Attraction
Rijksmuseum
The national museum of the Netherlands, housed in Pierre Cuypers's 1885 building and home to Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid.
The Netherlands is a small, flat and densely connected country, which makes it easy to explore by train and bike. Amsterdam is the capital and the main gateway, with its canal ring and major museums, but the rest of the country rewards a few extra days. Rotterdam is known for modern architecture and its huge port, The Hague is the seat of government and home to the Mauritshuis, and Utrecht has a historic centre with canals on two levels. Smaller towns such as Haarlem, Delft and Leiden have well-preserved old centres, while Keukenhof's spring flowers, the windmills of Kinderdijk and the Zaanse Schans, and the islands of the Wadden Sea show the landscape for which the country is known. Further south, Maastricht offers a different, more Burgundian atmosphere.
Attraction
The national museum of the Netherlands, housed in Pierre Cuypers's 1885 building and home to Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid.
Attraction
The museum holding the largest collection of work by Vincent van Gogh, with paintings, drawings and letters in a building by Gerrit Rietveld.
Attraction
The canal house on the Prinsengracht where Anne Frank and seven others hid during the Second World War, now a museum about her life and diary.
Attraction
The 17th-century former city hall on Dam Square, designed by Jacob van Campen and now used by the Dutch royal family for state occasions.
Attraction
Amsterdam's best-known park, 47 hectares of lawns, ponds and paths that opened in 1865 and is named after the poet Joost van den Vondel.
Attraction
Amsterdam's museum of modern and contemporary art and design, set in an 1895 building with a white 2012 extension nicknamed the Bathtub.
Café
A corner café on the Noordermarkt in the Jordaan, best known for its tall Dutch apple pie served with whipped cream.
Café
A spacious grand café between Muntplein and the Muziektheater, open since 1990, with a balcony and waterside terrace over the Amstel.
Café
A pancake restaurant in a 17th-century canal warehouse on the Prinsengracht, serving more than 75 sweet and savoury pancakes since 1973.
Café
A one-product bakery on the Rokin that sells a single cookie: warm dark chocolate dough with a white chocolate centre.
Café
A New Zealand-style brunch café with Brazilian influences in De Pijp, serving all-day brunch, in-house baking and speciality coffee.
Café
A speciality coffee bar on Weteringstraat, close to the Rijksmuseum, serving coffee roasted at the company's own roastery and bakery.
Hotel
A grand riverside hotel at Muntplein, opened in 1896, with 107 rooms and suites, a pool and spa, and several restaurants overlooking the Amstel.
Hotel
A five-star hotel by the Amstel canal in De Pijp, opened in 1971, with Ciel Bleu on its 23rd floor and several Japanese restaurants.
Hotel
A five-star boutique hotel in a historic building on the Keizersgracht, home to the two-Michelin-star restaurant Vinkeles.
Hotel
A family-run four-star hotel in 17th-century buildings on the Singel, with 91 rooms and two suites in the heart of the canal ring.
Hotel
A design hotel in the 1921 Lloyd building in the Eastern Docklands, with 136 rooms, the Breman Brasserie and a lobby bar.
Hotel
A contemporary boutique hotel at the start of Albert Cuypstraat, near Museumplein and De Pijp, with the IZAKAYA Asian kitchen and bar.
Bar
A concert venue in a 19th-century former church near Leidseplein, open since 1968 and known as Amsterdam's pop temple.
Bar
A music and culture venue in a former milk factory beside Leidseplein, open since 1970 with several concert halls, a cinema and an expo space.
Bar
A brown café on the Spui that has served drinks since 1670, with old gin and liqueur barrels behind the bar and a terrace on the…
Bar
The tasting room of Brouwerij 't IJ beneath the De Gooyer windmill, pouring the brewery's own organic and craft beers since the brewery began in 1985.
Bar
A sky bar and terrace on the 11th floor of the DoubleTree by Hilton beside Central Station, with cocktails, DJs and views over the city.
Bar
A historic tasting room and distillery in the Pijlsteeg alley behind Dam Square, serving jenever and liqueurs in a building dating from 1679.
Restaurant
The Rijksmuseum's own Michelin-starred restaurant, led by Joris Bijdendijk and serving the cuisine of the Low Countries with Dutch produce.
Restaurant
A two-Michelin-star restaurant on the 23rd floor of Hotel Okura, serving creative tasting menus with views over the city.
Restaurant
A Michelin-starred farm-to-table restaurant in a glasshouse in Park Frankendael, cooking with produce grown on site since 2001.
Restaurant
A modern Indonesian restaurant near Vondelpark known for its rijsttafel, a spread of many small dishes served with rice.
Restaurant
A traditional Dutch restaurant on the Rozengracht, opened in 1990, with walls covered in photographs of mothers and mismatched crockery.
Restaurant
A no-reservations grill café on Kerkstraat, open since 1971 and known for its spare ribs, served classic or smoked, in a lively, informal room.
Thing to do
A long-running street market on Albert Cuypstraat in De Pijp, with around 300 stalls selling food, fabrics and household goods six days a week.
Thing to do
An observation deck on floors 20 and 21 of the A'DAM Tower in Noord, with views over the IJ and old centre and a swing over…
Thing to do
A self-guided visitor experience inside Heineken's original 1867 brewery on Stadhouderskade, covering brewing, the brand's history and a tasting.
Thing to do
An indoor food hall inside De Hallen, a converted tram depot in Oud-West, with around 19 food stands and three bars under one roof.
Thing to do
Amsterdam's main classical concert hall, opened in 1888 on Museumplein and home of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Tour operator
A small-boat canal tour company with public tours for up to ten people and private trips, where guests can bring their own food and drinks.
Tour operator
A canal cruise company sailing since 1956, with a fleet of electric boats and departures from Central Station, the Rijksmuseum, Leidseplein and the Anne Frank House.
Tour operator
Small-group food tours run by Eating Europe in the Jordaan and De Pijp, including a combined food and canal tour and a stroopwafel workshop.
Tour operator
A family-run company founded in 1990 that offers guided bike tours of Amsterdam and the countryside, plus bike rental near Central Station.
Tour operator
A bike tour company running since 1999, offering city rides, countryside tours through Waterland and e-bike trips to the Zaanse Schans windmills.
By train: the national rail network is frequent and links all major cities, often in under an hour, and cycling is easy on dedicated paths across the flat countryside
April and May for tulip fields and King's Day, and June to September for the warmest weather; winters are mild but grey and damp
Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Haarlem, Delft, Leiden and Maastricht, plus Keukenhof in spring, the windmills of Kinderdijk and the Zaanse Schans