3 Days in Amsterdam | The Perfect Itinerary

I had 3 days in Amsterdam on a quick stopover after a trip to London and I had the absolute best time! This city is incredibly charming and I also loved the nearby cities and country side. I can’t wait until I can go back and visit! Here is a 3 day itinerary for Amsterdam along with my favorite things to see, do, and eat!

(Updated April 2024)

Table of Contents

Is 3 days enough to see Amsterdam?

There’s a lot to do in Amsterdam, but luckily it’s pretty easy to get around on foot or by public transportation. You can pack in plenty of things in 3 days and 3 days will be the perfect amount of time in Amsterdam. You might even have time to take a little half day trip as well to some of the nearby attractions like to tulip fields or nearby cities.

Where is the best area to stay in Amsterdam for first time visitors?

When visiting a city, I always look to stay in central locations that are walkable to the main sights or close to public transportation. There are a few really great areas to stay in Amsterdam for first time visitors. The Vondelpark area is really great to be close to plenty of attractions and museums like Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.

The City center area is a great area to stay in Amsterdam for first time visitors because it’s in a great central location and there are plenty of accommodation options. The Eastern Docklands area also has some great accommodation options for first time visitors and is just a short 10 minute tram ride from the main Train station if you are planning to take day trips from Amsterdam.

What is the best time to visit Amsterdam?

Amsterdam is an incredible city during every season, but I highly recommend coming in the shoulder seasons which are in Spring and Fall. However, it can still get pretty busy during holidays. I was there during Easter weekend and the prices of hotels sky rocketed.

Spring is one of the best times to visit Amsterdam though because of all of the blooming tulips throughout the city and in the fields nearby.

Day 1: 3 Days in Amsterdam

Check into Hotel

I decided to stay in the 4-star The Hoxton Lloyd Amsterdam Hotel because it was close to public transportation during my 3 days in Amsterdam and because I thought it looked very unique! The rooms are also very unique and they even have an incredible suite with a bath tub with a view and a swing right in the A-line style room.

Breakfast is included and the options were endless. My favorite part was the apple tarts and the fresh fruit juice. Also, my other favorite part of the hotel was that they brought stroopwafels to my room and they are pretty much the best dessert ever!

The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam offers 4-star accommodations in Amsterdam and has a terrace, a restaurant and a bar. Among the facilities at this property are room service and a 24-hour front desk, along with free WiFi throughout the property. The hotel also features family rooms and this hotel is also popular amongst solo travelers.

Click here to book your stay at The Hoxton hotel!

3 Day Amsterdam Itinerary

Best Amsterdam Hotels to stay in:

Amsterdam Andaz– Located in Amsterdam’s former public library in the heart of the canal belt, Andaz Amsterdam (a concept by Hyatt) offers elegant trendy design rooms. The Jordaan area and Museumplein are within a 15-minute walk making this such a great location.
Sofitel Legend Grand Amsterdam- This 5-star luxury hotel in the heart of Amsterdam offers luxurious rooms in an unique historical ambiance with French elegance. It features a fine dining restaurant, bar and spa with an indoor pool area. The hotel is located in the historical city center, less than 5 minutes distance from the Nine Streets and Dam Square.
Swissôtel Amsterdam– Located on Amsterdam’s famous Dam Square just 10 minutes’ walk from Centraal Station. The Magna Plaza shopping center and the Royal Palace are within 5 minutes’ walk. The Dam Square Tram Stop is in front of the hotel, and can be used to reach the Rijksmuseum, a 15-minute ride away.
W Amsterdam This hotel is an absolutely amazing option with the most incredible rooftop pool overlooking the city. It’s located only 0.6 miles away from Central Station and Nine Streets shopping area is only 5 minutes away.
Pulitzer AmsterdamThis hotel is absolutely to die for with different themed suites like an art suite and even a book suite- (definitely want to stay here on one of my visits to Amsterdam). It is set within 25 interlinked 17th and 18th century canal houses, the newly restored Pulitzer Amsterdam is a luxury hotel along the famous Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals. Guests can make a boat trip and free WiFi is provided. Famous attractions such as Anne Frank House, Dam Square and the Jordaan neighborhood are within 15 minutes on foot.
Generator Amsterdam If you are looking for a place on a budget, make sure to check out Generator Amsterdam. There are many different room types including dorm rooms with pod type beds and even private rooms. Generator Amsterdam is a brand new designer hostel located in the east of Amsterdam near De Pijp. It was a former zoological building and is based in Oosterpark. Free WiFi is available throughout the property.

12 PM- Ride a bike and Grab a Treat

By far one of the best ways to explore Amsterdam is by bike. It is the most biker-friendly city that I have ever been to. There are even parking garages full of bikes and all of the locals own bikes! I had a blast jetting around town on a bike and stopping if I saw anything that looked interesting! I also stopped in at a really cute desert and cake shop called Lucy’s that I definitely recommend for the treats and the atmosphere!

Click here to check out the bike tour I went on!

2 PM- Museums

Amsterdam is famous for their museums and there truly is something for everyone.

Some of the top picks include:

The Anne Frank House
Rijskmuseum
Van Gogh Museum

My other favorite way to see the city is by canal. It is quite peaceful and charming to explore by one of the canals and it gives you a completely different perspective!

Something that my family did when they were in Amsterdam which I think sounds really fun is the pizza canal cruise. They had a 90 minute cruise which included the pizza of their choice, ice-cream and dinner! You can book the tour they did here! Pizza Canal Tour

7 PM- Dinner

If you opted for just the regular canal tour so you are in need of some dinner after, a great place to go for dinner is De Foodhallen, a big food court with something for everyone! With over 20 different places to choose from and reasonable prices, it will definitely be a crowd pleaser!

Day 2- Itinerary for Amsterdam

9 AM- Keukenhof Tulip Park

I had heard mixed reviews of Keukenhof Tulip Park before I decided to go. A lot of people absolutely loved it and the others said that it was too touristy almost like an amusement park. I finally made the executive decision to go because I was a bit early for the tulip fields (I visited the first week of April). If you are visiting Amsterdam and want to see the tulips, the middle and end of April are definitely the best times to go!

Well, overall I really enjoyed Keukenhof Tulip Park and I definitely recommend going and taking this tour. It’s amazing because it takes you right to the tulip fields, many other tulip fields and a boat cruise- talk about an incredible day!

It would be even better if you did go in the middle or end of April because they actually have incredible tulip fields you can access right in the back of the park and they truly look incredible! However, even with out the tulip fields when I was there, there was definitely a lot to see and do! Depending on how many pictures you think you will be taking, I would plan on at least 3-4 hours.

If you don’t want to worry about a thing, I highly recommend taking this amazing tour that will take you directly to tulip and flower fields and it even takes you to see the iconic Dutch windmills as well!

TIP: If you are wanting to go to the tulip fields straight from the airport, you can buy a ticket for the bus that goes straight there, it is fairly cheap and really straight forward!

12 PM- Keukenhof Flower Fields

Again, if you go in the middle-end of April, you will actually have the opportunity to see many tulip fields! However, while I was riding the bus into the tulip park, I saw that we drove past a pretty yellow flower field. When I was done walking around the park, I decided to walk around outside around the town of Lisse and I was able to find a few flower fields! Many people actually come here and rent bikes and search for flower fields! I would definitely recommend doing that so you can see as many flower fields as your heart desires!

2 PM- Zaandam

After wandering around the flower field, I decided to take the bus back to Amsterdam airport and then from there I bought a train ticket to Zaandam. I had seen pictures of this incredibly unique place that almost looked like it had lego buildings and I wanted to see it for myself! It didn’t take too long to get to and it’s just a little bit outside of Amsterdam. The main building in Zaandam is actually a hotel, but it was definitely fun to walk around this little town.

There is also a nearby neighborhood named Zaanse Schans that I didn’t have a chance to go to, but if you have time, it definitely looks worthwhile and is just about 30 minutes away. It is a cute and charming town with many green windmills and cute green gingerbread looking houses.

One of my favorite websites to use to find the best way to get from point A to point B is Rome2Rio. I definitely used it a lot when going to other cities from Amsterdam and it is very helpful!

You can also book a tour to Zaandam and they will take you to some nearby windmills as well! I really like this tour because they also take you to the tulip park as well!

6 PM- Dinner

After exploring Zaandam, head back to Amsterdam and eat at Pluk Amsterdam. They have yummy sandwiches, salads and even “unicorn fruit bowls!” Who could resist? One of my favorite parts about Pluk is the amazing design inside and gorgeous plants everywhere!

DAY 3

9 AM- Breakfast

I happened upon Bake My Day while exploring the streets. I thought the outside looked really cute so I headed inside to see what they were all about. Their specialty is organic baked bread, but they have many other delicacies such as coffee, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cakes and freshly made juices!

10 AM- Explore More of the City

Definitely allow yourself more time on your last day to continue exploring because Amsterdam is such a charming and walkable city! One of my favorite areas to explore was the Jordaan area, it was incredibly picturesque!

12 PM- Take the train to the Hague

I met up with my friend Sarah, @lusttilldawn from Instagram and we took a train from Amsterdam to the Hague to meet up with our other friend Naomi, @authenticchica. Naomi is from the Hague and therefore has a car. We decided we would meet up to look for windmills and flower fields!

(If you are hoping to do something similar, I recommend either renting a car, meeting up with a local friend with a car or taking a train to Lisse or the Hague and renting a bike!)

We ate lunch at a cute sandwich shop in the Hague and then we used this amazing website I discovered called Bloemenradar to find flower fields. This website is a must to find flower fields in Holland! There is a map with stars of exactly where the flower fields are! People also upload pictures so you can see what the field looks like before you go and they also put the date which is super helpful.

As we were headed to one of the flower fields, we happened to see this amazing windmill! We stopped and had a fun photo shoot by it!

TIP: Be careful and respectful when going into the flower fields. Some farmers don’t appreciate people coming onto their land and many flower fields are also impossible to reach because there are moats in front of them!

6 PM- Dinner and Desert

After a long day of adventuring, you might want to take a little rest before finishing the night off with last minute exploring, dinner and desert. I had fun buying some flowers (tulips weren’t quite in bloom) and walking around with my friend Sarah (@lusttilldawn) taking pictures.

To be honest, Amsterdam is one of those cities where it is just fun to walk around and see all of the different neighborhoods and canals. After taking pictures, we headed over to One Dim Sun for dinner. It was a delicious dumpling restaurant and I highly recommend it.

Her husband happened to mention Winkel 43 saying that they had the best apple pie he has ever had. After a claim that huge, I knew I had to try it for myself. And he wasn’t lying. Sarah and I had a blast eating our pie and drinking their chocolate milk-turns out they are known for it! It was a perfect last night in Amsterdam.

Top Amsterdam Attractions during 3 Days in Amsterdam:

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam– One of the world’s oldest botanical gardens
Vondelpark- Amsterdam’s largest urban park with many playgrounds, cafes and an open-air theatre
The nearby town of Haarlem- a city outside of Amsterdam which has tons of medieval character and cobblestone streets and gabled houses. Famous for its nearby tulip fields and art museums
A’DAM Lookout- For a thrilling activity, check out A’DAM Lookout, an observation deck with a panoramic view and Europe’s highest swing!