Amsterdam for one day - is this doable?
 

We are arriving at the Amsterdam airport at 7:00 am and will be departing that night for Nice at 8:30 pm.

If we book Anne Frank house for 9:30 am, can we still visit both the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum that day?

We plan about 1 hour at Anne Frank house and 2-3 hours at both museums.

Thanks for any input.

Hi tooold; It's a tight squeeze, but you can do it. Anne Frank museum opens at 9am. www.annefrank.org/ Buy your tickets on-line. Then take a cab to the Rijksmuseum. Have lunch at the museum and then walk to the Van Gogh museum. Eat dinner at the airport. iris1745/dick

What are you going to do with your luggage? I was going to suggest renting a bike and touring Amsterdam that way for the day, (it would be easy to ride to all three destinations) but that wouldn't work if you had suitcases! Definitely buy your Anne Frank tickets online - we bypassed a huge line because we already had our tickets.

Get the train from Schiphol to Centraal Station then walk to the Anne Frankhuis.
You can buy your tickets for both Anne Frankhuis and van Gogh online. If you are going to be here before 7 June you will have to buy timed entry tickets for the Van Gogh, due to the extra exhibition on until then.
You can get the 172 bus from Westermarkt to Hobbemastraat, and then walk to the VG museum - it will be cheaper and easier than a taxi. It will take about 15 minutes including walking to and from the bus stops. Or walk which will take a bit longer.
Make sure you are back at Schiphol in plenty of time to go through security etc.

You won't need 3 hours for the Rijksmuseum, it is still being rebuilt and there is only a small amount on display.
Don't consider bikes - not a good idea at the best of times, but certainly not if you are at all jet lagged. Buy a strippenkaart when you buy your train tickets and use the trams and buses. or as I said walk - it's all very walkable.
you can leave your luggage at Schiphol.

We will be leaving the luggage at the airport.

I guess that this is all doable, which is a relief - we are using points and provided that our stay in Amsterdam is less than 24 hours, our airfare is not increased on our KLM flight from Toronto to Nice.

In terms of itinerary, where should we go first after Anne Frank House?

Thanks to all.

Go to the Van Gogh museum after Anne Frank, you can get a bite to eat there too - the café is very good. Then if you have time and the inclination walk through to the Rijksmuseum. As I said there is not that much on display there due to the continuing building work. If you are flagging by then maybe you will prefer, and have time for, a boat tour instead.
Do buy tickets for both Anne Frankhuis and Van Gogh online.

While I agree that renting bikes is probably not the best idea for this particular situation, I disagree that it is "not a good idea at the best of times." We rented bikes for the day and rode them to the sites. It was a wonderful way to see Amsterdam and very convenient. The bikes had locks on them so we could lock them up when we went into a musuem. They may not be for everyone, but our family loved riding them.

Bikes are fine if you are an experienced city cyclist, however tourists on bikes who are not used to city cycling are a pain for many Amsterdammers trying to go about their daily lives.

The VanGogh and Rijksmuseums are very close together... only about 400 meters apart.

We did both the same afternoon 2 years ago.

If you get to the Anne Frank museum with a minimum delay from the airport when you leave there's a canal hop on hop off boat stop right in front. You can buy tickets from the cafe right beside the museum. The boats come on a regular schedule and can drop you right in front of the Rijksmuseum. I think you'll have enough time.

Rob

I second the suggestion to do the VanGogh museum first. We went there, had lunch in the cafe, then toured the museum. Had no idea we would remain as long as we did. It was late afternoon by the time we finished, so we didn't have much time for the Rijksmuseum that day. With the construction there, going first to the VG was the right choice for the longer visit.

We are now stopping over in Amsterdam for a total of 6 hours -arriving at 12:25pm and departing at 6:20pm.

Is it still possible to leave the airport, see Anne Frank's house and make it back to our flight (need to check in, I believe, at 4:20pm)?

Thanks.

can anybody help with my most recent request?

Thanks.

Note, you may not need to check in a full two hours before. I would think you can get your second boarding pass when you get the first in Toronto (whether on line or in person). But I definitely would have tickets in advance, say for 2:00 pm. Take airport train to Central Station. AF house is not that far from train station. Would think about 15 min walk. But then, be prepared in case your outbound plane is late to rethink your plan, abandon your AF house tickets and stay in the airport.

Just so happens that we visited the Rijksmuseum and the Ann Frank house last Thursday.

We arrived at the Rijksmuseum, ticket in hand, a few minutes before it opened. Skip the preliminary rooms and head for the masters's by the masters. Gotta see the Nightwatch! I was sad that one or more of the more important Vermeers were out on loan. The abbreviated museum is designed to be seen in 2 hours (unlike our trip to the Louvere the prior week where we spent the entire day).

Forget that crap restaurant (with their 15% discount with ticket) on the mall recommended by Rick Steves, etal.. We had a great breakfast (bagel & ???) & lunch later out on Van Buerlestr (straight out past the Van Gough and accross the mall).

When we arrived at the Anne Frank house (20 min. by foot) there was a shor line (about 30 minutes).

We were there last week, tickets were booked online for both so did not have to wait in line (it was raining), 2 hours at the Rijksmuseum, tram to the Anne Frank House and spent an hour inside and left with a heavy heart.