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City break

Amsterdam by bike

Rent two bikes on the first morning and forget the trams. Canals in the Jordaan, a free ferry to the north, and a ride out along the dike to a village of wooden houses.

Length
3 days
Budget
€€ (About €150–300 a day for two. What you spend there, not the flights.)
Best months
Apr–Jun, Sept
Kind
City break
Make it a surpriseFind flights

The route

Where you'll go

  1. 1

    Jordaan

    2 nights

    Narrow canals, old brown cafés and the Saturday market at the Noordermarkt: the place to stay.

    Date spots here
  2. 2

    Vondelpark

    On the way

    The city's park. Ride through it, and stop at the open-air theatre in summer.

    Date spots here
  3. 3

    NDSM, Noord

    On the way

    A free ferry from behind Central Station to an old shipyard full of studios and waterside bars.

    Date spots here
  4. 4

    Durgerdam

    On the way

    A row of wooden houses along the dike, an easy half-hour ride from the centre.

    Date spots here

Day by day

The plan

  1. Day 1

    The canal ring

    • Rent two bikes with proper locks and ride the Prinsengracht slowly, stopping on every bridge.
    • Apple pie with cream at Winkel 43 in the Jordaan.
    • The Nine Streets for small shops, then up the Westerkerk tower for the roofs.
    • Evening: dinner in the Jordaan, a drink in a brown café, and a canal walk once the bridges light up.

  2. Day 2

    Museums, the park, the north

    • The Rijksmuseum at opening time: The Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid, then out before lunch.
    • Ride through the Vondelpark and have lunch in De Pijp, by the Albert Cuyp market.
    • The free ferry from Central Station to NDSM in the north, bikes on board.
    • Evening: dinner at a waterside restaurant at NDSM as the sun goes down over the IJ, then the ferry back.

  3. Day 3

    Out along the dike

    • Ferry across the IJ and ride east along the dike to Durgerdam: half an hour, fields on one side and water on the other.
    • Coffee on the dike at Durgerdam, and on to the village of Ransdorp if you're enjoying it.
    • Back through the Eastern Docklands, and a quiet hour in the palm house at the Hortus Botanicus.
    • Evening: an early dinner, the bikes returned, and one last walk along the Brouwersgracht.

Book ahead

Tickets for this trip

The things on this plan worth booking ahead: a time slot, a seat on a boat, a pass. Book before you go and skip the ticket desk.

Tickets through Tiqets. We may earn a commission if you book through some of these links. It costs you nothing extra.

Getting there

Flights to Amsterdam

Where this trip starts. Add where you're flying from, change the dates if you like, then pick a site.

2 travellers
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Make it a surprise

Don't tell them where.

Turn this trip into a gift: a ticket they open on their phone, with Amsterdam already on it and the packing list as clues. You choose when they find out.

Make it a surprise

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