Listings

The UNESCO-listed ring of 17th-century canals that defines Amsterdam – gabled merchant houses, humpback bridges and houseboats. Simply walking the Prinsengracht or Brouwersgracht is one of the city’s great free pleasures.

A former shipyard across the IJ reborn as a gritty creative hub – vast street-art murals, studios, festivals and the monthly IJ-Hallen flea market. Take the free ferry for Amsterdam’s alternative side.

The Netherlands’ biggest street market, running the length of De Pijp – stalls of cheese, fish, flowers, clothes and, crucially, fresh stroopwafels and herring. A great local browse and graze.

A hushed medieval courtyard hidden in the middle of the city, once home to a lay sisterhood and holding one of Amsterdam’s oldest wooden houses. A pocket of calm – enter quietly; people still live here.

The world’s only floating flower market, its stalls set on barges along the Singel canal, heaped with tulips, bulbs and souvenirs. Touristy but a cheerful, colourful stroll.

A grid of nine pretty little streets crisscrossing the canals, packed with independent boutiques, vintage shops, design stores and cosy cafes. The nicest area in the centre for a browse.

The city’s beloved green heart just behind the museums – ponds, lawns and cycle paths where all of Amsterdam comes to jog, picnic and hang out. Free open-air performances in summer.