Our pick of the best things to do in Amsterdam for every budget will help you get the most out of your holiday.
From cool attractions and free activities to delicious eateries and bike tours, we’ve handpicked our highlights so you can easily tick off what you’d like to do.
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The Best Free Things To Do in Amsterdam
Visiting Amsterdam on a budget? Even though the city is known for being expensive, there are free things to do there – look no further than our favourites below!
Get familiar with Amsterdam on a walking tour
When you first arrive in a city, one of the best ways to familiarise yourself is to get out on a walking tour and stroll the streets.
Google ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘self guided walking tour’, and you’ll find plenty of routes to try. The great thing about this city is that it’s pretty compact. Even if you decide to explore with no real plan, you can’t really miss the main sights!
The city centre is also known as Centruum or the Canal Ring. It’s made up of lots of tiny neighbourhoods that overlap one another with plenty of attractions, eateries, characterful streets and buzzing market squares to explore.
We love Jordaan on the northern edge of the city centre, a super charming area that’s full of cute boutiques, inviting cafes and quirky museums. We’re also a fan of De Pijp on the southern side, a zone with boho roots that has a chilled neighbourly vibe and loads of independent stores and eateries.
Try one of these Amsterdam free walking tours
Catch some rays in Vondelpark
Vondelpark is Amsterdam’s most popular – and largest – park, stretching out across 120 acres. On a warm day, it’s full of tourists and locals alike making the most of the sunshine.
Vondelpark is southwest of Leidesplein and northwest of Museumplein, so it’s a great place to rest for an hour or two after visiting the museums or finishing up a stroll of the Canal Ring.
You could also hop on a bike and cycle through here, which is a classic Amsterdam activity. Even better, grab some Dutch classics from the supermarket – gouda cheese, a few beers, fresh bread and stroopwafels – caramel biscuits – and stay for a picnic lunch.
See the world famous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for free
Amsterdam’s orchestra – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – is world famous, and their concert hall is celebrated for its amazing acoustics. You can see them for free during Amsterdam’s culture season, which runs from September to June. Just pop along to one of their public performances on Wednesday afternoons. Show up at 11.30am to get a ticket – the concert starts at 12.30pm and lasts half an hour.
Travelling to Amsterdam on a budget?
Check out our list of ways to save money on your Amsterdam trip.
Wander the 9 streets
The 9 streets (De Negen Straatjes) is a well-known historic shopping area on the western side of the canal ring – but you can just go to window shop!
This area actually sprang up at the end of the Dutch Golden age to allow space for trade, craft and culture, as the city centre was too small to fit them in! The cobbled streets and picturesque canals make you feel like you’ve stepped into a postcard.
There’s a floating flower market here, and it’s full of gift shops, independent boutiques, smart vintage stores and great cafes – a perfect spot to spend an hour or two.
Visit a free museum like Framer Framed
You’ve got a bunch of free museums in this city that you can check out without having to spend a cent! Plus Amsterdam is such a creative hub that there’s always something going on, from outdoor photography exhibitions to art festivals.
Framer Framed
A contemporary art museum in Amsterdam Oost, that makes free resources available to local artists and communities. You can see free exhibitions from homegrown and international artists that cover topics like belonging, connection and storytelling.
Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder
A fascinating old canal house from the Dutch Golden Age. The highlight is an actual Catholic church in the attic! It was built in the 1660s, when Catholic masses were officially banned, and if you go there to attend mass on the first Sunday of the month, it’s free to visit.
OSCAM
OSCAM is another contemporary art museum in Amsterdamse Poort shopping centre in Zuidoost. It was set up to celebrate the different cultures in the area, and showcase perspectives that are often not represented in art and fashion.
Amsterdam City Archives
An impressive Art Deco building, De Bazel, is home to the Amsterdam City Archives and is worth a nose around. You can take a guided tour or visit whatever free exhibition happens to be going on in the basement – which is the vault space of this former bank.
ARTZUID
Every two years, there’s an art show – a biennale – in Amsterdam-Zuid, where you can see art and sculpture displayed throughout the district and follow guided tours. There’s also a light festival every Christmas – from December until the end of January.
The Best Cheap Things To Do in Amsterdam
You can easily make the most of Amsterdam by choosing affordable activities that won’t break the bank, but will have you feeling like a real Amsterdamer.
Grab an artisan coffee from a koffiehuis
You can have your pick of delicious coffees in this city. Latte, cortado, pourover – the choice is yours!
Within the Canal Ring, you’ll find Bocca Coffee close to Prinsengracht tram stop. It’s a pared-back spot with excellent coffee and a variety of different roasts on offer. In Amsterdam West, Monks Coffee Roasters – which serves delicious brunches – and Lot Sixty One – a tiny corner cafe – are just a few blocks from one another. And if you’re over on the Eastern side of the city, don’t miss De Koffie Broeder, where the friendly owner Edward will take care of you.
Now these great cafes – koffiehuizen – are not to be confused with ‘coffee shops’ – Amsterdam’s weed cafes. These can get a bad rep as tourist hotspots, but traditionally they weren’t just for smoking – they were places to also socialise, play games and just hang out. They exist in a kind of legal grey area, where they are tolerated by the authorities, even if cannabis isn’t legal here.
- Coffee from €2.40 / £2
Have a beer at Amsterdam's smallest bar
Cafe de Dokter is Amsterdam’s smallest bar, and you should definitely try and squeeze in for a beer whilst you’re here.
This place has everything you could want from a cosy watering hole – jazz tunes playing, flickering candlelight, trinkets dotted around and a lively local crowd.
Cafe de Dokter is one of the city’s many brown cafes, or bruine kroegen, which serve up well priced beers and spirits.
These are small historic bars that got their name from their wooden bar and furniture, dimly-lit interior and smoke-stained walls. They’re a great spot to find a cheap local beer or a shot of Dutch gin – genever – as well as simple tasty bar snacks like bitterballen (deep fried meatballs) and cheese.
- Beer from €5 / £4.20
Browse the markets at Albert Cuypmarkt and Westerstraat
One of Amsterdam’s most famous street markets is Albert Cuypmarket in De Pijp, at the southern end of the city.
You can find everything here, from clothes and luggage to fresh produce and Dutch specialities. It’s open Monday to Saturday, from 9am to 6pm.
If you’re in Amsterdam on a Monday morning, head to Westerstraat in the Jordaan district which has over 200 stalls. This was originally a textile market, and today you can find fab designer vintage here – if you’re happy to hunt for it!
- Various prices
Hang out at De Hallen
De Hallen is one of my favourite places in the city – it’s a cool hangout in an old tram depot over in Amsterdam West. You’re removed from the main sprawl here, so there’s more of a chilled out local feel.
This is a cultural centre with creative happenings like art exhibitions, a cinema, live music, boutiques and a food hall serving up everything from Vietnamese street food and French patisserie to Dutch meatballs and locally-caught seafood. There are also frequent weekend markets selling handmade items, crafts and vintage.
- Various prices
Hire a bike and cycle to a windmill
Embrace the hype and hop on two wheels to visit some of the Netherlands’ iconic windmills.
Het Twiske
Het Twiske on the north side of Amsterdam is a kind of recreation area, where you can rent canoes and rowboats for a trip on the lake – or even a water bicycle (think a kind of tiny catamaran with a saddle on top!). In summer you can enjoy the beach and sunbathing areas, or roller skate on some of the cycle paths. You can also cycle here easily from Amsterdam, as the bike paths go directly there.
Zaanse Schans
Zaanse Schans is an old mill town where you can see traditional painted houses and historic windmills. It’s like you’re stepping into a postcard when you go here! Soak up the quaint vibes for free or pay to visit some of the mills – you can find a spice, oil, wood and even a paint mill here.
My top tip for cycling is that many of the train stations have bikes you can hire for €5 a day! So if you don’t want to get all sweaty, you can get public transport each way, and just cycle around when you’re there!
- Bike hire from €11 / £9.30
The Best Affordable Things To Do in Amsterdam
Spend a little bit more and you can add all sorts of activities to your Amsterdam itinerary.
Take a day trip to Haarlem
The train to Haarlem is super cheap and quick – it’s just 20 minutes from Centraal station and costs around €5. Which makes it perfect for a day trip. Or, you can do what James and I did and stay here – it’s so cute and you’re in the middle of Amsterdam in no time.
If you love the history and architecture of Amsterdam, but you struggle with the crowds, then you’ll love Haarlem. It has all the charm of the Dutch capital – cobbled streets and attractive squares – with way less tourists. They have a lovely main square, Grote Markt, which is a super-picturesque spot to enjoy a drink in the sunshine if the weather is good.
There are a couple of museums to check out too. Teylers Museum is the oldest museum in the country and a fascinating mix of artefacts from the worlds of art and science – a kind of mini Natural History Museum with fossils, scientific instruments, books, drawings and more on display. You can also visit De Adriaan – an iconic windmill which is a famous landmark in Haarlem. The original sadly burnt down but you can do tours of the restored version.
We didn’t have enough time to see it, but loads of people recommended doing a tour of Corrie Ten Boom house. This family home was a hiding place for hundreds of Jewish people during WWII, and is a good alternative to Anne Frank’s house if you’re struggling to get a ticket.
For a bite to eat or a few cold ones, head to Jopenkerk, which is a restaurant and bar in an old church – we loved the vibe in here!
There are loads of other places you can visit for a day trip – try Maastrict for more history and delicious food, Leiden, a lovely university city, and Utrecht – very quaint and quintessentially Dutch. For the beach, try coastal spots Zandvoot aan Zee or Scheveningen beach in The Hague.
- Train to Haarlem from €5.20 / £4.40 one way
Visit a top-rated museum
There are a bunch of museums in Amsterdam where you can gen up on the amazing history and culture of this city. From traditional museums like the Van Gogh Museum and Rijsksmuseum to the house boat museum and Moco modern art museum, there’s plenty to get stuck into. One of the most famous spots in the city is probably Anne Frank’s house, where she famously hid from the Nazis in a secret annex during the Second World War.
- Museum entry from around €9 / £7.508
Sweat it all out at Badhus Sauna and Cold Plunge
Badhaus in Amsterdam Nord is the perfect spot for a few hours’ chill time, a welcome break from rushing about and seeing the sights. The great thing for us visitors is that you don’t need a membership, you can just drop in for a session – and they have a cold plunge and access to the canal water too.
- From €20 / £17 for 2 hours
Learn a new skill at a workshop
Harness that adventurous holiday spirit and see if you’ve got a hidden talent by booking on to a workshop. Take a cheesemaking workshop at De Kasserie, create your own stencil art on a tote bag at Straat or make a candle at Very Goods Studio, to bring back happy memories when you burn it back home.
For something a bit different, local sustainable clothing brand New Optimist holds free tours of their atelier. Here you can see how everything is made – they reject industrial processes and make things by hand – before getting the chance to shop their unique one-of-a-kind pieces.
- Workshops from €27.50 / £23
Unlimited booze canal boat cruise
Now, a canal boat trip is going to be on many of your lists for your Amsterdam trip, and I really recommend doing one – it’s a fun way to see the city.
Specifically, I’d recommend the one we did, which was an unlimited booze cruise! And before you come for me – ‘we don’t all wanna get pissed Chelsea’ – hear me out. Our tickets for this cruise were about 10 euros more than for a cruise without any drinks included. So you can see the maths makes sense – for the price of a couple of drinks – which you’d probably buy anyway – you can get unlimited!
Needless to say we really enjoyed ourselves – there were a couple of other people doing the unlimited option on our boat and we continued our revelry together on dry land.
- Cruise from €30 / £25
Head to a festival like DGTL
Need some help planning your Amsterdam trip?
Browse our ultimate 3-day Amsterdam itinerary.
Amsterdam hosts various festivals so it’s a fun way to combine a visit to the city with some of your favourite music.
If you’re into electronic music, then visit in April for DGTL music and arts festival, with a lineup that includes acts like Honey Dijon and Monolink.
DGTL takes place in the super cool NDSM docklands, an old shipyard that’s now home to loads of artistic and music happenings, a hip crowd and a bunch of bars and restaurants too. You’re sure to catch something interesting going on when you visit. They have loads of things that are free to attend as well as the shows, exhibitions and festivals which have an entry fee.
DGTL also runs the Amsterdam Dance Event, which takes place in October at locations all over the city.
There’s also Reggae Lake, a huge festival which happens each August over in Gaasperpark on the Eastern edge of the city. They get headliners like Damian Marley and Wayne Wonder.
And don’t forget celebrations like Pride – the first weekend of August – and King’s Day – 27 April – when the whole city turns into one big party! And in 2025, the city is celebrating its 750th birthday with one helluva party – get the low down here.
- Festival tickets from around €65 / £55
The Best Luxury Things To Do in Amsterdam
Splash out on a treat in Amsterdam and make it a holiday to remember. From epic flower fields to unique hotels, there’s a memorable activity for you.
Do a No Diet Club food tour
This tour is all about the indulgent food that you can find in the local area! This isn’t just an Amsterdam thing – No Diet Club operates in cities all over Europe.
Their Amsterdam tour promises an afternoon full of delicious treats, including crispy bitterballen, fries, apple tart and even herring.
It lasts 3 hours, and on weekdays you do it by bike – weekends you walk because it’s so busy! Bike hire is an extra 12€.
- Food tour from £64 / £54 per person
Do a guided tour of the tulip fields
If you’re visiting in the spring, then be aware that this is when the Dutch tulip fields come into their own. The tulips attract huge numbers of crowds from across the world – and probably the most famous collection of tulips in the Netherlands is at Keukenhof, which is a short drive from Amsterdam?
Tulips are a serious business here, with countless colours and varieties – and they really are stunning to see.
Sign up for a bike tour, add in a delicious lunch or even combine the tulips with something else, like a trip to trip to Delft.
- Tulip fields tour from around €90 / £75
Stay in a crane
Yes you read that right – if quirky hotels – or cranes – are your bag, then there’s something pretty unique in Amsterdam. You can stay hundreds of meters up in the air, in an actual crane. How cool is that?!
Now we’ve actually featured this hotel in our newsletter before – if you’re looking for a truly original place to stay, and you’ve got a big ole budget, then a night at Crane Hotel Faralda could be perfect for you.
If you’ve got a good head for heights, then this is a spectacular place to stay. The decor inside is super cosy, and the views are amazing. This would make an extra special spot for a trip with a loved one who’s really into cranes or engineering (and before you joke, that is James).
- A night in the crane starts at €1,172 / £967 per night
Snooze in the biggest hotel bed
Whilst I didn’t have enough in the bank to treat James to a night in the crane, I did manage to get us a night at The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam, a unique hotel that was recently bought and renovated by The Hoxton brand.
This building has a rich history – it was originally built to be a hotel but it was never finished, and so has housed refugees, artists, even criminals over the years. It’s now a hotel – as it was intended to be – and has loads of different room types that range from 1-star standard to 5-star standards.
The room that James and I stayed in – Gather – had a giant bed that sleeps 5 people! I am not sure what the typical customer for this room looks like, but James and I had a great time. It’s nice to get a bit of space from your other half when you travel together so much!
- Stay from €404 / £340 per night
Plan Your Trip With Our Best Things To Do in Amsterdam for Every Budget
Amsterdam is such a great city break as it’s so quick to fly there from the UK, there’s loads to do and it’s compact with a great laidback vibe.
Our guide to the best things to do in Amsterdam for every budget will help you make the most of your time in this fabulous city.
