Itinerary for 24 hours in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the perfect place for a city trip. Some tourists may flock to Amsterdam for the image of a sex and drug city, but there are many other reasons to visit Amsterdam. The symbol of the Dutch capital is the canal belt, but you will also find many museums about the history of the city and about great artists. You can also shop well and eat well. But what exactly do you do when you only have 24 hours in the city? We make a travel plan for you!
Start your day early with a canal cruise
A big part of what makes Amsterdam such a fun and easy city to come to is the various ways that you can travel around. If you are in Amsterdam for just 24 hours is it smart to think about buying ticket for the hop-on, hop-off boat/bus tours. You can take these tours as and when you wish, and go to any part of the city that you want to by using your ticket. This allows you to travel around Amsterdam at your own pace, and allows you to enjoy the experience in a way that you can feel satisfied with. Touring around Amsterdam can be tough, but boat trips like this do a lot to help! You can sightsee and you are transported all at the same time! Get your tickets here.
Head to Museumplein “Museum Quarter”
Museumplein is the place to dive into art and culture. With four of Amsterdam’s most visited museums within a five-minute walk of each other, there is definitely something you like. Go to the Rijksmuseum if you want to captivate your eyes with art from almost all centuries of modern civilization and cultures. The museum focuses on the Dutch 17th century and is not only very interested, but has is also located in a fascinating and iconic building. It’s Netherland’s largest museum. If you want to know more about the life and work of Van Gogh, then you cannot skip the Van Gogh Museum. In the Stedelijk Museum you will find modern art from all corners of the world. In case you don’t have enough photos of yourself with a cool background yet, try the MOCO museum with its largest exhibition of Banksy and lots of other crazy art installations. You can certainly boost your instagram feed with that. The MOCO is a fairly small museum, in terms of size, so you can easily combine this with one of the other three museums.
Have lunch
Looking for a vegan restaurant? Go to Mr Stacks! It is only a 10 minute walk from the Museumplein. You have to go there and see their unique concept for bubble tea & vegan pancakes. Read more about this restaurant here.
If you want to head directly to the shopping area for some extra shopping time, you can also have a great lunch at “De Drie Graefjes”. They have great sandwiches, try their tuna melt! It’s delicious. They are also famous, because of their pies and cupcakes. Definitely worth a visit! They have two locations in the city center: Rokin 130, 1012 LD and Gravenstraat 13, 1012 in Amsterdam
Go shopping
The most popular shopping places in the Amsterdam city center are the Kalverstraat & Nieuwendrijk (with famous shopes, such as Zara, H&M and Primark), The Magna Plaza (little shopping center with high end brands) and the Negen Straatjes, The Nine Streets” (with little boutique stores).
Dit bericht bekijken op Instagram
Get a snack
Hungry from shopping? Go for a fries + mayonnaise at Manneken Pis. It is in the shopping district area, so you do not have to travel for it. Address: Damrak 41, 1012 LK Amsterdam.
Strolling through the Red Light District
After this snack we recommend you to walk through the Red Light District, to see this side of Amsterdam. For those who want to learn about prostitution in Amsterdam’s most infamous area a tour is a must! The Red Light District represents the liberal and open-minded Dutch culture. In this part – that is locally known as De Wallen – residents live just next to and above window brothels. Only here one can see a church that is surrounded by window prostitutes. You can walk here by yourself or read more about taking a tour here.
Dinner
We have a couple of eating options in the city center for you. Do you like Indian food? Definitely go to Ghandi at Damrak 54. Pay attention to the sign of the restaurant, oterhwise you will walk right past it. The restaurant looks pretty shabby, but you can eat delicious! Try the delicious butter chicken and the saag paneer if you like curries! The samosas are also very good here.
Are you more into tapas? Pay a visit to Pata Negra Amsterdam at Utrechtsestraat 124. At Pata Negra you can enjoy authentic Spanish cuisine in Amsterdam. Both for lunch and for dinner. Pata Negra gets fresh and pure ingredients from Spain and prepares dishes according to the original recipe. And as it goes in Spain you can eat here until late. The kitchen closes at 11:30 pm on weekends!
Looking for some cheap and delicious Italian food? Visit Vapiano at Amstelstraat 2. Vapiano is a kind of fast food tent, but with very fresh and delicious dishes. You can order a pizza for € 6. They also have delicious pastas for € 8, but there is almost always a long line. So skip this if you are very hungry!
Are you craving for some sushi? Go to Sumo at Vijzelstraat 26, Nieuwezijds voorburgwal 4 and Kleine gartmanplantsoen 17. At Sumo you can enjoy a delicious Japanese lunch or dinner. In the restaurants they not only serve sushi, but also grill dishes. They also have enough vegetarian dishes.
Have a drink at Rembrandtplein or Leidseplein
Still enough energy? Go to Rembrantplein or Leidseplein for a drink at one of the cozy cafes.
