Amsterdam in 2025: Canals, Bikes, and the Best Coffee Shops

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days do you need in Amsterdam?

Three to four days is ideal. That gives you time for the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, a canal cruise, and the Jordaan neighborhood without rushing. Add a day for a Zaanse Schans windmill day trip if you have five days.

Is Amsterdam expensive?

Moderately. Hotels run $200-300 per night in the canal district. Museum entry is $20-25. Food is reasonable, Indonesian rijsttafel is the best value meal in the city at $25-35 per person for a feast.

What is the best way to get around Amsterdam?

Rent a bike. Amsterdam has more bikes than people and the infrastructure is built for cycling. The tram system is the backup option. Do not rent a car, parking is nearly impossible and extremely expensive.

What Amsterdam Cost (Two People, 4 Days)

Book hotels: Search Booking.com hotels

Here is what we actually spent (or what you should budget), based on our trip:

Prices are approximate and based on 2024-2025 travel. Book flights 2-3 months ahead for the best rates.

Neighborhoods Worth Your Time

The Jordaan is the prettiest neighborhood in the city and also the most expensive. Go for coffee and a walk, not for bargains. De Pijp is where locals actually eat — the Albert Cuyp market on weekday mornings is one of the best food markets in Europe. Noord across the IJ ferry (free, two minutes) is the creative district: warehouses converted into studios, the NDSM shipyard, and Pllek beach bar on the water.

What to Eat

Stroopwafels from a market stall, not a tourist shop. Bitterballen at any brown cafe. Raw herring with onion from a street cart — this is the one food that divides people, but if you eat it the Dutch way (holding it by the tail over your head, lowering it into your mouth) at least you will have a story. Indonesian rijsttafel at one of the many Indonesian restaurants in the city — the colonial history between the Netherlands and Indonesia means this food has been perfected over generations.

Practical Tips

• Book the Anne Frank House weeks in advance. It sells out. There are no walk-in tickets.
• The Rijksmuseum takes three hours minimum. The Night Watch alone is worth the ticket but do not rush the Dutch Golden Age rooms.
• Avoid the Red Light District after 10pm on weekends. It is a traffic jam of bachelor parties. Go during the day if you want to actually see the architecture.
• The canal ring is a UNESCO site. The best way to see it is on a boat, and several companies do evening cruises with wine that are pleasant.

Tours: Amsterdam tours on Viator

Travel Insurance: We use SafetyWing for travel insurance on every international trip. It covers medical emergencies, trip interruptions, and lost luggage starting at $45/month with no fixed end date — perfect for multi-country itineraries.

Book Tours and Activities

• Amsterdam Tours & Activities
• Amsterdam Walking Tours

Book on GetYourGuide:

• Amsterdam Canal Cruise
• Van Gogh Museum Ticket
• Anne Frank and Jewish Quarter Walking Tour

Find Flights to Amsterdam

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Amsterdam in Spring 2025: What Was Different

Amsterdam in 2025 was mid-transformation. The city had been aggressively pushing back against overtourism — the famous “Stay Away” campaign launched in 2023 was still running, and new rules meant no more guided tours through the Red Light District. Cannabis coffeeshops were discussing a locals-only policy (not yet enforced when we visited, but the conversation was loud).

The Noord district across the IJ river had fully arrived by spring 2025. What was an industrial wasteland five years earlier now had some of the best restaurants in the city. The A’DAM Tower observation deck, the NDSM Wharf with its container restaurants, and the street art scene all felt like discovering a completely different city from the canal belt tourists.

Keukenhof was celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025 with an expanded garden layout and over 7 million bulbs planted — the most in its history. The tulip fields between Lisse and Hillegom peak for only about two weeks in mid-April, and we hit them almost perfectly. The fields do not stay forever — they are commercial crops, so the farmers cut the flower heads off after peak bloom to force energy back into the bulbs. Miss the window and you see headless stems.

We visited the Rijksmuseum right after they completed the restoration of the Gallery of Honour floor — the original 19th-century encaustic tiles had been painstakingly cleaned for the first time in decades, and the difference in how the natural light bounced off the floor changed the way Rembrandt’s Night Watch looked from certain angles. A museum guard told us that even staff who had worked there for years noticed the difference.

What It Cost

Amsterdam for three days and two nights in 2025.

• $200/night. Amsterdam hotels have gotten noticeably more expensive since the tourist tax increase. Budget at least $180/night for anything decent and central.
• $18 per person for the standard 75-minute tour. Worth doing once to orient yourself to the city layout.
• $22.50. Anne Frank House: $16 (must book online weeks in advance, they sell out immediately).
• $35-50/day. Indonesian rijsttafel dinner: $30-40 per person. Albert Cuyp market lunch: $8-12. Coffee shops (the actual coffee kind): $4-5 per flat white.
• $12 for three days of trams and metro.
• Total per person: roughly $850 for 3 days.

Gear and Guides We Recommend

These are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

• Lonely Planet Netherlands – Solid coverage of Amsterdam and day trips.
• Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Backpack – Carry-on friendly for a long weekend city trip.
• Anker Nano Power Bank – For all-day exploring without hunting for outlets.
• eSIM International Data – Works across Europe without a local SIM.

Compare flights on Skyscanner — and grab an Airalo eSIM before you land so you have data the moment you arrive.

Plan Your Trip

• Search flights on Aviasales
• Compare hotels on Hotellook
• Airalo eSIM — skip the SIM card hunt at the airport
• Browse tours and activities on GetYourGuide

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