48 Hours in Amsterdam

View of canal in Amsterdam
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Time is a luxury, and it's one we're often short of when we travel. But Amsterdam, as one of Europe's smallest capitals, lends itself well to whistle-stop tours thanks to its compact city center and excellent public transit (or rent-a-bikes). 

01 of 05

Tips for Visiting

Buildings and boats along Herengracht Canal
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Tip: A 48-hour I Amsterdam Card is the ideal complement to this 48-hour tour since it offers free city-wide public transport, free entrance to most of the recommended attractions, and a 25% discount at a selection of central restaurants. A map is also handy for Amsterdam's often serpentine street plan: Pick up the I Amsterdam City Map sold at the VVV (Tourist Information Center), across from Central Station.

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02 of 05

Day 1, Morning: Dam Square to the Anne Frank Huis

Westerkerk church and canal at morning in Amsterdam, Netherlands.Beautiful autumn season in Amsterdam, Netherlands
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The first 24 hours are devoted to Amsterdam's Central Canal Belt, which arcs in a semi-circle around the Central Station. Start at the station and head south to the Damrak; this most conspicuously touristic street in Amsterdam is loaded with souvenir shops whose wares run from tasteful to hilariously kitsch. At the end is Dam Square, with the Koninklijk Palais (Royal Palace) to the west side and the National Monument to the east. Step into the palace and admire the 17 illustrious rooms of Empire-period decorative arts.

Take a peek inside the Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and check out the temporary exhibition if it appeals. Then head west on the Radhuisstraat to the Westermarkt, site of both the Homomonument—a sensitive memorial to all those persecuted for their sexuality—and the Westerkerk, whose 280-foot church tower, the tallest in Amsterdam, rewards climbers with a lovely panorama. To the north, the Anne Frank Huis needs no introduction; bypass the queue with pre-purchased online tickets. (Note that the Anne Frank Huis is not included in the I Amsterdam Card) Visitors are unanimously moved by their experience at the Anne Frank Huis, and you will undoubtedly be too.

Don't stop now—retrace your steps to Spuistraat and head southeast: with only 48 hours, have lunch on the move from De Vleminckx Sausmeesters, Amsterdam's favorite friet (French fries), at Voetboogstraat 31.

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03 of 05

Day 1, Afternoon: The Begijnhof to De Wallen

The buildings and lawn of the Begijnhof
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Witness the most picturesque enclave in all of Amsterdam farther north on Voetboogsteeg: the Begijnhof, whose private residences ​nestled around an inner court. The handsome wooden house at number 34 is one of only two that survive below the river IJ.

Follow the Oudezijds Voorburgwal up north to Oudekerkplein (Old Church Square), site of the monumental Oude Kerk, consecrated in 1306. At the north side of the square is the Museum Het Rembrandthuis, where the artist lived in his heyday; here, Rembrandt's masterpieces are superimposed on a superbly restored interior.

By now you've probably realized that you're in Amsterdam's fabled red-light district, De Wallen. Adults with a sincere curiosity about the sex trade in the Netherlands can take a non-sensationalistic tour of De Wallen with a former sex worker. Or you can climb up to the splendid attic church concealed in an ordinary house at Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic), where persecuted Catholics worshipped in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Round off your first 24 hours in Amsterdam with a typically Dutch supper: the Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs (Grimburgwal 2), one of Amsterdam's best pancake restaurants, where savory pancakes are doled out in a tiny but convivial space. Think pancakes are just for breakfast? Sample the irresistible fondue at Café Bern (Nieuwmarkt 9), which serves Swiss specialties in a typically Dutch bruin café interior.

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04 of 05

Day 2, Morning: Museum Quarter

The water feature at the Museumplein (Museum Square) and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
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Day 2 in Amsterdam is set in the Old South, whose celebrated Museum Quarter houses the pride of Dutch patrimony in its three institutions, and where the Vondelpark with its innumerable attractions sprawls.

Start at the Rijksmuseum, another attraction included in the I Amsterdam Card, whose permanent collection boasts the best of Dutch and Flemish masters. Even visitors who aren't particularly museum-inclined may want to stop in for a peek at Rembrandt's ​De Nachtwacht, the Leiden-born artist's 1650 ensemble portrait of city militiamen, and other 17th-century masterpieces.

The Rijksmuseum collection reaches into the 19th century, but the most seminal Dutch painter of the century has his own institution in the Museum Quarter: The Van Gogh Museum. Gerrit Rietveld's phenomenal architecture sets the scene for this entirely unique collection of some 200 canvases and hundreds of more sketches by the artist, in addition to his Impressionist friends and Post-Impressionist disciples.

Catapult into the 20th century with a quick meal at the Cobra Café. If the artworks from the Brussels-born Corneille or the Amsterdammer Karel Appel (the "Br" and "A" in CoBrA, respectively) tickle your fancy, pencil in a trip to the brilliant Cobra Museum in nearby Amstelveen for next time; for now, it's off to another bastion of modern art, the Stedelijk Museum.

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05 of 05

Day 2, Afternoon: The Vondelpark and Around

Café tables and autumn foliage at Vondel Park
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The Stedelijk Museum is Amsterdam's answer to the MoMA, the Musée d'Orsay, and other worldwide temples of modern art; a massive renovation and expansion project, completed in 2012, endowed the museum with some of the most radically innovative architecture on Museumplein.

Head northward and let culture secede to consumerism on P.C. Hoofdstraat, Amsterdam's own Champs-Élysées. Upscale chains line the street; rub elbows with their well-heeled clientele as you browse Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and other exclusive retailers. Or just skip on over to the Vondelpark, the verdant heart of Amsterdam, for a late afternoon stroll or one of the abundant indoor and outdoor activities in the park.

Celebrate the close of your 48 hours in Amsterdam with one last typically Dutch experience: eat rijsttafel at Sama Sebo, one of the top Indonesian restaurants in the city. Rijsttafel, which literally means "rice table", is like tapas on overdrive: a feast of small Indonesian dishes, plus rice, that tests even the heartiest appetites. Not traditionally Indonesian, rijsttafel is a Dutch colonial invention that allowed colonists to sample dishes from all over the islands. So eet smakelijk ("bon appétit!"), and have a toast to your next 48 hours—or more—in Amsterdam.