Amsterdam: A Guide to the Best Eats, Drinks, and Adventures.

Amsterdam may not be the first city that comes to mind for culinary excellence, but it more than makes up for it with unforgettable cultural experiences and charming places to eat and drink. Beyond the classic Dutch snacks and vibrant street markets, the city offers countless ways to engage with its rich history, art scene, and picturesque canal-side ambiance.

Whether you’re sipping a craft beer after a museum visit, strolling through the quaint streets, or enjoying a sunset canal cruise, we’ll guide you to the best places to eat, drink, and savor the unforgettable essence of Amsterdam. And we’ll suggest a few excursions out of the city as well. Grab your appetite and sense of adventure — let’s dive in!

De 9 Straatjes

Amsterdam Centrum: The Pretty Nines

The photogenic De 9 Straatjes (Nine Streets) are the heart of the old city and where the exploration begins. Quite touristy but sometimes the tourists are onto a thing. Loads of quaint boutiques, cafes, sweet buildings, waterways, bridges, and streets so narrow Amazon’s got the cutest little delivery truck that looks like it belongs in a Pixar movie.

petite deliveries

Be sure to give an hour to the little Museum of the Canals, a creative, visual storytelling of the urban planning history and the building of Amsterdam.

The restaurants in the Nines can be uninspired, though on a cold day Restaurant de Struisvogel was cozy and delicious and Café de Klepel has a yummy tasting menu. Slightly west, Rakang, a delightful Thai restaurant on Elandsgracht, was always hopping.

As for drinking and chilling spots, the Nines and surrounding area do that well. We were semi-regulars at Molepad with ample outdoor seating on the canal, it was the perfect way to cap a busy day. Twee Prinsen was great for people-watching. Occo at the Dylan is gorgeous and fancy. Cafe de Doffer, Proeflokaal A. van Wees, and ELA Restobar were all sweet spots to grab a drink, chill, and pretend to be European.

De Belhammel

Amsterdam Centrum: Beyond the Nines

Just north of the Nine Streets sits Anne Frank House which is a moving glimpse into the life of the Frank family before their detainment by the Nazis. The house itself is well-preserved and while this is a heavy experience, it is not to be missed. Advance tickets are required. In addition to the aforementioned, De Belhammel, was a favorite restaurant on the canal close to this area. We sat by the water on a hot summer evening, and it was absolutely epic.

Kalverstraat was once a cow market and now is the obligatory outdoor shopping mall and busiest commercial street in the city. If you forgot your workout gear, you can hit Lululemon, Footlocker, and many other chains here.

Begijnhof

Begijnhof is a quiet oasis for single catholic ladies tucked near the Kalverstraat. Last we were here, this was a place you could stumble upon and just walk in but now there are lines and such to manage the crowds, but it is worth a peek to catch a glimpse of a bygone era.

Dam Square, the main central square, is located at one end of the Kalverstraat. We toured the Royal Palace, located on the square, simply because it was raining and we needed refuge. It’s a beautiful building and the audio tour was decent but we wouldn’t rush to return.

De Wallen is the Red Light District. Yes, it’s a spectacle, no you should not miss it. Go at dusk, we’re told – we went in broad daylight and there was still plenty of action, and maybe seek out a “coffeeshop.”

Back when weed wasn’t on every U.S. street corner, no trip to Amsterdam was complete without a coffeeshop visit. For Doug and his college crew, a simple joint wasn’t bold enough. Instead, they went all in on the infamous “Space Cake”—a deceptively innocent-looking slice of sprinkle-covered goodness.

After several hours of intense paranoia, involving train conductors who were clearly onto them but not really, and uncontrollable laughter baffling everyone nearby, they crashed hard and early, having clearly overplayed their hand.

If some culture is in order before you slip into the depravity of De Wallen, there are two museums a short walk away. Renovated and reimagined in 2023, Rembrandt House Museum is a fantastic interactive museum for lovers of Rembrandt and all artists. Also close by is the Resistance Museum We wanted to love this chronicle of the Dutch resistance during WWII, but it was content overload for us and not cleanly organized.

Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market, was fairly underwhelming in July, with few live flowers, but lots of bulbs and souvenirs for the tourists. Reminds us of when Kate and Charlotte brought tulip bulbs, not weed, home from Amsterdam and they were sniffed out and confiscated by the drug dog.

Van Gogh’s “Bedroom in Arles”

Amsterdam Zuid and Oost: The Outer Neighborhoods Pack it in

Museumplein is home to some of Amsterdam’s best museums, starting with the Rijksmuseum—and trust us, it’s more than just The Night Watch. Do the 60-minute highlights tour (€7.50) to hit the must-sees, then loop back for a deeper dive. Over at the Van Gogh Museum (a favorite), the audio tour is well worth it—just be sure to book tickets in advance for both.

For a modern twist, Moco Museum offers contemporary works, including a couple of Banksys, and is a solid choice if you’ve got younger visitors in tow.

While in the area, take a spin through Vondelpark, Amsterdam’s largest green space, then refuel at Night Kitchen, one of our favorite dinner spots. For lunch, grab a stellar miso salad at Soil (a great vegan option), or check out Foodhallen—though fair warning, the selection was a bit underwhelming when we visited.

De Pijp is the vibrant Latin Quarter with a lively street market, boutiques, and cafes with terraces. We opted for a quick lunch at Poke Lab, which was uh-may-zing. This area also boasts the Heineken Experience which, admittedly we did not partake in this go-round, having done the obligatory tour just to get to the 2 free beers in our twenties.

Instead, we hit Brouwerij’t IJ, a brewery in a windmill in Centrum. They offer tours, but spots were scarce, required an early arrival, and—honestly—the staff wasn’t exactly welcoming. We sampled a flight of Pils, Pale Ale, IPA, and Stouts—decent, but not on par with US microbrews. Stick to the local Dutch Pils.

De Kas tomatoes

A destination unto itself, Restaurant De Kas restaurant is ridiculously beautiful and not to be missed. Requires significant advance planning to get a reservation.

Straat art

Amsterdam Noord: Cycle Adventures and Eclectic Museums

Cycling to the Centraal Station and directly onto the ferries to the Noord is free and delightful. From NDSM station, the Straat Museum holds an extensive collection of street art and is definitely worth a visit. What’s not to love about Cornbread’s “I Started this Shit” and of course Eduardo Kobra’s towering portrait of Anne Frank. Stop at IJver for lunch/drinks.

Zaanse Schans kitsch

From Buiksloterweg, we took the scenic route up to Broek in Waterland and stopped at Oedipus Brewing for a pint on our way back. Other Noord rides include Zaanse Schans, the Disneyland of Amsterdam. If you’re in the mood for a bit of kitsch at an open-air museum, go get a photo while standing in some giant clogs, see well-preserved windmills and houses and piles of cheese wheels. The town of Zaandam and the natural beauty of Hettwiske are picturesque stops en route.

Take an e-bike if you’re at all worried about the distance and, generally speaking, do NOT follow Google Maps, which is hard to route off main roads and, we found, generally underestimates ride times. Try a local planning app like Fietsknoop and follow the numbered route system. And, if you’re in deep Noord and it decides to monsoon, as it did for us, keep smiling and remember it’s all part of the fun of being Dutch.

Haarlem

Haarlem: A Quintisential Dutch Town

Haarlem is a very nice, manageable ride outside the city. This mini-Amsterdam with a charming square full of cafes will take just one hour to reach by bike (or 10 minutes by train). Add a ride out to the seaside town of Bloemendal aan Zee to stroll among the dunes and grab a cappuccino at one of the little cafes that dot the coastline.

bike trip to Utrecht

Utrecht: The Roman City

One Saturday we tested the limits of our intrepid [Swapfiets] and hit the path to Utrecht. We took the train to Weesp to shorten our distance and rode along the Vecht River. So much good scenery including windmills, country homes, and little villages. We made the obligatory stop in Breukelen just to say we’d been to Haarlem and Breukelen when we later arrived in Harlem and Brooklyn.

Utrecht itself is a bustling, Roman city, quite different architecturally from Amsterdam. It was a gorgeous day and the great cafe migration was in full swing with what we’re sure was the entire population of Europe filling the many terraces along the river, smoking ciggies and sipping Aperol Spritz.

Euro Cup hooligans and “lighter” beer

Dusseldorf – The Long Day Trip

There is a massive amount of bike parking under Centraal Station but on return from our day trip to Dusseldorf, we discovered that it is not all 24/7, a frustrating discovery at 2 am. Dusseldorf, an easy 2-hour train ride on the brilliant and efficient Euro trains, is a beautiful, vibrant city with a healthy beer culture, which was on overdrive when we visited on the day of the Euro Cup football semis.

Bless the Germans for their patience in hosting the English hooligan fans, with their full-throttle boozing and dated, taunting chants about shooting down WWII German bombers, while experiencing the hospitality of Germany. (given our partial English roots, we can say this). The Swiss fans, meanwhile, were a picture-perfect vision in red and white, like the Swiss flag come to life, clapping politely and in sync with an expression of mild surprise, or perhaps amusement, at the Brits.

If you take a day here, we suggest walking the Rhine, having ramen in Little Tokyo (Dusseldorf has a robust Japanese community), doing an app tour of the old town, and drinking some beer. Speaking of, we ordered a beer and then were like “Do you have something lighter?” And the waiter, without missing a beat, pours the exact same beer and slaps a label on it saying “lighter.”

Amsterdam has so much to offer that even a month wasn’t enough to see it all—and trust us, we tried. From canal cruises to cycling adventures, world-class museums to hidden neighborhood gems, this city kept us endlessly entertained. We’re already plotting our return. To read about our month-long stay and all the misadventures along the way, click here.

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 Best of the Best

Anne Frank House (Jordaan) – Museum, heavy, but not to be missed
Begijnhof (City Center) – City neighborhood
Broek in Waterland (North of Amsterdam) – Bike excursion
Café de Klepel (The Nine Streets) – Charming set menu
Cafe Doffer (Jordaan) – Drinks
Canal Motor Boats (City Center) – Electric boat rental, that won’t break down
De Belhammel (Jordaan) – Excellent dinner spot on the canal
De Kas (Frankendael Park) – Gorgeous, farm-as-restaurant
Dr. Falafel (Jordaan) – Best. Falafel. Ever.
ELA (De Pijp) – Drinks
Festina Lente (Jordaan) – Sweet little cafe for lunch
Haarlem (Near Amsterdam) – Pleasant bike excursion
IJver (NDSM) – Outdoor restaurant by Straat
Molenpad (Jordaan) – Drinks
Museum of the Canals (City Center) – Visually appealing museum
Night Kitchen (Jordaan) – Amazing and cozy dinner spot
OCCO Bar at the Dylan (The Nine Streets) – Fancy drinks
Oedipus Brewing (Noord) – Drinks
Poke Lab (City Center) – Good fast lunch
Proeflokaal A. van Wees (City Center) – Drinks
Rakang (Elandsgracht) – Thai
Rijksmuseum (Museumplein) – Large, diverse museum
RoCycle (City Center) – Fitness studio with amazing spin
Soil (De Pijp) – Miso salad for lunch
Straat Museum (NDSM) – Street art museum
Swapfiets (Citywide) – Bike rentals
The Nine Streets (City Center) – City neighborhood
Twee Prinsen (Jordaan) – Drinks
Utrecht (Near Amsterdam) – Bike/Train excursion
Van Gogh Museum (Museumplein) – Museum
Voyage Canal Cruise (City Center) – Boat tour

🌷🌷🌷🌷 Pretty Darn Good

Black Dog (Jordaan) – Rainy Sunday roast – sit on the right side of the restaurant
Box Sociaal (Plantage) – Ozzie brunch
De Pijp (City neighborhood) – City neighborhood
De Wallen (Red Light District) – City neighborhood
Düsseldorf (Germany) – Train excursion
L’affiche (Jordaan) – Cash only – Drinks
Leemstar Amsterdam (City Center) – Boat tour
Movements Yoga (De Pijp) – Fitness studio with yoga and pilates
Oedipus Brewing (Noord) – Drinks
Pastis (De Pijp) – French neighborhood dinner joint
Rembrandt House Museum (City Center) – Creative museum
Restaurant de Struisvogel (Jordaan) – Cozy dinner spot
Restaurant Europa (City Center) – Tasting menu a bit aggressive for our palates
Verlan (Oud-West) – Dinner. Go for the fermented potato bread
Vondelgym (Oud-West) – Fitness studio with CrossFit

🌷🌷🌷 Don’t Go Out of Your Way

Brouwerij ’t IJ (Oost) – Brewery
Bussia (Jordaan) – Italian restaurant trying a bit too hard
Foodhallen (Oud-West) – Nice space, artsy food hall but not a ton there
Kalverstraat (City Center) – City shopping street
La Panetteria (The Nine Streets) – Chain panini place, not bad at all
Moco Museum (Museumplein) – Museum
Resistance Museum (Plantage) – Museum
Royal Palace (Dam Square) – Museum
Zaanse Schans (North of Amsterdam) – Bike excursion

🌷🌷 Skip

Bloemenmarkt (City Center) – City market
Breukelen (Near Amsterdam) – Bike excursion
Mokumboot (City Center) – Electric boat rental