Travelling to Amsterdam?

Our routes, not a list of everything. Places that have been there for centuries: no opening times or prices, which go stale.

1. 01

   Amsterdam in a day

   8 hThe houses lean forward on purpose, not from age. Look at the hook every one has at the top and you’ll see why.The canal ring · The Night Watch · The Anne Frank House · The palace that was a town hallRead the full guide
2. 02

   A weekend in Amsterdam

   20 hIn 1971 over three thousand people died on this country’s roads, four hundred of them children. The bike lanes came out of that.Saturday: the ring, on foot · Saturday afternoon: the museums · Saturday night: De Pijp or the north · Sunday: get out of the cityRead the full guide
3. 03

   What to see in Amsterdam

   8 hThe city stands on millions of trunks driven into mud. And those trunks are rotting: it’s the problem nobody discusses.The Rijksmuseum · The church in the attic · The Begijnhof and the wooden house · The piles, and what’s falling downRead the full guide
4. 04

   Where to eat in Amsterdam

   3 hThe Indonesian rice table isn’t Indonesian: Dutch colonists invented it. Nobody eats like that in Indonesia.The herring · The rice table · The gin that came before gin · What the empire brought, and De PijpRead the full guide
5. 05

   Amsterdam’s neighbourhoods

   5 hFor centuries the forbidden was tolerated here on one condition: that it wasn’t visible from the street. That rule still explains half the city.De Wallen, and the argument · The Jordaan · De Pijp and the south · NoordRead the full guide
6. 06

   Day trips from Amsterdam

   8 hTulip mania is largely a nineteenth-century myth. It didn’t ruin the country and nobody drowned themselves in the canals.The tulips · The windmills · The village with no roads · Rotterdam, which is the oppositeRead the full guide
7. 07

   From Amsterdam airport to the city

   1 hOne train goes to Centraal and one doesn’t, and they look alike. The Intercity Direct leaves you at Zuid, at the other end.The train, and which one · The ticket, which is the real muddle · The bus, and when it makes sense · The airport is below sea levelRead the full guide
8. 08

   Amsterdam: practical tips

   1 hPlenty of shops here don’t take your credit card. It isn’t a terminal fault: they only take debit, and it catches everyone.The bike lane, the only dangerous thing · The coffeeshops, and what they aren’t · The city has had enough · The easy parts, and the weatherRead the full guide

The real options, with what actually decides it: which terminal it leaves from and where it drops you. Fares and timetables live with the operator, who keeps them current.

• TrainAmsterdam CentraalThe station sits right under the terminal and trains run 24 hours, night included, though overnight it drops to one an hour instead of eight. It’s 14-17 minutes. Careful with the Intercity Direct: that one goes to Amsterdam Zuid, not Centraal.·Fares and timesNS
• Bus397Museumplein · LeidsepleinThe road-going Airport Express: handy if your hotel is around the museum quarter.·Fares and timesConnexxion

Before you fly, or on the layover. Pay per visit, whatever airline.

• Aspire Lounge (No.41)from €39.00