Amsterdam guide
Three Unhurried Days
Before anything else: book the Anne Frank House six weeks ahead, on the Tuesday, and book the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh at the same time. Everything else here is walk-up.
Day 1 — The Golden Age
Morning: the Rijksmuseum at 09:00 opening. Give it three hours and don't try to see everything.
Afternoon: walk the canal ring — Herengracht and Keizersgracht — to the Nine Streets, then into the Jordaan.
Late afternoon: a canal cruise as the light goes.
Evening: bitterballen and a beer at 't Smalle or Café Hoppe. Dinner by 20:00.
Day 2 — The modern city
Morning: the Van Gogh Museum, or the Anne Frank House at whatever slot you managed to get.
Midday: the Albert Cuyp market in De Pijp, and lunch there.
Afternoon: the free IJ ferry to Noord — the Eye Filmmuseum, the NDSM shipyard, and the NEMO rooftop on the way back for a free view over the harbour.
Evening: a kopstootje at Wynand Fockink, then a rijsttafel.
Day 3 — Out of town
Haarlem for the hofjes and the Teylers, fifteen minutes and €5.50 — or Zaanse Schans for the windmills, which costs nothing if you stay outside the museums. In spring, Keukenhof instead.
Evening: back for the Hortus Botanicus or the Rembrandt House, both of which take walk-ups.
A note on pacing: two major museums in one day is a mistake. The Rijksmuseum alone is a morning.
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