There are cities you visit, and cities you drift through. Amsterdam belongs firmly to the second category. It’s a place where you don’t just walk from A to B—you glide along canals, slip into hidden courtyards, follow the aroma of cinnamon and melted cheese, and realise, at some point, that your “tour” has turned into a quiet love affair.
If you’re planning a first (or fifth) trip to Amsterdam, choosing the right tours can shape your entire experience. Some reveal the city’s postcard side; others uncover stories hidden behind brick façades and curtained windows. Let me take you through the ones that, in my experience, are truly worth your time: from slow canal cruises and secret hofjes to food adventures that might change the way you feel about herring forever.
Gliding through history: choosing the right canal tour
The canals are Amsterdam’s arteries, and any visit without seeing them from the water feels a bit incomplete. But not all canal tours are created equal. The boat you choose will define the rhythm of your day.
On my last trip, I slipped into a small wooden boat just as the sky was turning a pale silver, the kind of light that makes the brick houses look almost soft. The captain passed around wool blankets, poured coffee from a thermos, and with a gentle growl of the engine, we glided away from the quay.
If you’re wondering which kind of canal tour is best, here are three that each offer a different mood and angle on the city:
Whichever you choose, try to sit near the edge and keep your gaze slightly upwards. Amsterdam is a city best read from the rooftops down: gables carved like lace, hoisting hooks still used to move furniture, attic windows half-open even in winter. On the water, you suddenly understand why so many artists came here looking for light.
Slow steps and secret corners: walking the canal belt
Once your sea legs are satisfied, it’s time to walk. The charm of Amsterdam’s canal belt reveals itself slowly, corner by corner. Many guided walking tours focus on the UNESCO-listed Grachtengordel, but if you prefer wandering alone, you can easily create your own route.
Start somewhere around the Nine Streets (De Negen Straatjes), that pretty patchwork of boutiques and cafés between the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. In the morning, delivery bikes clatter over cobblestones, and shopkeepers sweep their thresholds with the sleepy concentration of a ritual.
As you stroll, look for tiny details:
Many walking tours now weave in stories of everyday Amsterdammers—traders and brewers, widows and activists—who once lived in these houses. Don’t hesitate to choose a themed tour that resonates with you: architecture, Jewish history, LGBTQ+ heritage, or women’s stories. They give shape and voice to streets that might otherwise remain just “pretty”.
Hofjes and hidden courtyards: Amsterdam’s quiet soul
Beyond the showy canal houses lies a softer Amsterdam: a city of secluded courtyards, cloisters and hidden gardens you’d never suspect from the main streets. Many of these are called hofjes—former almshouses built around tranquil inner yards, once reserved for elderly women or widows in need of shelter.
Stepping into a hofje feels like stepping into a painting. The noise of the city falls away, replaced by the crunch of gravel, the hum of bees, the faint rustle of leaves against brick.
Some courtyards and quiet spaces you shouldn’t miss:
When you enter these spaces, you understand something essential about Amsterdam: behind the crowded bicycle racks and neon-lit cafés, there’s a long tradition of intimacy, community and refuge.
Food you shouldn’t miss: tasting Amsterdam, one bite at a time
Food in Amsterdam goes far beyond clichés of cheese and fries—though both can be glorious when done right. The city is a crossroads, and you can taste centuries of trade and migration in a single market.
Joining a food tour is one of the easiest ways to connect the dots between history and appetite. You’ll wander between bakeries, markets and tiny snack windows, learning why the Dutch eat what they do, and when.
Here are some tastes you’ll want on your radar:
Many food tours weave through neighbourhoods like De Pijp or the Jordaan, mixing classic snacks with global influences—Surinamese roti, Turkish börek, Moroccan pastries dusted with sugar and orange blossom. Amsterdam’s history of trade has always been written in spices.
Markets and food halls: where locals actually eat
If you prefer grazing at your own pace, markets and food halls offer a perfect self-guided “tour”. You can follow your nose, your curiosity, or simply the longest queue.
Two places I always return to:
Arrive hungry, and if you can, slightly early—before the evening rush. Sit at a communal table, listen to the hum of conversations in a dozen languages, and watch as locals greet each other with casual familiarity. This is Amsterdam as daily life, not postcard.
Two wheels, many stories: discovering Amsterdam by bike
At some point, you’ll be tempted to do what everyone else seems to be doing: ride a bicycle. The soft ticking of the chain, the breeze on your cheeks, the slight thrill of weaving between canals and trams—cycling in Amsterdam is both practical and oddly romantic.
If you’re not used to biking in busy cities, consider joining a guided bike tour. It’s safer, and you’ll get a gentle crash course in Dutch cycling etiquette (spoiler: the bells are not decorative).
A good bike tour will take you beyond the inner canal ring:
There is a special kind of happiness in pausing on a small bridge, one foot on the pedal, one on the ground, looking out over a waterway lined with trees. In that suspended moment, you feel less like a visitor and more like you’ve slipped, briefly, into the city’s own heartbeat.
Layering your experience: combining tours for a richer trip
What makes Amsterdam so rewarding is how different tours and experiences interlock, each adding a layer to your understanding.
One day might look like this: a quiet morning canal cruise, when the water is still and the city seems half-asleep; a midday wander through a hofje and a canal house museum; an afternoon food tour that ends at a market; and finally, an evening bike ride back along the glittering Prinsengracht. You’ll find that some stories repeat—in the guide’s commentary, in a plaque on a wall, in a recipe passed down through generations. Repetition, here, doesn’t feel redundant; it feels like deepening acquaintance.
However you choose to explore—by boat, on foot, on two wheels, fork in hand—leave yourself space for serendipity. Follow the waft of roasting coffee into a side street café. Step through an open gate because you glimpse a flash of green. Let yourself get slightly lost in the Jordaan’s tangled streets, then find your way again by the sound of a tram in the distance.
Amsterdam rewards those who move slowly enough to notice things: the curl of steam over a canal on a cold morning, the rhythm of bicycles crossing a bridge, the murmur of voices behind tall windows. Tours can guide you, yes—but the real magic lies in those small, unplanned moments in between.