Tourist Places To Visit In Amsterdam

The home to Van Gogh and Rembrandt’s masterpieces, a city cut with beautiful free-flowing canals and houseboats, windmills on the side and tulips rolling down gardens - Amsterdam is a dream. Not only for tourists coming in but for the locals, who are used to the gorgeous land and yet are believed to be awed from time to time. There are so many places that you have just got to visit when you are in Amsterdam. Be it museums or palaces, canals or footbridges, here’s our list for your holiday to the ‘Venice of the North.’

Amsterdam is renowned for a great many things, but foremost it is known for its beautiful manmade canals, cut through the city back in 17th Century for trade and transport purposes and control the flow of River Amstel. But today these canals have diversified into many other purposes, like anchoring houseboats, accommodating gondolas and cruise rides, making the city a unique beauty, to name a few. You must visit these canals of Netherlands, the most spellbinding ones being Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Singel and Prinsengracht. Cruise down these canals and then make sure to take a 100 photos while you stroll by its banks.

Rijksmuseum, a tongue twister, also one of the biggest museums in Amsterdam’s Museum Square, is a must-visit for history buffs and art aficionados. The place hold a collection of a million artefacts that go as far back as 13th Century, housed in a beautiful building constructed in 1885 by Pierre Cuypers. There are 8000+ displays here and they include some unforgettable paintings by Rembrandt (his master piece ‘Night Watch’), Johannes Vemeer and Frans Hals.

Van Gogh is one of Europe’s most celebrated poets and his eccentric art is as intriguing as is his eccentric life story. You must visit the Van Gogh Museum, another feather in the Museum Square’s hat, housing the biggest collection of the painter’s sketches, personal correspondences, letters and notable paintings. This is one of the most visited tourist places in Amsterdam and also houses more than 200 Post-Impressionist paintings on the second floor. 

The beautiful detail about Van Gogh Museum is that it displays his paintings in a chronological order, so that you may get an idea of how he developed as an artist as well as a human; what shaped his tastes and how his talent honed with time.

To add to the impressive repertoire of Amsterdam’s museums, there is the coveted Anne Frank House. Another destination with very high footfalls, the Anne Frank House is part museum as it was the place where Anne Frank found shelter after her escape from Nazi German during World War II. The house successfully hid Anne, her family and 4 other Jews and has since been a memorial. It has become famous after Anne Frank’s Diary was published in 1947 and the exhibits here became of even greater value. 

For the ignorant lot: Anne Frank was a young girl who experienced firsthand the Holocaust and Jewish genocide rampant in Nazi Germany, and lived to write the horrors in her diary. Today it is a very famous book.

Bloemenmarkt is one of the biggest and most beautiful floating markets in the world that graces the Single Canal of Amsterdam. It is put up seven days a week on the south bank between Koningsplein and Muntplein and is the only floating flower market in the world. You will be astonished at the quality and variety of flowers on the boats and floating garages, from daffodils to tulips, sunflowers to narcissus. There are many souvenir shops, gardening shops and nurseries too that float here. This place is definitely a unique experience and has been in existence since the 1800s.

Vondelpark  is situated in Amsterdam’s Old South District and is just west from the famous Museum Square. The park holds a statue of the Dutch poet Joost van den Vondel and makes for a popular spot for locals and tourists to unwind, play some sports, relax on the grass and ride their bicycles along the paved paths. There are cafes and stalls nearby selling loads of beer, herring sandwiches, stroopwaffels and other Dutch favourites so that you can enjoy a picnic down at the park.

After a long day treading around the museums of Museum Square, this is the best place for you to enjoy a quiet evening.

This is the red-light area of Amsterdam and no, it is not illegal. In fact, this is the city’s designated district for legalised prostitution. Several lanes and canals are lined by several old gothic buildings, houses, ancient crumbling churches and Gothic Oude Kerk, along with night clubs and brothels. A strong police patrol ensures that the area is safe, in fact, safer than the others around it. You are welcome to visit it to experience the aura of a European red-light district, something you may have only experienced in Phuket or Bangkok.

Netherlands is known for its sweeping meadows and windmills, as well as it canals and fairytale cities; but that’s not all the beauty you can find here. There are some stunning man-made palaces too. Like the Koninklijk Paleis of Amsterdam, located just off the Dam Square to the west. It was once a town hall and was later converted into a palace when Louis (Napoleon’s brother) was crowned the king of Holland. The beautiful sandstone structure has an Empiric aura to it and is used by the Royal House of Dutch for their events. Tourists are welcome to visit it almost all year round.