We will arrive in Amsterdam at 9AM and depart the next morning at 7AM. Due to the very early flight out, we're staying at the Mercure by the airport. We'll take the train in/out of the city.
Please help me best plot out our day? Our list of priorities: canal tour, Red light, coffee shop, pancakes (breakfast/lunch), rijstaffel (dinner). Of course I know there is much more to this city, and we hope to see what we can while 'crossing off' these 'bullet points'. SUGGESTIONS? I am really hoping someone can help me with an "order of events", with some specific restaurant suggestions so we can map out our day. I've searched for ideas (restaurants), but would love some more specific direction. Lots of questions I know...thanks in advance for any insight!!!

You'll have no problem finding a canal boat tour because there is one on your right almost as soon as you leave Centraal Station. Likewise, you will be in the immediate vicinity of the Red Light District; just grab any map and it's only a few blocks from where you will debark from the canal tour. You will pass coffee shops on your walk in short order (just listen for the music, follow your nose or read the signs -- they're everywhere).

Amsterdam is very compact, densely built and walkable. With a day and an evening to spend there, you can really see quite a bit of the city.

Hi...You can take a canal boat tour from right by central station upon arriving by train from the Mercure...When the canal tour ends, you can get off and walk to the Red Light..It is not that far, and in that area you will find several Coffeeshops..(Babas is a good one)By this time you should be quite tired...however, I would now take the tram or walk to Leidseplein..If you walk, you will pass by several restaurants (and coffeeshops) along the way...I am not a big fan of rifstaffels but I believe a popular place is Kantjils (Spuistraat 291-293)..If I remember correctly, take tram 1, 2 or 5 from central station and get off at the Spui...It is also a nice area to just take in the atmosphere..At this point you are not far from the Flower Market...There are also several interesting coffeeshops in the area...I would imagine it will be dark by now and just walking around and admiring the canal bridges all lit up is a great thing in itself...Or you can do the canal boat tour at night instead of when you first arrive...Well, that is my suggestion anyhow...Amsterdam is a great city, hope you enjoy your day!!

Here's what you need to compile your own favorites:

http://www.amsterdamhotspots.com/
(great listings for all your priorities)

http://www.specialbite.nl/index.html?ic=1

http://www.timeout.com/amsterdam/

http://www.boomchicago.nl/Section/Real-Amsterdam

HTH!

There is not much to 'see' in the RLD in the morning... the ladies seem to go to work in the late afternoon thru evening. It doesn't feel comfortable to me once dark approaches.
The canal cruise is great, walking along canals to see more of the gables is fun, the Singel flower market is an easy stroll. For one day, I would probably not try to do museums, especially if the weather is cooperating. I think there is a denser concentration of coffeeshops around Leidseplein, the Dam, RLD areas. Be mindful of pickpockets in crowded areas, especially if you take any trams.

We basically crammed our whole Amsterdam visit into one full day plus the preceding evening. If I were you, I'd save the canal boat tour for late afternoon when you're tired of walking around, and the red light district for later at night, after 10 PM, so you can go to bed thoroughly depressed (it truly is seedy, and jam-packed with tourists). Perhaps you can cheer yourself up at a "coffeehouse" if you are interested in such things, but I wouldn't know about that firsthand since I was traveling with my kids--NOT that they weren't extremely interested in checking them out... If you like museums, you can do both the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum--they are very close to each other. Take a tram there from Central Station. There's a VVV tourist office right across from the station for info. Most of the Rijksmuseum is closed, otherwise that alone would use up a whole day. About 8 rooms are open. The Van Gogh museum is wonderful--allow several hours if you like impressionist art. A short distance from those museums is a park with a Pancake restaurant on its edge called Carousel Pancakes. Ugly decor, but the pancakes are good. There's also a good pancake restaurant in the Jordaan area, walking distance from the Anne Frank House (also worth visiting). The restaurant is called the Pancake Bakery, open noon till around 9:30PM. (Yes, pancakes are not for breakfast in Holland... chocolate is for breakfast.) Way nicer decor but quality of pancakes about the same, or not quite as good, as Carousel. Can you tell that all we ate in Amsterdam was pancakes? Late afternoon, head over to Dam Square area and see Nieuw Kerk, Oude Kerk, palace, and then you're near Central Station for your canal ride. (We had rijs tafel, but not in Amsterdam, and liked it a lot.) Also recommended, tho we didn't have time to do it: sitting at a cafe with a view and drinking great Dutch or Belgian beer! Have fun!

c nez, I've lived in Holland for 4 years (in Haarlem) and worked in Amsterdam for a year. To each his own, but I've never seen a more wasted Amsterdam itinerary. You have evidently done a lot of research on this so you know what you want and I won't take the time to offer SGGESTIONS for your 22 hour lay by.

But I would offer one minor logistic suggestion: don't let your early departure deter you from staying in the city. With your agenda you really should be in the city and plan on very little sleep. You'll love it.