Where to go in Amsterdam? — 14 top, must & best places to visit in Amsterdam

Referring to the Netherlands, there are probably many places to visit in Amsterdam that visitors should not miss. According to my self-sufficient Amsterdam travel experience, if you go in the tulip season, you will probably have to spend 3-4 days to explore all worthy places in Amsterdam. If not, at least 2 days must enough. If you are still wondering what to do, where to go in the Netherlands’s capital, then read the article below about the top favorite tourist attractions in Amsterdam to know more about Dutch tourism! So, where to go in Amsterdam central and beyond? Let’s check out our suggested the list of 14 top places to visit in Amsterdam, Netherlands including best places to go in Amsterdam, best places to visit in Amsterdam, must visit places in Amsterdam, must see places in Amsterdam and top 10 places to visit in Amsterdam to clear the answer!

Best places to go in Amsterdam: Keukenhof Flower Garden

The most famous place when it comes to Amsterdam tourism probably is the world’s largest tulip garden Keukenhof. This garden is located in the city of Lisse with millions of flowers blooming every spring. Please refer to the official website of the flower garden for more information on opening times, ways to travel, ticket prices and other services…

You should click on this page to get the discount code of €5 then book your tickets online here. I highly recommend you to book tickets in advance to avoid having to queue when buying tickets to the flower garden because it is extremely crowded.

You also should not rush entering the garden right away but go to the nearby flower fields to take pictures of the evenly spaced rows of tulips. If you want to send your belongings, you can choose to send them in small lockers near the entrance or right next to the WC area, there is a free-store zone with guards and they will give you the number card.

Keukenhof Skip-the-Line Entrance Ticket

Time for a visit for a flower lover can be a whole day to go around in the garden, otherwise about 4 hours is considered okay. What to do in Amsterdam in April and May ? Please visit the Keukenhof flower garden if you have the opportunity to come here at this time of year.

Address: Stationsweg 166A, 2161 AM Lisse, Netherlands
Ticket price: €18

Best places to visit in Amsterdam: Zaanse Schans Windmill Village

In the windmill village of Zaanse Schans, don’t forget to visit the wooden shoe factory, eat traditional waffles or try some Dutch cheese in the lovely shops. To access and climb up the windmill, you have to buy a ticket of 4 euros/visit, but it is not really interesting in my opinion because there is nothing inside that is very closed space. About 3 hours to visit is enough.

Address: Kalverringdijk 31, 1509 BT Zaandam, Netherlands
Hours: 9:30AM–4:30PM/Saturday: Closed
Ticket price: free

How to get there: Take the train to Zaandijk – Zaanse Schans station (17 minutes) + 20 minutes on foot.

Or take the bus 391 from Amsterdam Centraal (15 minutes with 1 trip and traveling time is about 40 minutes). I prefer to take the bus because the bus will takes to the gate of the village while traveling by train, you have to walk a long time to reach the windmill village.

Must visit places in Amsterdam: Downtown Amsterdam

What to do in Amsterdam, especially in the heart of city? Actually, in the center of Amsterdam has many places to explore such as museums, piers, rivers, canals, Van Gogh museum, Rijks Museum, Anne Frank House, Royal Palace…

Traveling between Amsterdam’s tourist attracions is very convenient and close. If you are wondering where to go when traveling to Amsterdam for a day, the following places are perfectly suitable for you to explore the Dutch capital in a full day.

Museum Quarter

The museum quarter has 3 typical museums: Van Gogh Museum (€20), Rijks Museum (€17) or Anne Frank House (€10). In my opinion, if your visit time is tight, you should go to Rijks museum is enough.

Rijks Museum (Rijksmuseum)

 

To understand how the small Netherlands became a superpower through art and commerce, you should visit the Rijksmuseum. In more than 200 galleries of the museum are more than a million works of art and historical artifacts for visitors to admire and learn.

This museum has not only Dutch paintings but also a collection of Asian art with more than 8,000 objects various from paintings, prints and sculptures to lacquer boxes, jewelry and tea sets…

Other collections include nearly 1,000 Western sculptures, Dutch interior design history and around 10,000 fashion items, from waistcoats to pocket watches.

For those who love history and culture, this museum will definitely be a favorite tourist attraction in Amsterdam that you should visit.

Ticket price: €20. You can get a €5 discount code then book your tickets online here. Tickets are valid for 1 year, not a specific date, so feel free to use them. I recommend you to book tickets in advance instead of buying directly.

Due to the large number of visitors flocking to Amsterdam, the city government decided to remove the famous symbol “I Amsterdam” in front of the museum as you can see in the pictures before. The time I went, It still exist, but in 2020 it’s gone.

Address: Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands

Van Gogh Museum

This is home to the world’s largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and you can learn about his painful life here. The museum also displays the work of other master painters of his time, including Monet, Gauguin and Seurat.

Vincent Van Gogh was born in 1853. He started painting when he was 27 years old. Due to mental health issues that only allow him painting, drawing and carving more than 2,000 works in less than a decade. In 1890, this unfortunate artist committed suicide by gun and never saw the powerful impact of his paintings had on the world as we’ve seen today.

Ticket price: €21. Online ticket booking link.

You also should book tickets at least a few weeks in advance to choose the right time and date to visit. Visitors queuing to buy tickets always very crowded, even the day I visited, I saw someone subjectively waiting there to buy a ticket, they didn’t have the opportunity to enter because the number of visitors with pre-booked tickets was already enough. Online tickets are open 4 months before the time of visit.

The peak time at this museum is between 1-3pm every day.

Address: Museumplein 6, 1071 DJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 9AM–6PM
Public transit access: Van Baerlestraat/Museumplein; Tram line: 2, 3, 5, 12, 16, 24

Anne Frank House

The life story of Anne Frank has become one of the most famous anecdotes about a Jew hiding from the Nazis. The Anne’s Diary, published in 1942 when she was 13 years old, is the most translated Dutch book of all time.

The original diary and small attic where Anne Frank hid for most of the war are now on display in the museum. In 1944, these two hiding families were discovered and had been sent to a concentration camp.

Only Anne’s father survived and he published the youngest daughter’s diary so that their plight would never be forgotten. About 107,000 Jews in the Netherlands were exiled during the Holocaust and less than five percent of them returned.

Link to book online tickets: €10 for adults, 10-17 years old for €5.

Ticket policy: 80% of tickets will be sold at noon at 12am (Amsterdam time) 2 months from the visit date. The remaining 20% ​​of tickets go on sale at exactly 9am on the day of the tour. Tickets are not sold directly or through any other agents. Only at the official Annefrank house website.

Address: Westermarkt 20, 1016 GV Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 9AM–9PM

If you only visit Amsterdam for 1 day, you should go to 1 of the 3 museums above. The Rijks Museum is the most worth visit, but the site is quite large and will really take a lot of time if you want to visit. Therefore, carefully consider the places that suit your interests and then decide.

There are quite a few tourists who also choose to walk through these museums and then towards to the direction of the canals, squares, and floating markets. This itinerary is also quite suitable if you want to explore Amsterdam in 1 day.

Top places to visit in Amsterdam: Canals and Jordaan District

From Anne Frank House, you can walk around the Jordaan neighborhood with its quiet canals and shady trees around. Here, you can take a canal tour to get a better view if you don’t want to walk.

The largest canal in Amsterdam is called Keizersgracht (the Emperor’s canal). There are other canals called Herengracht, Brouwersgracht, Princengracht. However, the Herengracht (Lords’ Canal) is the first of the three main canals in the city center of Amsterdam and you will see it first if you go from the central railway station.

In my opinion, just explore this canal is very beautiful and enough. There are many tourist attractions surround it. Ticket price for a canal cruise tour is about 15 Euros depending on the time. You can buy tickets online in advance or buy directly when you arrive.

If you have decided to take a canal tour, you can buy a hop on – hop off ticket for 25 Euros including bus ride to famous tourist attractions in the city and boat ride (suitable for those who don’t want to walk a lot, hehe). Otherwise, walking along the canals is also wonderful.

Where to go in Amsterdam: Dam Square

A must-visit place in Amsterdam that absolutely cannot help but to mention is Dam square – which is honored to be a symbol of the bustling capital of Amsterdam. Dam Square is always crowded, bustling and is the lively convergence of most of the city’s major events.

This is also the place where the great historical architecture of the old city of Amsterdam is concentrated. Just coming to Dam Square, you can ‘touch’ to the most typical tourist gems of the Netherlands. In which, the most impressive work is the Royal Palace built in the 17th century, followed by the National Monument and the De Nieuwe Kerk church.

Dutch Royal Palace

Royal Dutch Palace – where Napoleon’s brother Louis ruled the Netherlands during the French occupation. King Willem van Oranje converted this building into City Hall, but it is now it to be used for royal and national events. On all days except Mondays, you can buy tickets for self-guided tours or private tours.

National Monument

The National Monument was built in 1956 in memory of World War II veterans. On May 4 every year, the Dutch often gathering here to observe a minute of remembrance for the victims of the war.

De Nieuwe Kerk Church

The Gothic Nieuwe Kerk Church, with large stained-glass windows, a delicately carved pulpit and two impressive pianos. This historic church is now the venue for cultural exhibitions and concerts. In short, having come to visit Amsterdam in the central area, you absolutely should not miss this famous Dutch tourist places.

Bloemenmarkt floating flower market

This place is also quite close to Dam square. It has a reputation as a floating flower market, but in fact, there are only a few stalls floating on the water. If you come to this place, you do not need to go too deep into the market.

Prices and goods are also similar at the stalls, mainly flowers, seeds, plants and souvenirs such as keychains, wooden shoes… You can buy souvenirs here because I think the prices are quite reasonable. 3 pairs of small wooden shoes for about €10, keychain in the shape of a wooden shoe for €1… This best places to visit in Amsterdam is pretty good for you to walk around and buy souvenirs to bring back home.

Address: Singel, 1012 DH Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 9AM–5:30PM/Saturday: 9AM–5:30PM; Sunday: 11AM–5:30PM

Must see places in Amsterdam: Albert Cuyp Market

Flea market like in Vietnam, selling all kinds of vegetables, fruits… I went to want to know more about the price and variety of food here. I went to this place to buy some vegetables and seafood to cook noodles and shrimp for a meal is also a good choice, hehe. You can skip this spot if you want.

Address: Albert Cuypstraat, 1073 BD Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 9AM–5PM/Sunday: Closed

Where to go in Amsterdam Central: Amsterdam Red Light District (De Wallen)

It also one of must visit places in Amsterdam for some tourists but I have no interest so I did not visit. It is known that this area is only open at night in Dam square area, crowded with people and you should not raise your camera when coming here.

In summary, the most famous places to visit Amsterdam, best places to go in Amsterdam, best places to visit in Amsterdam, must visit places in Amsterdam, top places to visit in Amsterdam, Netherlands are:

1. Museums (Van Gogh Museum, Rijks Museum, Anne Frank House)
2. Jordaan neighborhood with canal system
3. Dam Square (Royal Palace, National Monument, Nieuwe Kerk Church)
4. Bloemenmarkt floating flower market and Albert Cuyp flea market
5. Red light district (depending on the person)

I have arranged places of interest in Amsterdam according to reasonable travel routes for you to travel more conveniently. The starting point is the train station. You click on this link to see more detailed article about my 3 days self-sufficient travel in Amsterdam.

Best places to visit in Amsterdam: The charming village of Giethoorn

As its name suggests, the fairy village of Giethoorn has no roads for vehicles but only getting around entirely by boats that local people call them as “Whisper boats” with engines but without noise to “access” the village, or you can walk across more than 176 wooden arch bridges.

This is also one of the must visit places in Amsterdam and best places to visit in Amsterdam today and often when visiting Amsterdam, it is rare for visitors to miss this place if they travel to the Netherlands for more than 3 days.

Many people call the ancient village of Giethoorn as the Venice of the Netherlands. However, I found it different from a vibrant, bustling and splendid Venice. The ancient village of Giethoorn has only a green color of grass, only a straight canal along the main route of the village and the sound of a few small wooden boats carrying passengers up and down to admire the scenery.

How to get to Giethoorn?

To get to one of the top places to visit in Amsterdam and best places to visit in Amsterdam, you need to take the metro from the Centraal Station to Steenwijk or Zwolle train station (2 stops) then take bus 70 or bus 270 in the direction of Giethoorn, and stop at the station Dominee Hylkemaweg. Walking straight down along Hylkemaweg Road about 250 meters to come (2 hours).

Conclusion

There are many top places to visit in Amsterdam as well as best places to go in Amsterdam, best places to visit in Amsterdam and the above are personally the must visit places in Amsterdam which you should definitely not miss when traveling to visit Amsterdam, Netherlands. You can refer to my suggested Amterdam itinerary for 3 days here or the fullest Amsterdam travel guide here to know what to do, where to go, what to eat in Amsterdam, how to get around Amsterdam, how to explore Amsterdam and how much it costs.

If you only visit Amsterdam for 1 day, it is enough to visit Amsterdam in the central area. Also, always remember to book your hotel room as early as possible as well as book your entrance tickets to attractions in advance. Most museums, places to visit in central Amsterdam are very crowded and need to buy tickets before you come or you will spend a lot of time waiting in line. You can book a hotel room at Booking, Agoda, Airbnb or buy entrance tickets at Klook or many other sites.

If you plan to visit many museums such as Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, NEMO Science Museum, Rembrandt House Museum or see the city from above at Adam Look Out then you should buy Amsterdam City Card for €65/day or €85/2 days.

This card includes free admission to more than 70 attractions in Amsterdam and also free public transport. In general, it is quite convenient but the price is cheaper than buying tickets at each place.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Amsterdam you can refer to

• Keukenhof Skip-the-Line Ticket and Direct Transport from Amsterdam
• Keukenhof Gardens Fast Track Entry Ticket with Round Trip Bus Transfers from Amsterdam
• Brussels Day Tour from Amsterdam
• Amsterdam Guided Half Day Tour
• Bruges Day Trip From Amsterdam
• Volendam, Edam & Zaanse Schans Windmill Village Day Tour from Amsterdam
• Giethoorn and Enclosing Dike Day Tour
• Amsterdam City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus & Boat Pass
• The Rijksmuseum Skip-the-Line Ticket and Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Pass in Amsterdam
• Red Light Secrets Museum and Hop-on Hop-off Bus Pass in Amsterdam
• Amsterdam Public Transport 1-7 Day Ticket

Are you looking for more Amsterdam travel guide and top things to do in Amsterdam? Read more: Amsterdam travel blog — The fullest Amsterdam city guide for a great trip to Amsterdam on a budget for the first-timers.