This guide to Amsterdam in two days will help you prepare for a weekend getaway or the first two days of your visit to one of Europe's most incredible cities.
Although Amsterdam has many things to see and do, if you optimise your routes over the two days, we are sure you will be able to see most of the sights and have the best cultural and leisure experiences the city has to offer.
We recommend doing the itineraries on foot or by bike, as Amsterdam is one of the cities with the most bike lanes and the most accessible in the world by this healthy mode of transport.
Based on our Amsterdam in 5 days trip, in which we wrote this Amsterdam guide, we have made this practical guide to make the most of Amsterdam in 2 days.
One important aspect to consider for your trip is lodging. Staying in one of the numerous Love hotels in Netherlands at hotels-in-netherlands.com can offer a unique and romantic experience during your short stay.
How to get from the airport to the centre or hotel in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has one of the busiest and most functional airports in the world, Schiphol Airport. Located 15 kilometres from Amsterdam, this airport is served by all kinds of airlines, both conventional and low cost.
There are several ways to get to the city centre or to your hotel from the airport.
Train: This is the fastest way to get to Amsterdam Central Station, which is located near the centre of Amsterdam. Trains, which operate 24 hours a day, leave every few minutes between peak hours, cost around 5 euros and take about 20 minutes.
Bus 197 or N97: This is similar in price to the train, but takes about half an hour. Buses run about 15 minutes at peak times, depending on traffic. It can be a good option if you are staying near the museum area, as there is a bus stop there.
Taxi: The price of about 50 euros can be favourable if you are several people and your hotel is far from the centre.
Direct transfer: This is the most convenient option. The driver will wait for you at the airport with a sign with your name on it to take you directly to the hotel.
For more information about the transfer you can check this post about how to get from Amsterdam airport to the city centre.
Where to sleep in Amsterdam
We can confirm that accommodation in Amsterdam is among the most expensive in Europe, especially in the historic centre area. Looking for a hotel far from the centre to save money if you want to see Amsterdam in two days is not a great alternative either, as you will lose a lot of time travelling around.
We recommend the area where we stayed during our trip, near the Singel Canal or Dam Square.
The Singel Hotel, located 200 metres from the Central Station and 10 minutes from Dam Square, is a great option. It also has 24-hour reception, free wifi and continental breakfast.
Other great value for money hotels include the WestCord City Centre Hotel and The Exchange Hotel, both located a 5-minute walk from Dam Square.
For more information on the best hotels and neighbourhoods, check out this post on where to stay in Amsterdam.
Before starting your tour of Amsterdam, it is advisable to consider whether it is worthwhile to book the Amsterdam City Card. This tourist card offers free entry to the city's main tourist attractions and museums such as the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, as well as boat trips on Amsterdam's canals, a visit to the Zaanse Schans and public transport.
For more recommendations, check out this post about Amsterdam' s must-see travel tips.
First day guide to Amsterdam
The route of the first day of Amsterdam in 2 days starts with a walk along the Singel canal, one of the most beautiful canals in Amsterdam, next to the Herengracht canal. Strolling along the banks of the 4 canals that surround the historic centre, crossing the bridges, seeing the beautiful facades of the historic buildings and the houseboats, having a beer on one of the terraces, are just some of the best things to do in Amsterdam.
If you have more time, we recommend, in addition to these two canals, strolling along the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals.
Canals of Amsterdam
The walk along the Singel Canal ends at the Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam's famous floating flower market. At this market, which opens at 9 a.m., in addition to flowers of all kinds and colours, you can buy the city's most typical souvenir, tulip bulbs.
If you haven't had breakfast, you can buy some delicious chocolate biscuits at the popular Van Stapele Koekmakerij shop. Remember to order them in advance from their website to avoid the long queue.
Amsterdam Flower Market
If you're travelling in spring, the tulip blossom season, you can't miss this trip to Keukenhof, a place where you can stroll among thousands of colourful tulips. For more information, check out this guide on how to visit Keukenhof from Amsterdam.
Once you've finished visiting the market, the two-day tour of Amsterdam continues with a stroll through several photogenic spots such as the Staalmeestersbrug bridge, which has a beautiful view of a canal with the Zuiderkerk church in the background, or the Gravelandseveer street with a view of the dancing houses, until you reach Museumplein, the museum quarter. In addition to the famous I amsterdam letters (they are now itinerant), two of the best museums in Amsterdam and in the whole country, the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, are located here.
I amsterdam with the Rijksmuseum in the background
If you are not an art lover, we recommend visiting only one of the two museums, and in this case we choose Van Gogh, since inside the museum you will find some of the best works of the great painter, such as The Sunflowers, The Bedroom at Arles and The Potato Eaters.
If you don't want to take a guided tour and want to avoid the long queues at the entrance, we recommend you to book this fast-track ticket or this ticket for the Rijksmuseum.
Please note that the Vang Gogh Museum is open every day from 9am to 6pm, except on Fridays when it closes at 10pm.
Van Gogh Museum
If you have more time, in addition to the Rijksmuseum, we recommend a visit to the new Moco Museum, which has an inspiring collection of modern, contemporary and urban art by famous artists such as Basquiat, Banksy and Warhol.
If the weather is nice, after leaving the Van Gogh Museum, you can buy take-away food in a shop and have a picnic in the nearby Vondelpark. Amsterdam's most popular park, Vondelpark is a great place to unwind from the city, strolling among flowers, lakes and statues.
Vondelpark
After the walk, if you feel like eating in a restaurant or if the weather is bad, you can go to Leidseplein. This lively square, full of street artists, fashionable shops and terraces, has some of the best restaurants in Amsterdam, such as The Pantry and Stoop & Stoop Eetcafe, perfect for tasting homemade Dutch food with succulent dishes such as meatballs and sausages accompanied by the typical stamppot.
Before lunch we recommend having a good beer in one of Amsterdam's most popular brown cafes (bruine cafes) such as Reijnders, which stands out for its dark wood décor, dim lighting and low ceilings.
After you've recovered your energy, you can take a one-hour boat cruise to see some of the city's most important sights from a different perspective, considered one of the best excursions in Amsterdam.
Walk along the Canals
If you prefer something more romantic, you can leave the canal cruise for the evening and book this dinner cruise or this candlelight cruise where you can enjoy the view from the canals while tasting a selection of cheeses and wines.
The afternoon of Amsterdam in two days is spent touring the historic centre where the first stop is the Begijnhof, one of our favourite spots in the city and one of Amsterdam's must-visit places. This 14th-century beguinage, tucked away near Spuiplein Square, is a haven of peace where the Begijnhof sisters lived. In addition to the garden, you can see the oldest house in the city, the Houten Huys, and the Begijnhof Chapel, the first underground church in Amsterdam. Visiting hours are from 9am to 5pm.
Begijnhof
Once you have finished your visit, you can go to Dam Square along the most commercial street in Amsterdam, the Kalverstraat. Dam Square, the most important square in the city, is surrounded by interesting buildings such as the New Church or Nieuwe Kerk, the Madame Taussauds Wax Museum, the Royal Palace and the luxury shop De Bijenkorf, places we recommend you to pay attention to while you walk around. There is also an obelisk in the centre in honour of the Dutch soldiers who died in World War II.
Dam Square on the 2-Day Amsterdam Tour
Leaving the square, you can take a nice walk through the narrow streets of the Old Town to the Oude Kerk or Old Church. This church is the oldest building in the city and is notable for having the largest medieval wooden vault in Europe with 15th century paintings inside. Visiting hours are from 10h to 18h.
Oude Kerk
The Oude Kerk is located in the Red Light District, famous for its nightlife, sex shops, tattoo and piercing shops and the red-lit windows from which prostitutes offer their services. In this area you can also find the best coffee shops, places where you are allowed to smoke hashish and marijuana, although, curiously, alcohol and tobacco are prohibited. Two of the most recommended are Hunter's Café and Bulldog, where if you don't want to smoke, you can have a quiet drink or a coffee and get to know this type of establishment first hand.
The Red Light District
This area of the Red Light District, concentrated on the banks of the Voorburgwal and Achterburgwal canals, is not dangerous, so you can stroll around in peace and quiet, although it's best to avoid taking photos of the shop windows, as it's not polite for working girls.
If you don't take an evening boat cruise that includes dinner, you can finish this Amsterdam in a day by dining at one of the restaurants in the Red Light District, such as the original Martine's Table.
If you can't find a seat or prefer something cheaper, you can eat fries at Mannekin Pis or Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx and delicious herring sandwiches at Haring & Zo or Rob Wigboldus Vishandel.
Cycling in Amsterdam
After finishing the tour in front of the Amsterdam Central Station, you can go to the Henri Willig cheese factory. Considering that the cheeses of the Netherlands are considered one of the best in the world and that in this shop you can taste some of their specialities with a glass of wine or beer and buy all kinds of cheeses to fill your suitcase, we think this is a highly recommended visit.
Once you've finished tasting cheese, you'll walk a little way to see the Brouwerser canal crossing with Prinsengracht, one of the most photogenic spots in the city.
Brouwerser and Prinsengracht canal crossing
After taking hundreds of photos, the Amsterdam in two days route continues with a stroll along the banks of the Prinsengracht canal until we reach the charming Jordaan Quarter, our favourite neighbourhood in the city. This neighbourhood of narrow streets, gardens and the beautiful Brouwergacht canal is a perfect place to stroll and sit on one of its terraces.
You can also take the opportunity to eat in one of the most recommended restaurants in this area to try typical Dutch dishes such as Café Sonneveld or Moeders.
After lunch you can go to the area known as "Nine Streets", made up of nine streets full of vintage shops, art galleries and cafés, ideal for shopping.
This neighbourhood is also home to the poignant Anne Frank House Museum, one of our favourite sights in Amsterdam. During the one-hour tour inside you can see the area where Anne Frank and her family lived in hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation of the city and her famous book. It is essential to book your ticket several days in advance on the official website if you don't want to miss out.
The museum is open daily from 9am to 10pm, although it closes at 7pm in winter.
Anne Frank House Museum
Next to the Anne Frank House is the Westerkerk Church, which is noted for having one of the best panoramic views of the historic city centre from its 85-metre high tower and can be another of the stops of the day.
Once you've finished all your sightseeing, you can follow the Amsterdam in two days route by walking along the banks of the Prinsengracht canal, where you'll see the houseboats, including the Houseboat Museum, which you can enter to see what life is like inside one of these houseboats.
Amsterdam houseboats in two days
The Amsterdam in two days route continues with a walk along the banks of another of the canals that surround the historic centre, the Keizersgracht canal, which will take you to the Magere Brug, or Thin Bridge, a wooden bascule bridge, located over the Amstel River.
A curiosity that caught our attention as we strolled through the streets of Amsterdam is that the older houses have their façades leaning slightly forward, as well as having a hook at the top. The reason for this is that because the houses are so narrow, furniture and goods were brought up to the upper floors by a system of pulleys, something we invite you to see and explore in the many houses of this style.
Amsterdam houses in a weekend
If you have enough time, you can visit the Waterlooplein Market, a flea market with a lot of history located in the old Jewish quarter, and the Rembrandt House-Museum, where one of the greatest painters of all time lived. Other places of interest in this area, if you have more days, are the Portuguese-Israeli Synagogue and the Hermitage Museum.
To finish this Amsterdam in a weekend you can go to the lively Nieuwmarkt square, to have dinner in one of its most famous restaurants such as Cafe Bern or Cafe Piazza.
If you have more days you can consult the Amsterdam in 3 days guide or this Amsterdam in 4 days guide.