Where should you go in Amsterdam once you’ve seen the big three? The Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum, all great, all unmissable but Amsterdam has so much more. Come and explore Amsterdam’s canal museums with me. We’ll step inside those some of those grand canal houses, discover a hidden Catholic church and glide along the canals – all with the Amsterdam City Card.
This post is part of a paid partnership with Amsterdam & Partners
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Exploring Amsterdam with the Amsterdam City Card
Buying an Amsterdam City Card is the first thing that I do whenever I visit Amsterdam. It covers all public transport, a canal cruise and entry to hundreds of attractions across the city, plus discounts in many others. You can either buy your Amsterdam City Card online or in person at the IAmsterdam shop in Centraal station, either way your card is valid from the time that you first use it. That first use will probably be on public transport. You simply tap your card on the reader as you enter and leave the bus, tram or metro. A 72 hour Amsterdam card costs €115, paid for separately all the places in this blog post, the canal cruise and transport would cost €147.70
Discovering Amsterdam’s Canal Museums
I have visited Amsterdam many times, it wasn’t until my most recent visit that I discovered that you could actually go inside some of the grand houses that line UNESCO listed central canal belt. The Amsterdam City Card makes it particularly easy to explore beyond the famous museums. These are some of the places I discovered on my recent visit.
Art Zoo Amsterdam: A Canal House filled with Art and Animals
I confess that I wasn’t sure what to expect before I visited the ArtZoo. Now I have I am at a loss at how to explain it because I have never seen anything like it before. One word … unmissable. What you will see is the interior of a stunning 17th century Amsterdam canal house. Rooms are filled with taxidermy animals. Push aside the image of tired, slightly moth eaten, creatures behind glass. These are vibrant and uncaged. More artwork than zoological display. One fine dining room has a vast T-Rex fossil curving around the room. All this is the work of Darwin, Sinke & Van Tongeren.
Make sure not to miss the shell decorated cafe. ArtZoo has been included in the 2026 Top 100 World’s Great Places by Time Magazine and I agree with them. One of my big surprises visiting Amsterdam’s canal houses were the gardens behind them, be sure not to miss the geometrical horticultural precision at the ArtZoo.
- ArtZoo, Herengracht 368
- Admission: €14.95 or free with the Amsterdam City Card
Huis Willet-Holthuysen: Inside a Grand Amsterdam Canal House
Just a little bit further round the Golden Bend of the Herengracht you will find the double fronted Huis Willet-Holthuysen. Home to wealthy Amsterdam families, including several mayors from the 17th century. In 1895, Mrs Willet-Holthuysen, the last resident, left the house and contents to the city of Amsterdam as a museum. Now you can wander around her tranquil garden, marvel at her ball room and gaze at the her art collection. Be sure not to miss the beautiful tiles downstairs in the kitchen.
- Huis Willet-Holthuysen, Herengracht 605
- Admission: €15 or free with the Amsterdam Card
Grachtenmuseum: Discover the Story of Amsterdam’s Canal
Learn all about the history of Amsterdam’s canals at the Grachtenmuseum or Museum of the Canals housed in another grand canal house between the Art Zoo and Huis Willet-Holthuysen. Five rooms are dedicated to the story of the construction of the canals of the Grachtengorden or canal girdle. Once you understand the timeline and economics that drove the building of the canals you look at both them and the houses that line them with new eyes. Then there are glorious period rooms to wander around and special exhibitions to see too.
- Museum of the Canals, Herengracht 386
- Admission: €18.50 or free with the Amsterdam City Card
Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder: Amsterdam’s Hidden Church
Our Lord in the Attic is the translation of Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder, which gives you a hint of what you are about to discover. From the outside Ons’ Lieve op Solder looks much like all the other houses lining the canal. Step inside and you are in the home of a wealthy 17th century linen merchant. Then you take a narrow set of wooden stairs and suddenly you are in a Catholic Church. Back in the 17th century, being a Catholic was not banned in Amsterdam, it was just that you needed to be discreet. You could build a church, but it mustn’t look like one. So here, a church was created in the top three floors of an ordinary townhouse and it is still a functioning church today.
- Our Lord in the Attic, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38
- Admission: €18 or free with the Amsterdam City Card
Rembrandthuis: Step inside the Artist’s Amsterdam home
Rembrandt lived here. He not only lived here but worked here and trained a whole generation of artists. You get to walk through the rooms in which he lived and worked. My favourite part? The display showing how all the paints were made, the rocks which they were ground from. Back then the painting was a scientific, as well as an artistic profession.
On my most recent visit to the Rembrandthuis I booked an Etching workshop. I have never etched before but always wanted to try and where better than in the house of the best known etcher. All materials and protective clothes are included in the €12.50 fee. We were shown how to etch, ink and print our artwork. One and half hours of pure joy. This is not covered by the Amsterdam card, needs to be booked in advance and is only available during school holidays.
- Rembrandthuis, Jodenbreestraat 4
- Admission: €23.50 or free with the Amsterdam City Card
Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam: A Green escape from the Canals
Amsterdam’s botanical garden started as garden for medicinal plants in 1682 after a particularly nasty outbreak of plague. As time went on merchants brought back exotic plants from around the world. Now there are thousands of species, some growing in big hothouses and others pleasingly arranged in flower beds. What you won’t find are sprawling acres of lawn, plants are the thing here. I really enjoyed meandering along the narrow paths, encountering horticultural gems as I went.
- Hortus Botanicus, Plantage Middenlaan 2a
- Admission: €14.75 or free with the Amsterdam City Card
Take an Amsterdam Canal Cruise: See the City from the Water
Sitting down and letting the scenery glide by from the boat is one of my favourite ways of sightseeing in Amsterdam. A canal cruise is included in the Amsterdam City Card. You can use several different companies and start from various points in the central canal district. We glided around with Stromma, which departs right outside Centraal Station. You can either just turn up at the embarkation point for your canal cruise or book in advance via the Amsterdam City Card website
Where to stay in Amsterdam: Look Beyond the Centre
I have stayed in Amsterdam’s central canal belt but I prefer to stay a little further out, where prices are lower, it is quieter and there a selection of neighbourhood restaurants to choose from.
- Inntel Amsterdam Landmark, VOC-Kade 600 – located in the former docks on the site of a steam engine factory, a couple of tram stops away from Centraal Station. Great views from all the rooms either over the River IJ or across the wide expanse of the dock toward central Amsterdam. Industrial chic runs through the hotel with vast floor to ceiling windows and even the cab from the factory’s crane decorating the lobby. There is a gym, swimming pool and steam room to relax in and a great waterside bar and brasserie. Breakfast is excellent, served buffet style, I was particularly impressed with the four different types of chocolate sprinkles on offer.
- Ink, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 67 – a short walk away from Centraal Station housed in former newspaper offices. Convenient for all the central Amsterdam sights and for Bouillon d’Amsterdam for dinner.
- Clink NOORD Hostel – just over the river Ij from the Centraal Station in Amsterdam Noord. Housed in the Art Deco splendour of Shell’s former research laboratories. You get there by free ferry that runs constantly day and night. We stayed here with our sons in a family room when they were teenagers. A cost effective way to stay with a family in Amsterdam, read my review here.
Where to Eat in Amsterdam beyond the tourist centre
- Badhuis, Javaplein 21 – a tram or bus ride out of central Amsterdam. A great local restaurant serving small plates. When we visited on a summer Friday people were meeting friends for a drinks and staying to eat. Come here to feel like an Amsterdammer.
- A Beautiful Mess Oosterdokskade 227 Opposite the Nemo museum. A Beautiful Mess serves food cooked and served by refugees, with a menu reflecting the homeland of the chefs.
- Bouillon d’Amsterdam, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 178 – right in the centre of Amsterdam. A French style brasserie in a beautiful Art Deco room, serving good food from breakfast to dinner. Pop in for coffee, a drink, a snack or a full sized meal.
Best Museum Cafés in Amsterdam
Regular readers will know that I love a museum café. Stopping for coffee and cake is an essential part of a cultural day out for me.
- Art Zoo – possibly the most beautiful museum café ever. The walls and ceilings are decorated with shells, if shells aren’t your thing you can choose to sit outside in the tranquil garden. Either way both coffee and cake are excellent.
- Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder or Our Lord in the Attic – tucked away at the back of the entrance this small cafe serves really good coffee and cake.
- Hortus Botanicus – as you would expect of a botanical garden there are plants everywhere either inside in the conservatory or outside in the gardens. I had a refreshing mint tea here whilst watching a butterfly flit around.
Is the Amsterdam City Card worth it?
For me the answer is yes. I love to visit a museum, go inside a house and glide along canals. To visit all the places mentioned in this post, the canal cruise and public transport would cost €147.70. A 72 hour Amsterdam City Card costs €115, so you easily save. If simply wandering around the canals, sitting in a bar and watching the world go by is your style, then probably not.
How to get to Amsterdam from the UK
- My favourite way to get to Amsterdam is by train, Eurostar runs direct trains between Amsterdam from London St Pancras which take 4¼ hours. Keep an eye out for the UK terminal signs to the right of the station as you enter from the canals.
- Flights to Amsterdam Schiphol depart from 24 UK airports.
- Ferries connect the UK with the Netherlands on routes including Newcastle–Amsterdam and Harwich–Hook of Holland, while Hull connects with Rotterdam. Read my review of the overnight crossing from Harwich.
We love The Netherlands, almost every small town has a museum stuffed full of great art. They eat chocolate sprinkles for breakfast, drink mint tea made with bunches of real mint and have the best beach bars. Check out my posts about Rotterdam’s great architecture, the amazing new province of Flevoland, discovering Van Gogh in Brabant and staying in a castle.
