Amsterdam Netherlands 6 Day Itinerary
Amsterdam: 6-Day Itinerary
Amsterdam has roughly 900,000 people, 165 canals, and 800,000 bicycles, which works out to almost exactly one bicycle per resident. The city’s compactness is its defining logistical feature: every major museum, the best markets, and most worthwhile neighbourhoods sit within 4 km of Amsterdam Centraal station, which means six days here is genuinely enough to see the serious museums properly, eat well, and still have a slow afternoon in a Jordaan café without feeling guilty about it.
Getting In
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is one of Europe’s best-connected hubs. The train from Schiphol’s underground station to Amsterdam Centraal takes 14 to 18 minutes, runs every 10 to 15 minutes, and costs around 6.20 to 7.10 euros for a single second-class ticket. This is the correct way to enter the city. Taxis from Schiphol run 45 to 60 euros and take 25 to 45 minutes depending on traffic; the only reason to take one is if you have an exceptional amount of luggage or arrive after midnight when trains thin out. Buy an OV-chipkaart (the reloadable Dutch public transit card) from the NS ticket machines at the station; it covers train, tram, bus, and metro throughout your stay.
Where to Stay
The Pulitzer Amsterdam (Prinsengracht) is the best-located mid-to-luxury hotel in the city, occupying 25 canal houses along the canal at around 350 to 550 euros per night. For strong value, citizenM Amsterdam City near Amsterdam Centraal offers compact but well-designed rooms at 130 to 200 euros per night. Hotel V Nesplein in the city centre runs 150 to 250 euros and is a reliable mid-range option. Avoid staying in the Red Light District area unless you specifically want that proximity; the noise at night makes sleep difficult.
Critical advance booking note: Anne Frank House tickets sell out weeks ahead. Tickets are released every Tuesday at 10:00 AM Amsterdam time, for the week six weeks later, and sell out within hours during peak season. Adult tickets cost 16.50 euros and must be booked exclusively through annefrank.org (no other official sellers). Book before you plan anything else for this trip.
Day 1: Arrival and the City Centre
Walk from Amsterdam Centraal south through the city centre. Dam Square is the geographic and historical centre: the Royal Palace (Koninklijk Paleis) on its western side is worth going inside for the Baroque interior and the large earth map inlaid in the marble floor of the burgerzaal. Entry is around 12.50 euros; open most days but check ahead as state functions occasionally close it.
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) next to the palace is free to enter during non-exhibition periods and contains the ornate wooden pulpit and tombs of Dutch admirals. Behind Dam Square, the shopping street Kalverstraat leads south; skip the chain stores and turn east into the Begijnhof, a hidden courtyard of 17th-century almshouses around a garden. It is free, open during the day, and almost entirely unknown to people who haven’t done any reading about the city.
Evening
Dinner at De Kas (Kamerlingh Onneslaan, Frankendael Park) is the best case for seasonal Dutch produce in Amsterdam: a greenhouse restaurant serving a set menu built around what is growing in the kitchen garden that week. Around 60 to 80 euros per person with wine pairings. Book a week ahead; this is not a spontaneous dinner.
For something less formal on Day 1, Café de Klos (Kerkstraat, near Leidseplein) is an honest Dutch brown café serving ribs and bitterballen (fried meat ragout balls, the Dutch bar snack that improves with beer) at around 20 to 30 euros per person.
Day 2: Rijksmuseum and Museum Quarter
Morning
The Rijksmuseum on Museumplein holds the Dutch Golden Age collection and is one of the great art museums of the world. Adult tickets cost 23.50 euros and must be booked with a timed entry online at rijksmuseum.nl. For a less crowded experience, book the first slot before 10:30 AM or a late slot after 3:00 PM. The Night Watch (Rembrandt, 1642) in the Gallery of Honour is the centrepiece; allow time to see it at multiple distances. Plan for at least two hours; a serious visit takes three.
Afternoon
The Van Gogh Museum directly across Museumplein covers the artist’s life through 200 paintings and 400 drawings, with contextual framing that is unusually clear about his mental illness and the pace of his output. Adult tickets are 22 euros and also require advance booking online; same-day tickets are extremely rare in peak season. Book these on the same day you book the Anne Frank House.
The Stedelijk Museum for modern and contemporary art sits next door and is the place to go if you have energy left; it is less crowded than either and the permanent collection has excellent COBRA movement and applied design galleries.
Evening
Wander through Vondelpark in the evening (free, open all hours) and eat dinner at a Leidseplein-area restaurant. Brasserie Balthazar on Keizersgracht is a canal-side French-Dutch option at around 35 to 55 euros per person.
Day 3: Jordaan and the Anne Frank House
Morning
The Jordaan is the neighbourhood directly west of the main canal ring, built in the 17th century for working-class residents and now the most desirable residential area in the city. The streets between Prinsengracht and Westerstraat hold the highest concentration of independent galleries, vintage shops, and small cafes in Amsterdam. It rewards slow walking.
Anne Frank House (Prinsengracht 267) is on the Jordaan’s eastern edge. The visit takes 60 to 90 minutes through the preserved rooms where Anne Frank, her family, and four other Jewish people hid for two years during the German occupation. The hiding place behind a bookcase, the original diary pages on display, and the quiet of the upper floors combine to make this one of the most affecting museum experiences in Europe. Go to your booked time slot, arrive 5 minutes early, and do not be late; the timed entry is enforced.
Afternoon
The Westerkerk (Western Church) beside the Anne Frank House has a tower climbable from April to October for around 9 euros; the view over the canal ring from the top is the best in the city. The church itself has Rembrandt’s unmarked grave somewhere in the floor (it was a pauper’s burial and no precise location was recorded, which is its own kind of historical footnote).
Lunch at Winkel 43 (Noordermarkt) for apple pie (appelgebak): it is Amsterdam’s most argued-about slice and the queue outside confirms it. A generous wedge with cream costs around 4 euros. The Noordermarkt itself runs on Saturday mornings as an organic produce and antiques market; if this is a Saturday, the surrounding streets have excellent street food.
Evening
Indonesian rijsttafel at Kantjil & de Tijger (Spuistraat 291). The Netherlands colonised Indonesia for 350 years, and Indonesian food became deeply embedded in Dutch urban culture. Rijsttafel (rice table) is a Dutch colonial meal format: a central bowl of rice surrounded by 15 to 20 small dishes of curries, sambals, satay, and vegetables. Around 35 to 55 euros per person. This is not the place to skip for budgetary reasons; it is one of the most interesting meals Amsterdam offers.
Day 4: Eastern Docklands and NEMO
Morning
The Eastern Docklands (Oostelijk Havengebied) east of the city centre is the best example of contemporary Dutch architecture in Amsterdam: artificial islands developed from disused shipyard land since the 1990s, with residential buildings by major European architects. The Java Island canal views and the bold residential tower at Borneo-Sporenburg are the architectural highlights. Worth 90 minutes of walking.
NEMO Science Museum sits on a ship-shaped building above the IJ Tunnel entrance and the free roof terrace (no ticket required) has excellent panoramic city views, better in clear weather than almost any paid viewpoint in Amsterdam.
Afternoon
Lunch at Pllek (Tt. Neveritaweg, NDSM Wharf) requires a 15-minute free ferry ride from behind Amsterdam Centraal to the NDSM Wharf, a former shipyard that became Amsterdam’s creative arts district. Pllek is a sustainable beach bar-restaurant built largely from reclaimed materials; the lunch menu runs 15 to 25 euros per person. The NDSM area itself has street art, artist studios, and a general creative-industrial atmosphere that is the most un-tourist part of the city worth visiting.
Evening
Back in the city centre, the Heineken Experience (Stadhouderskade) is an overpriced interactive brand museum (23 euros) that most Amsterdammers find embarrassing. Skip it. Instead, do a craft beer bar crawl through the Jordaan; Brouwerij ’t IJ in the De Gooyer windmill (tram or bike ride east of the centre) is a legitimate Amsterdam brewery with excellent beers for 4 to 6 euros per glass.
Day 5: Albert Cuyp Market, Bikes, and the Canal Ring
Morning
Albert Cuyp Market in the De Pijp neighbourhood is the largest open-air market in the Netherlands, running Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Produce, fish, clothing, and street food compete across 300-plus stalls. The raw herring (haring) stands are what this market is known for for food purposes: Hollandse Nieuwe herring (available May through July) is silver, lightly brined, and served with raw onion on a small roll. It tastes nothing like pickled supermarket herring; the texture is closer to sashimi. One portion costs around 3.50 to 5 euros. Eat it standing at the counter, the way it is supposed to be eaten.
Stroopwafels from a fresh-made stand (not the shrink-wrapped supermarket version): these are thin waffle biscuits sandwiched with caramel syrup and best eaten by resting them on the rim of a hot coffee for a minute first, allowing the steam to soften the caramel. The Amsterdam tradition, not a tourist recommendation.
Afternoon
Rent a bike from MacBike, Donkey Republic (app-based), or any of the dozens of rental shops for around 12 to 18 euros per day. Cycling the canal ring is how Amsterdam’s residential neighbourhoods make sense; the cycle lanes are well-marked, the distances are short, and the flat terrain makes it accessible. Head south to Amstelpark or west to Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest) for a longer ride away from the tourist centre.
Evening
Dinner in De Pijp, the neighbourhood around Albert Cuyp Market: Brasserie de Pijp on Ferdinand Bolstraat is a local favourite for Dutch-European cooking at around 30 to 45 euros per person. The neighbourhood has excellent Indonesian, Surinamese, and Turkish restaurants as well, all notably cheaper than the tourist-facing canal area.
Day 6: Zaanse Schans Day Trip and Departure
Morning
Zaanse Schans is a preserved village 20 km northwest of Amsterdam with working windmills, traditional wooden houses, and craft workshops. Direct trains from Amsterdam Centraal take 17 minutes to Zaandijk-Zaanse Schans station (2 euros using OV-chipkaart). Entry to the village grounds is free; individual workshops and windmill interiors charge 3 to 5 euros each. The windmill visits are genuinely interesting (functioning grain mills, sawmills) rather than merely photogenic. Go before 10:30 AM to beat the tour groups that arrive by bus and overwhelm the small site by late morning.
Return to Amsterdam Centraal by noon.
Afternoon
Last souvenir stops in the Jordaan or at the Waterlooplein flea market (Monday to Saturday, outdoor secondhand goods, vintage clothing, and Dutch miscellany at low prices). Waterlooplein beats any of the tourist-facing souvenir shops on price and authenticity.
Depart for Schiphol from Amsterdam Centraal; trains run every 10 to 15 minutes and take 14 to 18 minutes. Allow 2.5 hours before an international departure.
Things to Know
Bikes and pedestrians. Amsterdam cyclists are not a gentle tourist attraction; they move fast, have right of way on cycle lanes, and will ring their bells at pedestrians who wander into the path. Do not walk in a cycle lane. Look both ways twice before crossing any road, because the lane closest to the pavement is frequently a cycle lane and the bike is quiet.
Cannabis. Legal in licensed coffee shops, illegal for non-residents to purchase under laws passed in the mid-2020s in some municipalities (enforcement varies across the Netherlands; check the current status before your trip). Smoking in public is prohibited.
Weather. Amsterdam is rainy and grey for much of the year. April and May bring tulip season and milder weather. July and August are the warmest but also the most crowded. October is underrated: cool, atmospheric, manageable crowds.
I Amsterdam card. The city tourist card covering unlimited public transit and free entry to many museums costs around 75 euros for 24 hours, 90 euros for 48 hours. Worth it if you plan to hit three or more paid museums in a day; not worth it for a relaxed itinerary.
Final tip. Book the Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum tickets on the same session the moment you decide to visit Amsterdam. Both sell out weeks in advance. Missing the Anne Frank House because of late planning is a genuinely regrettable outcome.