The best things to do in Amsterdam

1.Rijksmuseum

The national museum, with Rembrandt's The Night Watch, Vermeer's The Milkmaid and 800 years of Dutch history.

Tip: Book a timed ticket and go straight to the Gallery of Honour on the second floor before it fills up. The garden is free.

2.Van Gogh Museum

The largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and letters anywhere, from the dark early works to the Sunflowers.

Tip: Tickets are only sold online for a time slot, and summer weekends sell out a few weeks ahead.

3.Stedelijk Museum

Modern art and design next door, from Mondrian and Malevich to Dutch design classics.

4.VondelparkFree

The city's biggest park, busy with cyclists, joggers and picnics, with an open-air theatre in summer.

5.Anne Frank House

The canal house where Anne Frank and her family hid for two years, with the secret annex behind the bookcase.

Tip: Tickets are sold only online, released six weeks ahead on Tuesdays, and go fast. There are no tickets at the door.

6.The Jordaan's lanesFree

Small canals, almshouse courtyards and independent shops in the city's most charming neighbourhood.

Tip: The Noordermarkt has a farmers' market on Saturdays and a flea market on Monday mornings.

7.A brown café

Old wood-panelled pubs, darkened by centuries of smoke, such as Café 't Smalle or Papeneiland on the canal corners.

Tip: Order a beer and the apple pie, and sit by the window or outside on the canal.

8.A canal cruise

The 17th-century canal ring is a World Heritage site and best seen from the water.

Tip: Choose a small open boat over the big glass-roofed ones; you'll get closer to the houses and under the low bridges.

9.The Nine StreetsFree

Nine short streets crossing the main canals, lined with vintage shops, small boutiques and cafés.

10.The Reguliersgracht bridgesFree

Stand on the bridge where Herengracht meets Reguliersgracht and you can see seven bridges in a row.

Tip: Come after dark, when the bridges are outlined in lights.

11.The BegijnhofFree

A hidden medieval courtyard of almshouses off a busy shopping street, with one of the city's two surviving wooden houses.

Tip: Residents still live here, so keep your voice down.

12.Dam Square and the Royal Palace

The city's main square and the 17th-century town hall that became a royal palace, with a marble citizens' hall inside.

Tip: The palace closes when it's used for royal events; check the dates before you go.

13.Oude Kerk

Amsterdam's oldest building, a 13th-century church in the middle of the red-light district, now also used for contemporary art.

14.Rembrandt House Museum

The house where Rembrandt lived and worked for nearly 20 years, with his studio set up as it was.

15.Albert Cuyp Market

The city's best-known street market, with cheese, herring and stroopwafels made fresh while you wait.

Tip: It's closed on Sundays.

16.Heineken Experience

The old Heineken brewery, now a self-guided tour that ends with a beer.

17.The free ferry and A'DAM Lookout

Free ferries behind Centraal Station cross the IJ in a few minutes to the Eye film museum and the A'DAM tower, which has a rooftop swing over the edge.

Tip: The ferry ride itself is one of the best free views of the city.

18.NDSM Wharf

A former shipyard turned arts hub, with street art, waterside cafés and a large monthly flea market in the IJ-Hallen.

Tip: Take the NDSM ferry from Centraal Station rather than the bus.

19.Hortus Botanicus

One of the world's oldest botanical gardens, founded in 1638, with glasshouses of tropical plants near the zoo.

20.Zaanse Schans

Working windmills and wooden houses on a river, less than half an hour by train from Centraal Station.

Tip: Go early or late; tour coaches arrive mid-morning.