The expert travellers' guide to visiting Amsterdam in 2025

The Netherlands’ capital has many Australian admirers - and who better to look to than experts and expats to get the inside tips on the best the city has to offer?

It’s Europe’s most effortlessly cool capital, full of charming canals, cutting-edge cafès and chicly attired cyclists. On a sunny day there is nothing better than hopping on a bike to explore the pure beauty of Amsterdam, a city celebrating its 750th birthday this year.

Stop off for a coffee and pastry before pedalling past colourful gabled houses, verdant parks and flower-filled markets, then there are the museums and the nightlife.

We asked Australians who have spent a large amount of time discovering and falling in love with this city of under a million for their ultimate tips on what to do and where to go.

All agreed 2025 is the time to visit, with birthday festivities across the city culminating in a showstopping finale on October 27. Let’s hop on a bike and explore the best of the best.

FOR FOOD

Originally from Melbourne, Amsterdam restaurateur Georgina Patterson knows a lot about the food scene in the Dutch capital. Thirteen years ago, she and her Dutch husband opened café Little Collins, a nod to her home town, in the hip area of De Pijp where on weekends the queue can wind around the block. Happy customers sip on specialty coffee and a brunch menu full of intriguing flavour combos such as kimchi and Gruyère scrambled eggs. Such was the success, a year ago Patterson started another restaurant, Brio, next door.

“We started Brio because we were always cooking Italian food,” Patterson says. “We make our own pasta fresh every day and a really good tiramisù.”

She says they get loads of Aussie visitors. “The customers love the dishes we serve and the friendly service,” Patterson says.

The one thing Patterson has noticed during her time in Amsterdam is a change in the food scene. “Amsterdam has come a long way and there are lots of good food options nowadays.

“Uncommon and Louf have good coffee, pastries and bread,” she says. The latter has three locations in Amsterdam which are renowned for their crusty sourdough bread and flaky croissants.

As for restaurants, Patterson recommends Remouillage, which offers modern cuisine with a focus on sustainable produce; Euro Pizza for pizza with a relaxed outdoor vibe; and Boon en de Koot, a bistro with a great wine menu to match the dishes.

Cycling through the Vondel Park is a popular pastime in Amsterdam.

FOR THE OUTDOORS

Although Philip Engelberts, founder and director of public relations firm PEPR Agency, has called Sydney home since the late 1990s, he returns home to see his family in Limburg – in the south of the Netherlands – and spend time in his beloved Amsterdam three to four times a year. And when he does, his first activity is to get on a bike to take it all in.

“The thing I love about Amsterdam the most is the village-like atmosphere. It’s a liveable easy city,” Engelberts says. “I love the conviviality and the beauty of the buildings.”

He might cycle through the city’s main green space, Vondelpark, which is full of beautiful gardens and ponds and offers free concerts.

“The moment it hits 15 degrees, we Dutch go to the park and strip down to soak up the sun. I used to rollerblade in the park back in the day!”

He might also get away from the crowds by cycling to the fisherman’s village of Durgerdam, 12km from Amsterdam.

“It’s so picturesque, I’ll make a coffee stop at Badhuis, an old bathhouse and once at Durgerdam park up the bike and catch a ferry to Lighthouse Island for lunch.”

Engelberts recommends first-time visitors take a canal tour in Amsterdam. “It’s not a bad way to see the city and get the highlights, and then I would recommend checking out the tulips at the renowned Keukenhof gardens, it’s a sight to behold,” he says. Afterwards he recommends picking up a bunch of colourful flowers, as well as hot, sticky stroopwafel at the outdoor Albert Cuyp market.

Keukenhof Gardens is one of the Netherlands' most iconic attractions.

FOR SHOPPING

When Melbourne-based interior designer Sally Knibbs was tasked with designing a house for a client in Amsterdam, the founder of Sally Caroline jumped at the chance.

“I had travelled to Amsterdam a few times before we commenced the project, so I had a strong sense of the city and how to navigate it,” Knibbs says.

“I love the culture, the street style, the ease of riding bikes – it all feels so considered yet effortless. There’s something incredibly calm and liberating about cycling through a beautiful city. It somehow changes the pace and rhythm of daily life.”

Decorating the Amsterdam home, known as The Dutch Quarter, meant Knibbs and her design team needed to do some serious shopping.

“In Amsterdam it’s more about the smaller retail moments and makers, less about the larger chain retailers,” she says. “There’s a strong focus on craftsmanship, storytelling, and timeless design. Many of the stores feel like intimate galleries, with owners who are deeply connected to the pieces they stock.”

There’s nothing like a leisurely fossick through a great vintage store to fulfil a shopping craving. Sally’s pick?

“Vintage-Pareltjes always has a great mix; it’s definitely worth checking out,” Knibbs says.

When it comes to art galleries for purchasing art and just admiring, she recommends Rademakers Gallery.

“They have a very playful and cool contemporary collection, and their service was fantastic. We also purchased a few playful pieces from Supertoys Supertoys, including a sculptural clock that now sits in the Amsterdam apartment,” Knibbs says.

“We also discovered beautiful handmade ceramics from local studios like By Joa and 2222Studio, which brought an added layer of locale, warmth and character to the interiors.”

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands.

FOR CULTURE

Perth-based Jenny and Martin Cake took an academic sabbatical to live in the Netherlands last year and made the most of every minute there, taking in most of the museums and galleries.

“People in Amsterdam seem so much happier and healthier. You can see the positive effects of a good work-life balance and healthy and active lifestyle, particularly the cycling culture,” Jenny says.

They visited the renowned Rijksmuseum, home of the Dutch masters, but took it in slowly.

“It’s a must-see although it is overwhelming large. We did it in bite-size chunks over a few visits although if pushed for time you can do a highlights tour in an hour or two,” says Jenny, who also recommends getting a Museumkaart pass if doing a lot of museum-hopping.

They loved the Straat, a museum for street art and graffiti in NDSM – which is a repurposed shipyard that’s now a vibrant hub for art, culture and creative events.

“Straat is an old industrial warehouse full of huge oversized artworks by famous and up-and-coming street artists,” Martin says. “My tip is to skip the café here and head to Pllek nearby for refreshments, it’s a cool bar space made out of shipping containers.”

Another highlight is the Artis-Groote Musuem, an experimental multimedia museum, telling the story of what makes us human and what connects us to other living things.

“I love the way they juxtapose anatomy/biology with technology and culture,” Martin says. “An example was a plasticated, unravelling human heart set against a Frida Kahlo painting.”

Amsterdam music venue Paradiso is housed in a former church.

FOR BARS AND NIGHTLIFE

Mark Reuten, who owns Melbourne record store Dutch Vinyl, lived in Amsterdam before moving to Australia in 2000. He goes back twice a year not only to visit family and friends, but to buy second-hand vinyl records. “I love the sense of history, the old buildings, canals, the small (human) scale of the buildings and the city,” Reuten says.

He recommends seeing a live music performance at venue Paradiso. Housed in a 19th century former church, on stage you’ll see performers from Paul Kelly to Kneecap. Artists love playing here because the acoustics are phenomenal.

“The place is just soaked with music history and it’s just the right size,” Reuten says.

He also recommends warm neighbourhood bars such as Café de Tuin in Jordaan and Café Gambrinus in De Pijp.

“I used to live around the corner from Gambrinus. It’s a friendly neighbourhood bar with great food,” he says. Reuten also recommends Café Krull. “It’s right opposite my favourite Amsterdam park (in De Pijp) and a great place for an afternoon coffee, to watch the world go by, and then slide into an easy few evening beers,” he says.

How to get to Amsterdam

By river

The most relaxing way to arrive in Amsterdam is by river vessel. Consider Viking’s eight-day Rhine Getaway from Amsterdam to Basel (or vice versa). 

By train

Travel from London to Amsterdam directly or via Brussels on the Eurostar. Go direct from London’s city centre to central Amsterdam in four hours, 19 minutes. 

By plane

Qantas flies to Amsterdam via London partnering with British Airways. Trains connect Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Central Station. 

Originally published as The expert travellers' guide to visiting Amsterdam in 2025