Anne Frank House. Be on the ticket site at 10 a.m. Amsterdam time on the Tuesday that matters: that is when the week six weeks ahead is released, online only, at €16.50 for adults with the booking fee. They go quickly. The house opens daily 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the late slots are the easiest to get. Nothing is sold at the door.
Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum. The Van Gogh Museum is a timed ticket, about €25, bought online only, and the popular weeks go a two weeks ahead; under-18s enter free but still need a slot. The Rijksmuseum, open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rarely sells out and the ticket is around €25 with under-18s free, but book it anyway to skip the counter line.
Tap a bank card. Trams, buses and the metro take a contactless debit or credit card or phone: tap the reader as you board and tap the same one as you leave. Forget the tap-out and the card is charged a flat higher fare; on a train to Schiphol it is far more. One card per person, and the daily GVB charge is capped around €10.50.
Bikes. The red asphalt is a bike lane, not a wide sidewalk. Do not walk in it or stand in it for a photo; a bell means move, not hello. Look both ways at every crossing and watch tram tracks, which catch wheels and ankles alike.
The canal cruise. The glass-roofed hour-long boats from Centraal and the Damrak are the cheap option, around €20. Small open boats from Prinsengracht cost more, carry twelve people and a drinks table, and are the better evening. Book the open boat; walk up for the glass one.
Tax, coffeeshops and the Red Light District. Hotels add 12.5 percent tourist tax to the room rate, and from January 1, 2026 accommodation VAT rose to 21 percent nationally, so the quoted price is not the bill. Coffeeshops still serve visitors. A residents-only rule was debated in early 2026 and dropped from the June coalition agreement. You need to be 18 with ID, five grams a day is the limit, and there is no alcohol or tobacco inside. Smoking cannabis on the street has been banned in the Red Light District, the Dam, the Damrak and Nieuwmarkt since 2023, fine €100, and guided tours past the windows have been banned since 2020. Never photograph the windows.
Sunday. The center is open on Sunday, shops mostly noon to 6 p.m., museums and supermarkets as normal.
On the day. Arrive ten minutes before the Anne Frank and Van Gogh slots, since both turn away latecomers, and save the QR codes in Waystop’s Documents so they open without signal. Walk on the gray, not the red, and tap out of the tram.