal for travelers exploring the city’s cultural attractions while staying in an authentic setting.

Hostel: The Bee Hostel is a budget-friendly, modern hostel located in the center of Amsterdam. It offers a lively and social environment for travelers. Known for its vibrant atmosphere, it’s especially popular with young travelers and backpackers seeking a convenient and affordable place to stay.

Written for The Gap Decaders by Kirstie of Kirstie Will Travel

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