Why Amsterdam Needs More Time Than You Think

Now, you may be thinking: what exactly do you do for six days in Amsterdam? It sounds like a long stay for any city. But once we started mapping out the things we wanted to do, the days filled up surprisingly quickly.

We knew one entire day would be dedicated to tulips. You can read more about how that day actually went in my post, “The Truth About a Tulip Day Trip (It’s Not Relaxing).” We definitely learned some lessons from trying to fit too many “must-do” activities into one day. For some travelers, it might feel completely manageable, but for the slower, more relaxed pace we were aiming for, it ended up feeling too rushed.

I also knew I wanted to do at least one day trip outside the city. The beauty of Amsterdam is that you really have your pick depending on what type of experience you’re looking for. We briefly considered taking the train to Belgium to check another country off the list, but while train travel in Europe is incredibly convenient, ticket prices can climb quickly if you wait too long to book.

That ended up being the case for Belgium, so we decided to stay local instead and honestly, I could probably spend an additional week just exploring the smaller cities within 30 minutes of Amsterdam. We ultimately settled on a day trip to Utrecht, with the possibility of adding Zaanse Schans depending on how the day unfolded. Spoiler: we never made it to Zaanse Schans, and we were completely okay with that.

With one day dedicated to tulips and another to a day trip, we realistically only had four full days in Amsterdam itself. One of the first lessons I’d pass along: do not wait too long to purchase museum tickets. We started looking around three to four weeks before the trip, and tickets for the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House were already sold out. We were still able to get tickets to the Rijksmuseum, but it definitely changed our plans.

I also like to take at least one walking tour on the first day in any new city I visit, and Amsterdam was no exception. For me, walking tours serve two purposes. First, they provide a quick introduction to the city’s history and help put the buildings and neighborhoods around you into context. But more selfishly, they also help me orient myself much faster. By the end of the tour, crowded areas feel more familiar, public transportation makes more sense, and I feel less like a tourist wandering aimlessly and more connected to the city itself.

Since the Rijksmuseum ended up being the only museum we would visit on this trip, it was an easy decision to pay a little extra for the audio guides and take our time exploring. The museum itself is beautiful, but the audio guide added so much context and detail that it genuinely elevated the experience for me. Instead of rushing from room to room trying to “see everything,” we were able to slow down and appreciate the pieces that interested us most.

The more I travel, the more comfortable I become with letting go of the idea that every trip is a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. Once you stop thinking that way, you stop feeling guilty about not seeing every attraction, every museum, or having every experience you’re supposedly meant to have. To me, that’s the perfect excuse to plan another future trip back to Amsterdam.

I’ve visited Paris four times and still haven’t been to the Louvre. Maybe the “fifth time’s the charm” rule applies to me.

Shopping was high on our list as well, especially vintage shopping, something Amsterdam is particularly known for. Areas like the Nine Streets are filled with small boutiques and vintage stores that fit perfectly into the narrow, lively streets of the city. Even casually wandering through neighborhoods became part of the experience.

And of course, you can’t leave Amsterdam without trying some of the foods the city is constantly going viral for online. From stroopwafels to fries, we tried as much as we could. Thankfully, even with all the social media hype surrounding these places, we genuinely enjoyed almost everything we had and surprisingly, we never waited in a line longer than about 20 minutes.

One of my favorite things to do in any city is a river or canal cruise whenever possible, and there was no way I was leaving Amsterdam without doing a classic canal boat tour. Staying on theme with the trip, we booked a tulip-themed canal cruise. While I did enjoy the smaller open-air boat and the unobstructed views throughout the canals, I’m not sure I’d specifically choose the tulip-themed version again. The tulips onboard definitely made a statement, but they also made it a little awkward trying to move around and take photos. At times, it almost felt like you were accidentally stepping into someone else’s personal photoshoot.

One attraction you probably won’t casually stumble upon is the NEMO Science Museum, located not far from Central Station. Even if you don’t visit the museum itself, the rooftop terrace offers free panoramic views over the city and is well worth the climb up. One warning though: a 5 PM closing time in Amsterdam truly means 5 PM. We reached the rooftop with maybe ten minutes to spare, snapped a few quick photos, and almost immediately started getting ushered back down the stairs. Give yourself enough time to actually enjoy the view.

By the end of the trip, though, I understood exactly why six days in Amsterdam had felt like the right decision. The city rewards slower travel. Some of my favorite moments weren’t major attractions at all, they were simply wandering through neighborhoods, sitting at cafés, browsing vintage stores, or realizing we were perfectly happy skipping something and saving it for another trip.

There are still so many things we didn’t get to experience on this first trip. I would’ve loved to explore more neighborhoods, spend an evening enjoying sunset drinks at a rooftop bar, and wander through even more local markets and smaller streets. But honestly, I don’t see that as a negative. If anything, it just means I already have a second trip to Amsterdam to look forward to planning.