Amsterdam Holidays

The Canal Belt: The seventeenth-century Grachtengordel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, threads the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht past gabled merchant houses and arched bridges best seen on foot at dusk.

Jordaan: Once a working-class quarter, this grid of narrow lanes now holds independent galleries, brown cafes and Saturday markets, with the Anne Frank House sitting right on its eastern edge by the Westerkerk.

Museum Quarter: The Museumplein gathers the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk around one open lawn, with the concert hall Concertgebouw and plenty of grass for a rest between galleries.

Vondelpark: The city's largest and most-visited park spreads green space, open-air theatre and cafe terraces across a long ribbon just west of the museums, drawing joggers, picnickers and families alike.

De Pijp: A lively southern district built around the sprawling Albert Cuyp street market, packed with global kitchens, small bars and a younger, more local crowd than the centre.

Amsterdam-Noord: A short free ferry across the IJ from Centraal reaches a reinvented industrial shore of harbourside bars, the A'DAM Lookout tower and a genuinely different pace from the old town.

Rijksmuseum morning: The national gallery holds Rembrandt's vast Night Watch alongside Vermeers and centuries of Dutch Golden-Age painting, and a timed-entry slot early in the day beats the midday crush.

Van Gogh Museum: The world's largest collection of the artist's work traces his life room by room, and booking a slot ahead is essential since walk-up tickets are not sold at the door.

Jordaan wander: The narrow lanes reward aimless walking past the Nine Streets' boutiques, small galleries and canal-side benches, with a brown cafe never more than a bridge away.

Albert Cuyp Market: Amsterdam's biggest street market runs six days a week through De Pijp, strong on cheese, fresh stroopwafels pressed to order and inexpensive lunches eaten on the spot.

Vondelpark afternoon: Locals cycle, picnic and gather at the open-air theatre here on any warm day, and the free summer performances draw a relaxed crowd that lingers well into the evening.

Bike the city: Hiring a bike for a day turns the whole centre into an easy loop, and the flat, well-marked paths make it far less daunting than first-timers expect once the first junction is behind them.

Brown-cafe evening: The city's wood-panelled, centuries-old pubs pour local beer and jenever in a genuinely unhurried setting, and many of the best still take cash only, so carry a few euros.