Two Days in Amsterdam: Canals, Rembrandt and Van Gogh

Two days in Amsterdam sounds tight. It is not, as long as the plan is about choosing well rather than seeing everything.

The city helps. The old centre around Dam Square and the Museum Quarter around Museumplein are the two halves that matter on a short trip, and De Pijp, with the best breakfast street in town, sits right next to the museums. Day 1 belongs to the canals and the old centre. Day 2 belongs to Rembrandt, Van Gogh and a lot of pancakes.

Two Days in Amsterdam at a Glance
🗓️ Day 1 · The old centre and the canals — breakfast on the Singel, the Royal Palace, a drink on the Dam, Sichuan at FuLu, an evening canal cruise.
🗓️ Day 2 · De Pijp’s breakfast street, the Rijksmuseum, Moco (optional), the Van Gogh Museum, and Vondelpark or Heineken to finish.
🎟️ Book first · The Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House are all online-only, timed, no door sales.
🥇 One museum only? · Van Gogh Museum if you love Van Gogh; Rijksmuseum for the Night Watch and the Golden Age.
💡 Tip · Anne Frank House tickets drop every Tuesday at 10am for six weeks later — set an alarm.

Book These Before the Trip

Two days leaves no room for a sold-out slot, so a little homework pays off.

• The Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum both sell timed tickets online only, with no ticket desk at the door. Book both before the trip.
• The Anne Frank House sells tickets only on its own website, every Tuesday at 10am, for the week six weeks later. They go fast. Mine had sold out weeks before my trip.
• The Royal Palace closes for royal events, so check its website for the dates.
• The Heineken Experience admits visitors aged 18 and over only, and asks for ID.

Day 1: The Old Centre and the Canals

Morning: Breakfast on the Singel

Start at Greenwoods, at Singel 103, on the innermost canal of the ring. I’ll admit I was sceptical. A canal-side breakfast place that hotels send their guests to sounded like a tourist trap.

It is not. There was a queue when we arrived at about 10:40 on a Friday, it moved steadily, and we were inside in roughly half an hour. I had the BLT, with crispy maple bacon, and a stack of pancakes on the side. For a breakfast like that, I would have waited longer.

Late Morning: The Royal Palace

From the Singel, the Dam is a short walk, and the Royal Palace fills one side of it. It was built as Amsterdam’s city hall, designed by Jacob van Campen and opened in 1655, and it became a royal palace only in 1808. Remember the architect’s name. It comes back on Day 2.

The Burgerzaal is the showstopper: a white marble hall with maps of the world inlaid in the floor and Atlas carrying a globe on his shoulders.

The room I would not skip is downstairs. The Vierschaar was the tribunal where death sentences were pronounced in public, and every wall is carved marble.

Midday: A Drink on the Dam

Back outside, ‘t Nieuwe Kafé has its terrace right across from the palace, in a corner of the Nieuwe Kerk. I walked past it so many times that the full terrace stopped surprising me long before I got a table. When I finally sat down, a raspberry gin and tonic arrived with a bottle of Fever-Tree on the side, and Dam Square became the best people-watching in the city.

Afternoon: Sichuan on the Rokin

Who would have guessed that one of my favourite meals in Amsterdam would be Chinese? FuLu Mandarijn is at Rokin 26, one flight of stairs up from the street, just off the Dam. We walked in without a booking at about 2:40 on a Sunday and sat down straight away.

Order to share. The honey mustard chicken was my favourite, and the dry pot prawns had a real kick to them. The ordering tablet shows a photo of every dish and drink, which takes the guesswork out of it.

Evening: A Canal Cruise

End the day on the water. I went with Flagship Amsterdam. The day before King’s Day, I watched one of their open boats glide past decked with flowers, its passengers already dressed in orange. An early evening cruise catches the low sun on the canal houses, and it is the easiest way to see the houseboats. I spent most of mine looking for Rebecca’s houseboat from Ted Lasso.

Our route swung out past Het Scheepvaartmuseum, the national maritime museum, with a full-size replica of an East India Company ship moored beside it. I took this photo from the boat and promised myself I would come back.

Day 2: Breakfast Street and the Museum Quarter

Remember Jacob van Campen? The architect of the Royal Palace has a street in De Pijp named after him, and it might be the best breakfast street in Amsterdam. I ate breakfast there three times, at three different places:

• Bakers & Roasters, at number 54, is the one I would go back to first. Fluffy pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and sausages: it was comforting and reminded me of breakfasts back home, and the service was quick and attentive.
• Locals, at number 27, sits on a corner under black awnings, and my cappuccino arrived with a rosetta drawn into the foam.
• Flow, at number 47, is run by the same company as Locals. The morning after King’s Day, our food there took over an hour to arrive. Good food, but go when it is quieter.

Late Morning: The Rijksmuseum

From De Pijp, the Rijksmuseum is a short walk north. Go straight to the Gallery of Honour first thing, because it gets busy. On my visit there were queues at almost every painting. It was my first time seeing Vermeer up close, and I wished I had more time with him.

Then escape to the quieter rooms. The still lifes hide a mouse, a dead frog and a snail for anyone who looks closely, and a room of early Rembrandt portraits shows faces painted with no filter at all.

Early Afternoon: Moco, If There Is Time

Moco sits on Museumplein, between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, in Villa Alsberg, a house from 1904. After the Golden Age, its Banksy, Kusama and immersive rooms are a fun change of pace. It is optional on a two-day trip, but it is right on the way.

Afternoon: The Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh is the reason I went to Amsterdam, so for me this was never optional. The Sunflowers, in their vase signed simply Vincent, were much smaller than I expected, just like the Mona Lisa in Paris, and they still hold the room. My favourite is Almond Blossom, painted for his newborn nephew, and it hangs here too.

Evening: Vondelpark, or Heineken

If the legs still work, Vondelpark is the place to be as the light drops. On an April evening I found crates of tulips floating on one of its ponds, with people out on the grass in the last of the sun.

For a livelier end to the day, the Heineken Experience sits on the edge of De Pijp, in the brand’s old brewery, where the copper kettles still stand under the Heineken Brouwerijen Amsterdam lettering. I don’t love beer, and it was still fun and laid back. The VIP upgrade ends in Freddy’s Bar, hidden behind a fridge door, a place most visitors never get to see.

Only Time for One Museum?

The Van Gogh Museum is the pick for anyone who loves Van Gogh or wants to understand him. It is smaller, more focused and easier to finish in an afternoon.

The Rijksmuseum is the pick for the Night Watch, Vermeer and the Dutch Golden Age in one building, with most of a day to spend there.

Getting Around

Amsterdam’s centre is walkable, and both days here are planned on foot. For the gap between the Dam and the museums, tram 2 runs from the old centre to the Rijksmuseum in a single ride. One evening I caught a tram gliding past the International Theater Amsterdam on the Leidseplein, just as its windows lit up.

Watch the bike lanes. The cyclists in them do not slow down for tourists, and on King’s Day I came close to finding that out the hard way.

Bubbly Tips

• Book the big three before you fly. The Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank House all sell timed tickets online only.
• Set an alarm for Anne Frank. Tickets go on sale every Tuesday at 10am for the week six weeks later.
• Don’t go looking for the other Greenwoods. The Keizersgracht branch closed in December 2025, and the Singel is now the only one in Amsterdam, even if some listings still show both.
• Have your drink on the Dam early. ‘t Nieuwe Kafé is a daytime café and closes in the early evening.
• Order rice separately at FuLu. It comes as its own item, so add it when you order.
• Pick your breakfast by the clock. On a busy morning, Bakers & Roasters moved much faster than Flow.
• Get close to the Sunflowers. They are smaller than you think, so don’t settle for a view over the crowd.
• Bring a card. The Van Gogh Museum is cashless.
• Bring ID to Heineken. It is strictly 18 and over.
• Stay out of the bike lanes. Look both ways for bikes as well as cars before you step off the pavement.

Final Thoughts

Two days will not cover all of Amsterdam. They will cover a marble courtroom, a canal at sunset, three breakfasts’ worth of decisions on one street, and a vase of sunflowers much smaller than I expected.

That is enough to start planning the next trip before this one is over. It worked on me.

Until next time!

xoxo,
Bubbly 🎈