Amsterdam is a great city in which to chill out and cruise for a couple of days. To cover more ground, rent a bike or take a Canal Hopper.
If you're planning on tramming, it's cheaper to first buy a strippenkaart (ticket with strips) from a newsagent or kiosk. One card is enough for two people over the course of two days. Adapt, or start the itinerary according to how you want to get around town.
Day one — boat trip, Jordaan, 9 Straatjes, Red Light District
Start early — pick up pastries and coffee for a brekkie boat picnic. Hop on at any stop in the city depending on where you're staying. Cruise through the east and then end up in the west.
Get off at Anne Frank House and visit if you wish. Otherwise, head north to Haarlemmerstraat (try to spot Brad Pitt in the Albert Heijn supermarket) and then zigzag south through the picturesque tree-lined canals of the lovely Jordaan area, spying secret courtyard in-between. If it's a Saturday, check out the Noordermarkt. Head down to the 9 Straatjes and if there's time after your visit, pop into gorgeous teahouse 't Blauwe Theehuis or Vertigo in Vondelpark.
Start the evening with jenever tasting at Wynand Fockink distillery, explore the Red Light District and have dinner at Nieuwmarkt (swap the order if you get peckish earlier). Check the windows of Red Light Fashion Amsterdam, where ladies of the night have been swapped (temporarily) with fashion ateliers, mannequins and couture.
Catch a gig at one of our fantastic music venues, like Bitterzoet, Melkweg or the legendary Paradiso. Then go bar-hopping (see day two of the one-week itinerary) or dance the night away at Studio 80, Club NL, Flex Bar or the new favourite club in town Trouw.
Day two — centre, museums and beer
Reward your late night with a mini sleep-in. Enjoy breakfast at the top floor cafe of
Amsterdam's library and enjoy the city views. Explore the city centre, including
Staalstraat,
Oude Kerk, Amsterdam's oldest monument,
Ons' Lieve Heer Op Solder, a 17th-century canal house museum with a secret church in the attic, and
De Prael, a socially operated boutique brewery established as a reintegration project for people with mental disabilities.
Head down to Dam Square to see the Royal Palace and National Monument stopping off at MetropolitanDeli (Warmoesstraat 135; phone +31 20 3301955) Amsterdam’s newest chocoholic’s paradise. Drop into the Begijnhof courtyard at Spui to see the Netherlands' oldest timber house, and explore Spiegelkwartier's antiques en route to Museumplein. Visit a museum if you wish or the Albert Cuypmarkt if you're more of a market person. If beer is more your thing, visit the newly-renovated Heineken Experience, or grab a tram to Brouwerij aan 't IJ to check out a windmill and a brewery.
Tonight have dinner along Utrechtsestraat. Near there, catch the picture-postcard views of the seven bridges along Reguliersgracht and the Magere (skinny) bridge on the Amstel. Have a night cap at Café Schiller on Rembrandtplein, or on the water at Waterlooplein. If the late-night boozing needs a remedy, follow locals to Van Dobben (Korte Reguliersdwarsstraat 5; phone +31 20 624 4200) snack bar.
If it's a Sunday and you feel like dancin', the funkier, smaller clubs tend to have great DJs. My pick is Sugar Factory for Wicked Jazz Sounds.
Have you tried any of the places on this itinerary? Got any ideas we haven't thought of? Have your say using the comments form below.
Next: One week itinerary
