Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam charges a 12.5% tourist tax on top of hotel rates, and from January 2026 hotel VAT increased from 9% to 21%. The combined tax burden can reach 33.5% on a hotel room. This is not a conspiracy against tourists – it’s a city responding to having more visitors than it can comfortably absorb – but it’s worth knowing before you compare accommodation prices to other European capitals and feel puzzled by the gap.

Amsterdam is a city of around 900,000 built on 90 islands connected by around 1,500 bridges, its Canal Ring laid out in a series of concentric arcs in the 17th century when the Dutch Republic was the world’s dominant trading economy. The result is a compact, densely interesting city where most things you’d want to see are within walking or cycling distance of each other, and the canal system provides enough visual richness that walking any route twice never feels redundant.

Must-Visit

Rijksmuseum: Amsterdam’s premier art museum, with Rembrandt’s Night Watch and Vermeer’s Milkmaid as anchors and thousands of other objects from the Dutch Golden Age. The building itself, with its cathedral-like atrium, is impressive before you see a single painting. Plan several hours; use the app to prioritise if you have limited time.

Anne Frank House: The hidden annex on Prinsengracht canal where Anne Frank hid with her family for two years. The rooms remain largely as they were; her original diary is displayed. This is the heaviest museum experience in Amsterdam and it should be. Book timed tickets well in advance – availability for specific dates opens every Tuesday at 10am CEST, six weeks ahead.

Van Gogh Museum: 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 letters in a collection arranged chronologically. Tickets are mandatory in advance via vangoghmuseum.nl; no walk-up sales. Adult entry around EUR 22. The Friday evening sessions until 9pm are noticeably calmer than daytime visits. The museum is currently hosting “Yellow: More than Van Gogh’s Favourite Colour” through May 2026.

The Canal Ring: A UNESCO World Heritage Site of 17th-century merchant houses and tree-lined waterways. Take a canal boat tour once to see the gabled facades from water level, then spend the rest of your time walking.

Jordaan: The neighbourhood west of the Canal Ring, built in the 17th century for labourers and artisans, now the most characterful residential district in central Amsterdam. Narrow streets, independent boutiques, the Noordermarkt on Saturdays with its organic food stalls and antiques section. Two minutes off the main tourist circuit and significantly more pleasant for it.

Eating

Amsterdam’s colonial history with Indonesia shows in the food: rijsttafel (rice table, a spread of small Indonesian dishes) is available at dedicated restaurants and is one of the better value propositions in the city for the quantity involved.

Dutch food itself tends toward the hearty and dairy-forward: stroopwafels (thin waffle cookies with caramel filling) are the ubiquitous snack, herring is the traditional street food (eaten whole, raw, from a stand, with onion). Foodhallen in Oud-West is the best food hall, with around 20 stalls covering international cuisines in a converted tram depot.

Cafe Papeneiland on the Prinsengracht has been serving coffee and apple pie since 1642, which is either a marketing claim or the most extraordinary example of brand continuity in the hospitality industry, possibly both.

Getting Around

Cycling is the obvious choice. Over 500km of dedicated bike lanes cover the city, and bicycles outnumber residents. Rental is available at every major station. The GVB tram, bus, and metro system is good for longer distances; buy an OV-chipkaart or tap contactless at the turnstiles. Walking works for the canal ring area.

Day Trips

Haarlem (20 minutes by train) has a beautiful market square and the Frans Hals Museum without Amsterdam’s crowds. Keukenhof Gardens (April to May, tulip season) is a 30-minute bus from Leiden. Delftware pottery centres and Vermeer’s home city of Delft is 50 minutes by train.