Broek in Waterland
A fairy-tale village of wooden houses, painted in every shade of grey, along quiet waterways. Napoleon visited in 1811.
Canals, masters and museums within walking distance.
46 museumsIn the Golden Age Amsterdam became one of the richest cities in the world. The canal ring built in that era still looks almost exactly the same. Walking through the city is walking through an open-air museum.
And inside, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh and Anne Frank are waiting. The best thing about Amsterdam: almost everything is close together. On Museumplein the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk stand side by side, and from there it is a fifteen-minute walk to the Jordaan or the Nine Streets. Plan your day around one museum, eat around the corner and let the rest of the city surprise you.
One day, four moments. How to get the most out of your visit.
Six places to complete your museum day.
Three world-class museums on one square: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk. Pick one per half day and it stays a treat.
A canal cruise or a small open boat shows the canal houses the way they were meant to be seen: from the water.
Small shops, hidden courtyards and brown cafés. The perfect walk after a morning at a museum.
A picnic between two museums. The park starts right next to Museumplein.
Behind Central Station free ferries cross the IJ, including to the NDSM wharf with art, studios and street art.
The city's best-known market, in the heart of De Pijp. Then coffee in one of the side streets.
Buy your tickets online and plan the rest of your day around them.
All museums in Amsterdam. Click a museum for the route.
From the back of Central Station (IJzijde), buses take fifteen minutes to half an hour to the loveliest villages of Waterland. Too often overlooked, and so close.
A fairy-tale village of wooden houses, painted in every shade of grey, along quiet waterways. Napoleon visited in 1811.
An old Zuiderzee town with a harbour full of historic ships, smoked eel and the De Speeltoren clock tower.
Little bridges, little canals and of course cheese. In summer the traditional cheese market is held on Wednesdays.
Travel times are indicative. Live times on 9292.nl.
For decades Amsterdam's hotels have welcomed guests from all over the world, with top hospitality at every budget. And from your hotel you are out of the city in no time: buses, trains and ferries run often and on time. Breakfast in the city, an afternoon in Waterland, back in the evening. That is how you discover the real Holland, far from the crowds.
Restaurants, shops and hotels near the museums, picked for museum visitors.