2 days in Amsterdam after river cruise
 

Hi everyone! My husband and I are spending 2 days in Amsterdam after a river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. We have 2 nights hotel and would like to see the Van Gogh museum and the Ann Frank House. What else would you recommend? Should we expect to walk/boat to wherever we go?

Thanks!

We did the same thing, only before the river cruise. Where will you be staying? We found central city very easy to walk; we did take the tram to the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum.

Not sure when you are doing this, but you will need reservations for the Anne Frank tour. We took advantage of a pre-tour presentation which helped put the events in context. Highly recommend you try this.

Other suggestions: a canal boat tour. We also did a walking tour with emphasis on WWII in Amsterdam, very enlightening.

I love all things Van Gogh, and certainly enjoyed the museum tour. But maybe the highlight was a tour of the Rijksmuseum with Context Tours. Our docent was a museum curator. It was just the two of us, and she gave us a wonderful overview of this stunning museum. Can't imagine not seeing it while you are there.

If you are interested, I could send you links.

And remember to look out for the bicycles!

I second the post above. Try and get a timed ticket for Anne Frank house as lines are incredible. Yes, plan to walk to most places and MUST be aware of bicycles. I thoroughly enjoyed both Van Gogh and Rijks museums. But no trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a thorough walks out through the Red Light district.

How much time did you need for both Van Gogh and Rijks, southpawvet? Please share the links.

Van Gogh: two - three hours
Rijks: a full morning or afternoon, if you also want to see the historical section (which I would recommend)

Our Lord in the Attic, hidden Catholic church in a canal house in Amsterdam. Google it. A fascinating tour.

Museum Willet - Holthuysen: visit a 17th century patrician mansion.

Uhm about the walk/boat question: there's trams as well. Boat: nah, unless you mean the hop on/hop off thing.

I spent 4 hours in the Van Gogh because Im a huge fan and this was my main reason for visiting Amsterdam! #1 bucket list item. I only spent 2 hours in the Rjiks and that was enough for my interests. Context Tours are outstanding And I would highly recommend them if you have a special area of Interest.

I also very much enjoyed the Willet Museum which had been recommended to me by some canal boat tour companions. Also, just down from the manor house, is the Purse Museum. Fascinating! There were even men in there who were amazed. Make time for it and you can spend just as long as your interest allows!

Definitely get advance tickets for the Anne Frank House.

From there I would suggest the 'nine streets' area which is just across the way and has wide variety of shops.

At the opposite end is the house boat museum we found interesting.

The Lord in the Attic is a great place. Nearby is the Old Kirk and the red light district.

Buy tickets online for Van Gogh( timed, specific date) and the Rijksmuseum ( open date and time)

2 nights = 1 full day plus maybe a partial day. I assume you're flying out of Schiphol. What time does your flight leave?

I don't think you'll have time to visit much more than your 2 must-sees -- unless you take little time at each destination.

Bookmarking

Hi, I was there recently, probably the same river cruise company, had 4 days in Amsterdam, my 4th time there. We stayed at the Delphi Hotel on Appolinaire (sp) lovely little hotel, on tram route, 5 min to Rijks museum and Van Gogh. Much nicer than in the center of the city, which was terribly crowded with tourists and bicycles. You can get tram tickets for the days you plan to use it, and just get on/off the trams. You need to figure out your interests, but the Rijks museum was a must see again for us, much larger and comprehensive than the Van Gogh, which is right next door, but smaller museum. Don't count on much time at Rijks with cruise line. Also the Maritine museum was much enjoyed by my son. You need to get timed ticket for the A Frank house starting 3 months before your arrival, so get asap, this avoid standing in line, also the Museum card was helpful too. My son visited 9 museums in 3 days in Amsterdam. Sue

Apollolaan, Sue81, Apollolaan!