Things to Do in Amstelveen: A Day Trip from Amsterdam

By the Tours in Amsterdam editorial team · Updated July 2026

When Amsterdam’s crowds get too much, locals slip south to Amstelveen — a green, low-key town barely 20 minutes from the centre. Most visitors never think to go, which is rather the point. It is home to a serious modern-art museum and one of the largest city woods in Europe. Here is what to do in Amstelveen, and how to make it an easy half-day trip from Amsterdam.

Where is Amstelveen & how to get there

Amstelveen is a leafy town directly south of Amsterdam, bordering the city and Schiphol. Getting there could not be simpler:

• Tram 25 / Metro 51 run from Amsterdam (via Zuid) to Amstelveen Stadshart in around 20 minutes — tap in with a contactless card.
• By bike it’s a pretty half-hour ride along the river Amstel, or about an hour if you wind through the Amsterdamse Bos.

Trains and trams leave regularly from Amsterdam Centraal, and Amstelveen is one of the most low-effort day trips from Amsterdam you can make.

The best things to do in Amstelveen

Attraction	What it is	Good for
Cobra Museum	Modern & Cobra-movement art	Art lovers
Amsterdamse Bos	1,000-hectare woods, trails & lakes	Nature, cycling, families
Stadshart & Stadsplein	Shopping and a Tue/Fri market	A relaxed browse
Amstelpark	Landscaped park & rose garden	A quiet stroll

Cobra Museum of Modern Art

Amstelveen’s headline attraction is the Cobra Museum, open since 1995 and dedicated to the post-war Cobra movement — the bold, colourful, experimental art of Karel Appel, Constant and their peers. It’s a genuinely good gallery that flies under most tourists’ radar, which means no queues and space to breathe. In our experience it pairs perfectly with the walk through the woods next door. Tickets are around €20 for adults (free with a Museumkaart); you can book Cobra Museum tickets online to skip the desk.

Amsterdamse Bos (the Amsterdam Woods)

Straddling Amsterdam and Amstelveen, the Amsterdamse Bos is a vast 1,000-hectare woodland with around 200 km of paths for walking, cycling and horse riding, plus lakes for rowing, a goat farm, an open-air theatre in summer and plenty of space for a picnic. It’s free, it’s beautiful, and it’s the antidote to a busy few days in the city. Rent a bike or a boat and lose an afternoon.

Stadshart, markets & a Japanese twist

Amstelveen’s centre, the Stadshart, is a tidy pedestrian shopping district built around the Stadsplein square, which hosts a large open-air market on Tuesdays and Fridays. The town is also home to one of the Netherlands’ biggest Japanese communities, so it’s a surprisingly good spot for authentic Japanese and Asian food — a nice lunch stop between the museum and the woods.

A relaxed half-day plan

• Morning: tram or metro from Amsterdam; start at the Cobra Museum.
• Lunch: a Japanese or Asian spot around the Stadshart.
• Afternoon: walk or cycle into the Amsterdamse Bos before heading back.

Is Amstelveen worth a day trip?

Let’s be honest: Amstelveen is not a bucket-list town, and if it’s your first trip and you have only a couple of days, spend them in Amsterdam. But if you’ve already seen the big sights, love modern art, or simply want green space and a calmer pace, it’s a rewarding, crowd-free half-day — and one very few tourists bother with. Fold it into your wider list of things to do in Amsterdam, or pair it with another of the region’s day trips.

Frequently asked questions