10 Fun Ways to Explore Amsterdam

Past narrow houses, alfresco cafés and ornate facades like Bartolotti House, a guided tour along Amsterdam’s cycle-friendly paths is informative and fun. You can also cycle the route by night and take snaps of the illuminated bridges and canal houses. MacBike has rental branches at Centraal Station, Waterlooplein and Leidseplein.

Buy your tickets before boarding tram 5 from Centraal Station. This armchair ride past Amsterdam’s sights takes in Dam Square and the Royal Palace, before gliding through lively Leidseplein square towards Museumplein and the Museum Quarter. Stay on board for Amsterdam's upmarket Zuid district. 

Renting a Dutch-style pedalo – a cross between a boat and bike – is a unique way of exploring Amsterdam’s maze of canals. Rental is widely available, including from Centraal Station. Pedal along the waterways to the Westerkerk church, near Anne Frank’s house, then towards Rijskmuseum in the Museum Quarter.

From Amstel Station, south of the centre, a 3-km river walk back to De Pijp takes in the city limits. Bearing north (staying on the eastern side of the river), walk past Rembrandt Tower and Berlage Bridge before crossing Nieuwe Amstelbrug. After a coffee break on the café-lined Ceintuurbaan or ice cream in Sarphati Park, bohemian De Pijp is just a short stroll away.

Getting a swan’s-eye view from Amsterdam’s waterways is a must-do. Themed evening cruises include a la carte jazz nights, pub cruises and candlelit dinners. Tour boats depart from around Centraal Station, Damrak and Rokin, near Dam Square.

At the weekend, join Amsterdammers and tourists on the easy route to medieval Haarlem. It’s a 40-km round trip on flat cycle lanes, past picture-postcard countryside. Haarlem itself is a historical 17th-century town with tiny streets leading off its main square, Grote Markt.

The only helicopter tour over Amsterdam, this is a unique opportunity to snap Amsterdam’s historical quarter, canal loop and 17th-century warehouses from the air. Catch a glimpse of the old windmill on the banks of the River Amstel.

For views over Amsterdam’s canals, bridges and squares, the transparent glass rooftop (open-top in summer) of the Tourist Bus Amsterdam is an all-weather option. Tours leave from Damrak near Dam Square, passing Centraal Station, the Jewish Quarter, Jordaan and Leidseplein square. 

Canal buses sail along 3 routes in Amsterdam - the green, the red and the blue line - past sites like Anne Frank’s House, Van Gogh Museum, Artis Zoo and the NEMO Science Museum. The hop-on, hop-off tour also includes discounts on many Amsterdam attractions.

Proficient skaters head for the free Friday Night Skate at 8pm, meeting at the round bench by the park’s Filmmuseum. Organisers run a free 20-km guided tour around Amsterdam, returning to the expansive leafy spaces of Vondelpark – a favourite among skaters and rollerbladers.