The Ultimate First-Timer's Guide to Amsterdam

Like London (or as I most recently discovered, Mexico City), Amsterdam has no shortage of museums and other sightseeing opportunities. From the awe-inspiring and profound to the fun and quirky, you won’t find any complaints of boredom in the city.

I covered a lot of ground in Amsterdam recently, spending a week based in the Hoofddorppleinbuurt neighborhood exploring the city through a first-timer’s lens. Amsterdam is a city far too rich to be covered in only one guide, so after sharing about the city’s best cafes, restaurants, and shops, I’m finally ready to talk about the main star: its attractions.

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Though you’ll have to pull yourself away from the beckoning, charming streets, there is much to be explored indoors. How much or how little you do during your stay is up to you – you could easily spend a lifetime simply walking the streets without tiring of the scenery.

I covered many of the big sights during my week, and look forward to exploring smaller ones in the future as well. For a first-time visit, here are the things I was glad I didn’t miss – and feel that you shouldn’t miss them either:

AMSTERDAM’S BEST THINGS TO DO

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s works, showcasing over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and numerous letters. It’s a must-visit for even a casual art enthusiast, as it provides a deep insight into the artist’s life, his evolving style, and the emotional depth of his work.

Tickets can only be purchased online, and we were glad to have done so before arriving in the Netherlands, although the museum is open every day of the week, which at the very least increases your chances of snagging tickets if you wait until the last minute. Though they cap the number of guests admitted to the museum at a time, the museum is immensely popular and was quite crowded during our visit. Nervous about crowds? Try to go early or late in the day, if possible, and if not, allow enough time to explore alongside everyone else.

My visit lasted about three hours, and Michael and I explored the full museum comfortably in that timeframe. If you’re short on time, it might be worth checking out the floor plan in advance and determining which exhibits are most important to you. Another pre-visit idea is to check the events calendar to see if anything special is going on during your visit.

We missed Vincent on Friday, but as a general rule, evenings yield smaller crowds and more intimate exploration of museums. One final tip: photos are not permitted in the Van Gogh Museum, except in marked areas (which we never found…).

→Van Gogh Museum // Museumplein 6, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Anne Frank House

Another museum where advanced reservations are essential is the Anne Frank House. The museum dedicated to Anne Frank offers a tour of the Secret Annex where Anne and her family lived for two years in hiding from the Nazis during World War II.

If you arrive to find a slight queue out front, know it will move quickly. Once inside, you will be handed an audio guide, which is very helpful as furniture and other items within the Secret Annex have been removed. Personally, I found the audio guide somewhat of a nuisance, as it felt very disengaging from the experience of being in the very house where the Franks went into hiding. Holding a talking electronic device up to my ear for the duration of my visit almost made the experience feel like the telling of a story rather than history.

Still, it is a worthwhile visit and could be the beginning of many important family discussions about relations of diverse groups if you bring along young tweens or teens. Next time, I plan to visit the Dutch Resistance Museum for a broader understanding of the role the Netherlands played in WWII. Note: photographs are forbidden inside the Anne Frank House.

→Anne Frank House // Westermarkt 20, 1016 GV Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Friendship Cruises

Yes, it’s touristy, but a canal cruise is a nice way to see the canals and frosting-topped buildings of Amsterdam without standing in throngs of tourists, particularly if you are aboard a less-than-crowded boat. My ride on the canal boat of Friendship Cruises was the last of the evening, and it presented a unique perspective of Amsterdam after dark.

The vibe was relaxed and friendly (helped in part by the bar on board) and was quite cozy with blankets provided. Rather than the droning of tour guides repeating the same script over and over all day, the tour guides only spoke on occasion and were happy to answer our questions. If structure is your thing, this canal cruise may not be for you, but I was happy with our choice. Plus, if you’re lucky – you may even make a new friend.

→Friendship Cruises // Oudezijds Voorburgwal 230, 1012 EL Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum reopened in 2013 after a ten-year renovation, and as the crown jewel of Amsterdam’s museums, it is a wonder to behold. I saw much of its contents in my nearly three-hour visit (about my max before museum fatigue sets in), but you could probably dive in deep and not emerge for weeks if you really wanted.

The building itself is magnificent, and it is really a fitting setting for the works held inside. The most well-known work, Rembrandt’s Night Watch, will undergo its own restoration next year, though it will continue to be on display to the public during the process (update: restoration is complete!).

Tickets for the Rijksmuseum are only available online, so be sure to purchase them in advance.

→Rijksmuseum // Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Albert Cuyp Market

According to its website, the Albert Cuyp Market is the largest day market in Europe and that doesn’t feel like a far-fetched claim. Located in the hip De Pijp neighborhood and also fairly close to the Museumplein and the Heineken Experience, the market is the perfect excuse for taking a nice stroll to break up the day.

I’m not convinced that many Amsterdammers actually shop at the market, but it is a nice place to get all of your “musts” out of the way if you are so inclined. The items that are usually presented as “quintessentially Dutch”(wooden shoes, tulips, herring, stroopwafels, and the like) can be found at the Albert Cuyp Market, so you can say that you saw and did the things that people back home will ask you about.

→Albert Cuyp Market // Albert Cuypstraat, 1073 BD Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Rembrandt House Museum

What surprised me most about the Rembrandt House Museum was how few Rembrandt paintings there are within (there are only three!). Instead, the museum focuses more on Rembrandt’s time in the house and how he lived and worked.

It’s fascinating to learn more about how people lived in the 1600s (they slept sitting up, for example) and it was particularly enriching to learn about the painstaking paint-making techniques at the time. There was a particularly engaging docent who demonstrated the processes involved in obtaining raw materials, creating the powders from those raw materials, and the tedious mixing of oil and powder to achieve the perfect consistency.

The audio guide provided a deeper insight into the artist’s life – don’t forget to pick one up on your way in.

→Rembrandt House Museum // Jodenbreestraat 4, 1011 NK Amsterdam, Netherlands

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TIP Amsterdam North

Let me admit something most adults in my shoes wouldn’t: I can’t really ride a bike. Or at least, I couldn’t really ride a bike before we visited Amsterdam (it’s a long story, but I got a late start in learning as a kid, and fear held me back after that). But my will was stronger than my skills, so we hopped aboard the free ferry to Amsterdam Noord and rented two bikes at TIP Amsterdam North anyway.

Riding in the heart of the city would have been a death wish, so we walked our bikes a bit further north before feeling comfortable enough to give it a go. After a few shaky starts and stops (and pretending to look for something to avoid the curious gaze of onlookers as we stood about with our two-wheeled contraptions), we finally were cruising through the polders, passing fishermen and shouting hello to the goats and cows.

As closing time approached at the bike shop, we turned back and raced through Amsterdam Noord, making it back before the doors were locked. If you have time, ability, and confidence, I highly recommend renting a bike for the day and setting out to explore.

→TIP Amsterdam North // IJpromenade 2, 1031 KT Amsterdam, Netherlands

WITH MORE TIME IN AMSTERDAM

A first visit to any city typically involves visiting the area’s major sights, and my first visit to Amsterdam was no different. With that being said, I’m already scouting my next sightseeing opportunities so I can begin to know the city on a deeper level.

On a future visit(s), I hope to check out the Dutch Resistance Museum, climb the Oude Kirk, examine and question the modern art at the Stedelijk, visit Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder, slip into the Royal Palace, see the animals at the Royal Zoo, walk through the botanical gardens, and trek over to Muiderslot, perhaps by bike.

Though we could have squeezed a few of these into our itinerary if we really tried, there would have been less time to thoroughly enjoy the plans we had already made. Plus, it’s nice to have an excuse to go back, isn’t it?

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The Ultimate First-Timer’s Guide to Amsterdam’s Top Sights and Attractions